The Alpenrost Rotary Drum Home Coffee RoasterA machine for roasting coffee. Or the person operating it! The basic requirements for a coffee roaster are a heating element that gets suitably hot and a mechanism... by Swissmar (Discontinued – No longer made)
The recent model of the Alpenrost coffee roaster by Swissmar – the Bravi – has come out and we have decided not to carry it. It does have improved safety features and ought to be easier to use and clean, but we felt like Swissmar missed an opportunity to really add features to the roaster that would improve its performance and use – namely, a window to see the roast in progress. Some folks have said the new Bravi works well – others say it is not so good. I am sure you can read all about it on consumer review sites. The units are expensive and just not that much of an improvement to warrant us carrying the item. We recommend the HotTopA home drum roaster with a 9oz capacity, adjustable heat and airflow profiling, and an external cooling tray.: A home drum roaster with a 9oz capacity, adjustable heat... for the folks interested in the largest batch size they can get in a home roasting machine. Stovetop roasting is also a good option for folks looking to roast more coffee at once. – Maria 2/8/06
The major features of this roaster that distinguish Alpenrost from others are:
- The Alpenrost has a 1/2 lb. capacity, almost 3x the capacity of other home roasters.
- The Alpenrost is a rotary drum coffee roaster, all others on the market currently are air roasters (or fluid-bed type roasters). The Alpenrost is the only radiant heat/convective roaster.
- The Alpenrost has a much slower roast time than air roasters (it takes 20 minutes as opposed to an air roaster’s 6-8 minute roast) which results in more bodyAssociated with and sensed by mouthfeel, body is sense of weight and thickness of the brew, caused by the percentage of soluble solids in the cup, including all... in the cup, a loss of brightnessA euphemistic term we use often to describe acidity in coffee. A bright coffee has more high, acidic notes. : A euphemistic term to describe acidity in coffee...., but perhaps a better roast for espressoA small coffee beverage, about 20 ml, prepared on an espresso machine where pressurized hot water extracted through compressed coffee.: In its most stripped-down, basic form, this is....
- It is quieter than air roasters: they sound like hair dryers …this sounds like a KitchenAid mixer set on a low speed. The flow-through ventilation separates chaffChaff is paper-like skin that comes off the coffee in the roasting process. Chaff from roasting is part of the innermost skin (the silverskin) of the coffee fruit... during the roast cycle and keeps the exterior of the machine cool to the touch during roasting.
- It has one touch roasting with effective chaff collection and removes the coffee from the drum at the end of the roast into a cup at the end of the unit. But I consider it more of the “hobbiest” roaster because you need to attend to some details on this machine: you really MUST weigh out the batches of green beans. 7 oz. of green coffeeGreen coffee refers to the processed seed of the coffee tree fruit. Coffee is a flowering shrub that produces fruit. The seeds of the fruit are processed, roasted,... roasts much darker than 8 oz. of green coffee at the same setting. So a good scale is needed (we have one, or there are others out there on the market used for postal purposes). But the roaster will roast consistenly with the same weight of green coffee in the drum.
- I consider the Alpenrost a machine for the dedicated home roaster, those not afraid of a little smoke (if you don’t have any stovetop hood venting –or other venting — I would not recommend this machine!) and for those determined to roast 1/2 lb of coffee. Not great for first time roasters because you can not see the batch in progress. Click here for more of our Review of the Alpenrost including Pros and Cons, and a quick comparison to other home roasters on the market

Alpenrost A811902: Silver/Black Finish with 8 lbs. coffee $289 (+ 24 lbs. shipping). Shipping in the US by UPS Ground is between $7 and $13 depending on distance) including our double 8-Pack Green Coffee Sampler: That’s our selection of 8 types, 1 full pound each, a $38.00 value! No longer made
Alpenrost A811902: Silver/Black Finish without coffee $279 (+ 16 lbs. shipping). Shipping in the US by UPS Ground is between $6 and $11 depending on distance). This includes no green coffee. As you can see, we make it a really good deal to get it with the coffee: a $38.00 minimum value for $10. My suggestion: get it with the coffee! But this package might be necessary for overseas orders, etc. No longer made
