Six years ago I was contacted by an inventor who asked me to test out a new prototype roaster that he had just created – I was dubious – mainly because it was a wooden block, a glass tube and a cork. It was called ‘Ikawa’ and I ran a series of tests against a small commercial sample roaster. It was almost as good as the commercial roaster and therefore it appeared to be a good solution for roasters who want a portable solution or an affordable solution for home roasting enthusiasts. Now Ikawa is in production – The world’s first digital micro-roaster has launched and it claims that it is changing the way we roast and drink coffee. but could it change the industry?

Ikawa launched at London Coffee Festival, the home Roaster can give coffee enthusiasts around the world the chance to indulge their curiosity and taste buds through roasting their own coffee at home –
and controlling the roast recipe from a smart-phone or i-Pad. The idea is to get rid of to stale pre-packaged coffee and unlock flavour and evocative aromas of freshly-roasted coffee in your kitchen.

Award-winning start-up IKAWA supply their micro-roasters (IKAWA Pro Roaster) to coffee professionals around the world. It is also aimed at consumers, this model is perfect for coffee lovers who want to take their passion to the next level and roast their coffee like a professional, from home.

It’s been a six year journey for Andrew Stordy who invented the concept while studying at the Royal College of Art and has developed over a hundred prototypes, receiving support from James Dyson in
patenting the unique roasting system. The company aims to change the way we appreciate coffee for good.

“Our micro-roaster is perfect for anyone who loves fantastic coffee – your very first roast will be perfect; the green coffee beans we supply come with a recommended roast recipe which the roaster follows precisely. Then you can start to get adventurous and use our IKAWA app to change the duration, temperature and even airflow in the machine to open up a world of
flavours.”

To complement the machine, IKAWA have been working with coffee producers to source the finest quality green coffee beans from origins such as Burundi, Ethiopia, Brazil and Guatemala.
Andrew grew up in coffee growing countries and has the mission for IKAWA to change the coffee industry for the benefit of coffee growers as well as coffee drinkers. Through innovating the supply chain as well as the technology, IKAWA hope to bring a more freshness to coffee lovers, while also providing a rewarding trading relationship with coffee growers and investing into a quality improvement fund.

IKAWA won an award from Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) and was finalist in Hass School of Business Global Social Venture Competition for their micro-roaster and, although it sounds
like a futuristic concept, it is already being used as a tool for coffee professionals who are enjoying the compact and carryable IKAWA Pro Roaster.