The Coffee Roaster
The Coffee Roaster is an Australian specialty coffee roaster founded in 1991, operating roastery-cafés in Sydney and Brisbane. It sells freshly air-roasted single origin and blended Arabica coffee via D2C e-commerce, B2B wholesale, and private label services using proprietary Chinook roasting technology.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersAlexandria, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What The Coffee Roaster does
The Coffee Roaster is an Australian specialty coffee roaster founded in 1991 in Sydney by Dan and JoAnne Fitzsimmons, operating production roasteries in Alexandria (Sydney) and Brisbane, plus an in-store espresso bar café. The company roasts Specialty Grade Arabica coffee from approximately 30 single origins and sells 18+ proprietary named blends (TCR01–TCR102) via direct-to-consumer e-commerce (coffee.com.au), B2B wholesale, and private label roasting services for cafés and espresso bars, with free shipping across Australia for 1kg+ orders and same-day dispatch on orders placed before 12 noon.
Its core technology is the proprietary Chinook Fresh Air Coffee Roaster, an air-suspension roasting system with computer-controlled profiling that monitors variables 10 times per second and automatically compensates for varying bean moisture. A Near Infrared (Agtron) analyser measures roast degree both inside and outside the bean. The company also designs and sells the smaller Piccolo Chinook sample roaster (200g–4kg batches) and offers contract/backup roasting, Roast Your Own in-store experiences, and roastery tours. Pricing spans $13.50–$190 per product, with a subscription service, gift certificates, and educational courses layered on top.
The business model blends one-time product sales, recurring subscriptions, professional services (private label, contract roasting, education), and equipment sales. Customer segments include individual coffee enthusiasts, café and espresso bar owners, Australian coffee growers, and experiential/educational customers. The company has won multiple industry awards (Royal Hobart, Sydney Royal Agricultural Society, AICA, Golden Bean) between 2011 and 2019 and remains privately held by its founders.
The Coffee Roaster firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Coffee Roaster
- Legal name
- The Coffee Roaster
- Website
- https://coffee.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Coffee Roaster is an Australian specialty coffee roaster founded in 1991, operating roastery-cafés in Sydney and Brisbane. It sells freshly air-roasted single origin and blended Arabica coffee via D2C e-commerce, B2B wholesale, and private label services using proprietary Chinook roasting technology.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Coffee Roaster industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Coffee Roasting
- NAICS
- Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Coffee Roasting & Grinding (AFAFADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing (AFAFADAJ), Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE), Coffee, Tea & Cacao Experiences (Roastery Tours, Tastings) (THAJAGAH)
Keywords
Where The Coffee Roaster is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Alexandria
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices3 records
Markets served
The Coffee Roaster business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Retail Coffee Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of single origin and blended coffee beans. Products available in multiple sizes (250g to 3kg) with option for beans or various grind types. Orders roasted fresh and shipped within 24 hours.
- Coffee Subscription Service: Recurring subscription model delivering fresh roasted coffee at customer-specified frequencies (weekly or monthly). Available for all blended and single origin products. Ensures customer retention and predictable revenue.
- Private Label Roasting Services: B2B service creating custom coffee blends with unique flavor profiles for café and espresso bar owners to sell under their own branding and logo. Captures goodwill and increases coffee beverage sales for clients.
- Backup/Contract Roasting Services: Provides roasting capacity to coffee businesses during downtime, relocations, or anticipated maintenance periods. Creates roasting profiles using Agtron analyzer for consistent replication.
- Roast Your Own Coffee Experience: In-store experience where customers select origins, create custom blends, and operate the Piccolo Chinook roaster themselves. Includes guided session, 1kg of custom roasted coffee to take home, and complimentary beverage.
- Education & Training: Introduction to coffee roasting courses and guided roastery tours. Educational services teaching coffee roasting fundamentals and cupping techniques.
