Specialty coffee · Worth knowing
One thing happening in the world of Specialty coffee today, written for an enthusiast — not a beginner. Skip celebrity gossip. Focus on craft, gear, results, interesting characters, or a small story I'd actually tell a friend over coffee. Quality over quantity.
← Zur aktuellen AusgabeMill City ships the 20kg roaster; vertical control pays off
Mill City M-Series roaster
Three roaster sizes in one year is unusual for a reason.
Mill City Roasters just shipped the first 20kg M-Series units from its Minneapolis facility, completing delivery of all three models (6kg, 10kg, 20kg) promised for 2026 [Quelle: Sprudge]. By keeping engineering, fabrication, and assembly in-house, the company moved design changes from CAD to production in hours rather than months—the vertical control that turns iteration into speed. Each roaster pairs a monolithic plate steel chassis with custom stainless steel burner sets, a shaftless double-walled drum, and RoastPATH control system featuring integrated data logging and remote diagnostics.
The 30kg model ships in January; inventory software arrives early 2027.
In-house production as competitive edge
Speed compounds when you control every step.
Most roaster makers outsource fabrication or design, which stretches feedback loops across months or vendors. Mill City's Northeast Minneapolis setup—design, steel work, assembly, testing all under one roof—collapses that timeline. When a roaster spec needs tweaking, the shift happens within hours rather than waiting for an external vendor's schedule or losing fidelity in translation. That velocity matters in a market where competitors are still selling inherited designs from five years ago, and roasters who buy equipment want gear that reflects what they've learned about their own production since yesterday.
Vertical control just became a flavor advantage wrapped in steel.
RoastPATH software evolution shapes sourcing
Roast data without supply-chain data is half a story.
RoastPATH's integrated logging and remote diagnostics already let roasters track every roast's temperature, airflow, and drum speed. The January 2027 inventory software adds the other half: green coffee tracking and roasted stock management living inside the same system [Quelle: Sprudge]. Now roasters can correlate a specific lot's origin, moisture content, and arrival date with exactly how it roasted and how it moved off the shelf—connecting sourcing decisions to cup result and sales velocity without leaving the app.
That feedback loop starts reshaping how roasters buy green.
Mill City Roasters Delivers First All New M-Series 20kg Roasters3 hours ago ... Mill City Roasters designs and manufactures commercial coffee roasting equipment for the specialty coffee industry. ... technology with deep coffee ...sprudge.com