Gourmet Coffee Roasters:

St. Ives uses two Diedrich roasters. The IR-20 model is used for small high quality batches of coffee ( 5 to 25 lbs.) it uses infrared gas burners that heat the roasting drum and a heat exchanger. Air is drawn over the heat exchanger converting the radiant heat to convective heat ( hot air ) which is then drawn into the drum to roast the coffee. This means there are two separate heat controls: the burners and the hot air controlled by air flow. This allows the operator to accurately control the drum temperature, the rate at which the beans are roasted and the timing for large or small roasts.

For large-scale production we have a Diedrich C-160 that roasts 60 to 400 lbs. of coffee in about twenty minutes. The C-160 is a prototype of the largest roaster Diedrich have built to date in their product lineup and uses atmospheric burners for straight on convective heat. It has an operating rate of close to 1 million BTU in heat output, enough to heat a good size school.

Both our roasters require careful treatment and meticulous maintenance but we also believe they produce the finest of product. St. Ives looked at many makes, models and different roasting techniques before we chose our roasters. In summary, we consider the "fine wine" approach to roasting coffee to be irreplaceable. Only the use of hand, eye, nose and ears can best develop the characteristics of each coffee and drop it into the cooling bin at exactly the right second.

St. Ives brought high tech to our packaging and finished product to ensure the freshly roasted qualities of our coffee were retained as long as possible, but that's another story!