- Wholesale Accounts: Supply of roasted coffee to café and restaurant partners. Fresh coffee deliveries to wholesale customers, customized aging options available.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard blended and single origin coffees priced by weight |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Premium/specialty single origins |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Roast Your Own Coffee Experience |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Custom Roast to Order Service |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Coffee Roaster product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Coffee Roaster roasts and ships specialty grade Arabica coffee, both single origin (approximately 30 origins) and signature blended varieties, using proprietary Chinook air roasting technology. Orders are roasted to order and dispatched within hours, with same-day roasting for orders placed before noon and free shipping on purchases of 1kg or more across Australia. Beyond direct-to-consumer sales, the company supplies wholesale coffee to cafés, offers private label and contract roasting services, sells the Piccolo Chinook sample roaster, and operates physical roastery cafés in Sydney and Brisbane where customers can also participate in guided 'Roast Your Own Coffee' experiences.
Product overview
The Coffee Roaster operates as a specialty coffee company offering a portfolio of products and services centered around air-roasted specialty grade Arabica coffee. The core offerings include single origin coffees sourced from approximately 30 origins worldwide and 18+ signature blended coffee varieties, which are freshly air-roasted and shipped within hours of roasting. The company operates Chinook Fresh Air Coffee Roasters (production 30Kg units and Piccolo sample roasters from 500g to 4Kg) and provides private label roasting services, wholesale supply, and education/training programs. Customers can also experience roasting their own coffee in-store using the Piccolo Chinook roaster or order custom roasts online. The business maintains retail cafe locations in Sydney (Alexandria) and Brisbane.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Single Origin Coffee Specialty Grade Arabica single origin coffees sourced from approximately 30 origins worldwide, freshly air roasted on the Chinook system and shipped within hours of roasting, available in multiple sizes (250g to 3kg) as beans or various grind types. Targeted at individual coffee enthusiasts seeking premium specialty coffee for home brewing.
- Blended Coffee Signature coffee blends combining beans from different origins to create balanced, consistent flavor profiles, including organic and decaf variants (TCR99). Available in multiple sizes with beans or various grind types. Targeted at individual consumers and wholesale café customers.
- Piccolo Chinook Fresh Air Coffee Roaster Computer-controlled sample roaster capable of roasting 500 grams to 4 Kg with no warm-up required, featuring a touch screen interface for batch size, profile selection, and roast parameters. Includes Near Infrared Agtron Spectrophotometer roast degree measurement and generates roast profile reports with temperature graphs. Targeted at other roasters, coffee businesses, and in-store experience customers.
- Private Label Roasting Services Custom coffee roasting service for café and espresso bar owners, including creation of unique flavor profile blends with the customer's logo and branding, freshness customization, and backup roasting services. Targeted at café and espresso bar owners seeking a unique branded coffee offering.
- Wholesale Coffee Wholesale supply of freshly roasted coffee to café and restaurant partners, with customized aging options available and fresh deliveries shipped within 24 hours of roasting. Targeted at café, restaurant, and foodservice operators.
- Education and Training Coffee roasting education including introduction to coffee roasting courses, roastery tours, and cupping demonstrations at the Sydney and Brisbane roasteries. Targeted at coffee enthusiasts, hospitality professionals, and Australian coffee growers.
- Roast Your Own Coffee In-Store Experience Guided in-store coffee roasting experience at the roastery café where customers select from over 16 coffee origins, choose roast levels, and roast 1kg of custom coffee using the Piccolo Chinook roaster, receiving a roast profile printout and a complimentary beverage. Priced at $60 per person. Targeted at coffee enthusiasts, gift purchasers, and experiential learners.
- Roast to Order Specialty Online custom-roasted specialty grade Arabica coffee service allowing customers to order specific origins roasted to their preference, priced from $70.00 to $190.00. Targeted at individual coffee enthusiasts seeking custom roast profiles.
- Roast to Order Organic Online custom-roasted certified organic coffee service for customers who want organic green beans roasted to their preference. Targeted at individual coffee enthusiasts seeking organic specialty coffee.
