Coffee Roaster

Used by no other coffee roaster, this roasting machine is known as an Old Chicago Coffee Roaster as it was built specifically for use by Old Chicago Coffee only. No other coffee house has one of these roasters, only us. Designed with perfection and one goal in mind, to roast the best coffee ever. This machine does it better, 100% made in U.S.A. to our exact specifications, incorporating old world roasting methods and modern technology for roasting efficiency.

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Did You Know? ...

People in the U.S. drink an average of 416 cups of coffee each year.

Old Chicago Coffee Roaster

It all started with a unique drum design with strategically placed paddles, an agitator & spinner, and heating elements placed at certain degrees around the drum for even heat dissipation. Perforations in the paddles are also placed at certain diameters and angles for a more even roast around each coffee bean. The drum spans through double insulated ceramic walls which further irradiate heat back and forth through the perforations in the drum itself. This allows slow roasting where a single batch can take over 1 hour to complete, locking in more flavor and cooking the inner parts of the bean perfectly even. Although we would love to show the other features of this machine we are unable to, as that would show manufacturers some of our biggest secrets.

Coffee Milestones

Going back in time, to the beginning of Old Chicago Coffee, we remember how it all began. Back in the day, it all started with a coffee pot. Blend different styles and see how they taste. As coffee fanatics we needed to find a better coffee, it gets too plain when you keep drinking from the same place. We wanted a coffee with a flavor all its own, and a taste that never became dull & boring. Basically, a coffee that always tasted new & refreshing. We knew if we could achieve that we would have the ultimate coffee, so we decided a coffee pot was a waste of time, and so were coffee grinds gathered & blended together from everybody else. It was time to 'really' make the coffee ourselves, so we started planning, researching & learning methods of roasting great coffee.

To do it all we knew that we would need a coffee roasting machine, one that had the ability to roast a lot of coffee, we weren't thinking small at all. We knew that once we found the right way to make it better other coffee lovers would want it too, so we didn't bother with a little machine, we wanted a mega roaster from the start. We looked at dozens of roasters, all of which were essentially the same thing, just different names on them. Where's the difference? That's what we asked ourselves, and the answer? There is no difference, they all pretty much did the same thing where the coffee was roasted the same way. Next we learned that pretty much every coffee roasting company with a major brand and little coffee houses all over the country did it this way too, so again, where's the unique coffee?

Sure, it's in the beans, or is it? No, it's not just the beans.. The beans are important, they come in many varieties and grow in many climates, but roasting all of them the same way? Didn't seem very practical, so we started designing the ultimate machine because what we wanted did not exist. It took forever to have this completed, but when it was ready it worked! Should we sell these? We thought about it, but quickly remembered our goal, to make better coffee, not sell coffee roasters. So we continued, and started collecting coffee beans from all over the world, from the supposed 'best coffee beans' with hefty price tags to the cheap coffee beans that nobody wanted. What we found with our massive variety of beans and our specialty coffee roaster was a way to roast to the point where they were just fantastic, regardless of their origin.

Next we took our favorites and narrowed it down bean by bean until we had the ultimate roast. We did one roast after another, searching for something special. After 41 roasts and exhausting hours we began roast # 42 (and these were just for our records, we never planned to have that number stick). Upon completing the roast the beans were cooled and stored as they needed to be, which we did with each of the 41 other roasts as well. You can't just make coffee after roasting, you have to wait a certain amount of time first to let the beans do their natural thing.

Once the time came we ground the beans and made some coffee. Each time we made coffee we did it in a standard auto-drip coffee maker, as that's the most popular way of making coffee at home, so that mattered. We didn't use fancy equipment to brew the Joe like some major brands do because it can taste different from their way to your way, so what they may think is wonderful you might not. The coffee, as it brewed, suddenly filled the room with an aroma to die for. It smelled that good.

Now the excitement begins, because we almost can't wait to try it, hoping we finally have the coffee we've been anxiously searching for after nearly 14 months of trial and error. When it was ready we poured the cups, smelled the fragrance off the top, and it was wonderful, exactly what we wanted, unique and noticeably different when compared to other famous off the shelf brands of that time period. At first taste, well, it was enough. You didn't even need to try it again, but you had to because it was so good. So, we had it, and one person sputtered out 'Blend Number 42, it's a winner!' -- and the name stuck.

As time has gone by we have discovered new methods of roasting, cooling & storing coffee beans to keep them fresher, have more flavor and be just plain delicious, all without any additives or preservatives. Matter of fact, our coffee beans are 100% pure, nothing is done to them outside of using some old world style methods for roasting and locking in the flavor, along with our own little discoveries found while roasting millions of coffee beans. Old Chicago Coffee is all natural and always will be.

World's Best Coffee

We are sure, without a doubt, that we have the World's Best Coffee. There is probably not a single brand of coffee, grocery store bought or retail coffee house, that we haven't tried. We have traveled all over, including the United States, Canada, Mexico & Central America and consumed coffee from places everywhere imaginable over a good 20 year period of tasting. Until we find a coffee that is better we will continue to agree that Old Chicago Coffee is the best coffee you can buy. If you think you know of a brand we could not have possibly tried please let us know, we'd love to put it to the test. If the day ever comes where we find a better coffee we will stop claiming the title to the World's best coffee, but for now, try it for yourself and you will be quick to notice that there's nothing else like it.