- Coffee Subscription Recurring delivery subscription for freshly roasted coffee, available for single origin and blended varieties with customer-specified weekly or monthly frequency. Targeted at individual coffee consumers seeking predictable delivery of fresh roasted coffee.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100% satisfaction guarantee - refund or exchange no questions asked
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Coffee Roaster
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Coffee Roaster technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
The Coffee Roaster partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Chinook Coffee RoasterscoreLicensed technology partnership for Chinook Fresh Air Coffee Roasters. The first Chinook roasting system was designed and installed in 1996 with continued development. Chinook design has been installed along Australia's east coast and internationally in USA and New Zealand.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Coffee Roaster competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Code Black Coffee: Melbourne specialty roaster with roastery cafe, wholesale, and strong barista competition pedigree; comparable award-winning small-batch roasting business model.
- St Ali Coffee Roasters: Melbourne-based specialty roaster with flagship cafe, DTC, B2B and education/training services; directly comparable multi-channel specialty coffee operation in the Australian market.
- Ona Coffee: Australian specialty coffee roaster with roastery cafes, B2B wholesale, and experimental coffee programs; directly comparable to TCR across single-origin, blends, subscription, and private-label services.
- Campos Coffee: Australian specialty roaster with cafe locations, DTC e-commerce, B2B wholesale, and private-label offerings; comparable roastery-cafe hybrid model to TCR with broader scale.
- Seven Seeds Coffee Roasters: Melbourne specialty coffee roaster with cafe, education, and direct trade sourcing program; comparable craft roaster operating in the same Australian third-wave category.
- Market Lane Coffee: Australian specialty roaster with multiple Melbourne cafes, DTC subscriptions, and B2B wholesale serving similar consumer segments and roast profile philosophy to TCR.
- Single O: Sydney-based specialty roaster operating roastery cafes (Surry Hills), B2B wholesale, and DTC subscriptions with strong brand identity; head-to-head competitor in the same geography and customer segments.
- Proud Mary Coffee: Australian-origin specialty roaster with cafes in Melbourne and Portland (USA), wholesale, and strong direct trade program; comparable DTC + cafe hybrid model with international footprint.
Broad incumbents
- Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters: Larger established Australian specialty roaster (now owned by Woolworths-owned DTC platform) operating cafes, wholesale, and retail packaged coffee; overlaps with TCR but at greater scale and distribution.
- La Colombe Coffee Roasters: US specialty roaster with cafes, DTC subscriptions, and B2B; broader portfolio player in the same specialty-coffee-with-cafes category, useful for international comparability.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Coffee Roaster social profiles
Digital presenceThe Coffee Roaster financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Coffee Roaster leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
The Coffee Roaster funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Coffee Roaster M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Coffee Roaster
What does The Coffee Roaster do?
The Coffee Roaster roasts and ships specialty grade Arabica coffee, both single origin (approximately 30 origins) and signature blended varieties, using proprietary Chinook air roasting technology. Orders are roasted to order and dispatched within hours, with same-day roasting for orders placed before noon and free shipping on purchases of 1kg or more across Australia. Beyond direct-to-consumer sales, the company supplies wholesale coffee to cafés, offers private label and contract roasting services, sells the Piccolo Chinook sample roaster, and operates physical roastery cafés in Sydney and Brisbane where customers can also participate in guided 'Roast Your Own Coffee' experiences.
Is The Coffee Roaster a public or private company?
The Coffee Roaster is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Coffee Roaster founded?
The Coffee Roaster was founded in 1991. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Coffee Roaster based?
The Coffee Roaster is headquartered in Alexandria, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does The Coffee Roaster make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Retail Coffee Sales are the primary driver. The others are coffee Subscription Service, private Label Roasting Services, backup/Contract Roasting Services, roast Your Own Coffee Experience, education & Training and wholesale Accounts.
Who are The Coffee Roaster's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Code Black Coffee, St Ali Coffee Roasters, Ona Coffee, Campos Coffee, Seven Seeds Coffee Roasters, Market Lane Coffee, Single O and Proud Mary Coffee. Broad incumbents are Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters and La Colombe Coffee Roasters.
Does The Coffee Roaster have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Coffee Roaster.
What industry is The Coffee Roaster in?
The Coffee Roaster's product category is Specialty Coffee Roasting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAFADAB, Coffee Roasting & Grinding, with a secondary code of AFAFADAJ, Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing. Its NAICS code is 31192 and its SIC code is 2080.