IKAWA
Sources: IKAWA (website)
IKAWA Ltd is a London-based coffee technology company founded in 2010 (registered in England and Wales, company no. 07133409). They debuted the first Pro Sample Roaster at SCA World of Coffee in 2012. As of May 2026, IKAWA has sold roasters to customers in 74+ countries who have collectively roasted over 2 million samples. IKAWA sells direct to all markets — no regional distributor network is described. (source: IKAWA (website))
Product Lineup
All IKAWA sample roasters are hot-air (convection) machines — they use a high-velocity stream of heated air, not a drum. The primary controls are inlet air temperature and fan speed. This is the same principle as ROEST and fluid-bed sample roasters generally.
IKAWA GO
- Batch size: 50 g
- One-button operation — no app, no profile programming
- USB-C charging; zero wait time between roasts
- No inlet/exhaust sensors, no humidity sensor, no Peli case
- Positioned as the entry-level professional and at-origin option
IKAWA Pro50 / Pro100
- Batch sizes: 50 g (Pro50) or 100 g (Pro100)
- IKAWA Pro App controlled via Bluetooth (iOS and Android)
- Includes inlet and exhaust sensors; ships in custom Peli case
- Supports repeatable profile control, online roast library, profile sharing
- Power: 100/120/230V universal
- Warranty: 12 months return-to-base (UK)
IKAWA Pro50x / Pro100x
All Pro features, plus:
- Humidity sensor — monitors moisture release from beans throughout the roast
- Auto-Detect First Crack — uses humidity data to detect first crack objectively, without relying on sound (works in noisy environments)
- Target Development Mode — operator pre-sets a target development time in seconds; the machine detects first crack automatically and ends the roast at the exact target development time, regardless of total roast duration. A direct implementation of DTR control
- Moisture Release Graph — visual display of moisture release rate and timing throughout the roast; claimed as industry-first for sample roasters; useful for production scale-up mapping, green buying evaluation, and inventory monitoring
- Roast chamber LED light; USB-C phone charging while roasting
Key endorsement: Square Mile Coffee (London) reported halving the number of test batches needed after switching to the Pro100x. (source: IKAWA (website))
IKAWA Roastmaster (with Bühler)
A joint product between IKAWA and Bühler:
- Batch size: 5–20 kg; throughput up to 70 kg/hour (larger capacities available)
- Drum roaster — not hot-air; full production-scale technology
- Data-driven monitoring: temperature curves, airflow, and temperature profiling
- Positioned as the natural scale-up path for roasteries already using IKAWA sample roasters
This puts IKAWA in a different tier from pure sample roaster companies: it covers the full spectrum from 50 g bench samples to 20 kg production batches.
IKAWA Pro App
The IKAWA Pro App (iOS and Android, free) controls all Pro and Pro X roasters via Bluetooth. Key features:
- Roast profile creation and editing
- Online roast profile library — downloadable pre-made profiles for most coffee-growing countries and processing methods, including competition-winning profiles shared by the community
- Profile sharing (community forum: “Hot Air Community”)
- Roast log with history and notes
- Cropster CSAR integration (beta at time of crawl) — exports IKAWA roast data to the Cropster CSAR platform for sample management; free during beta, then priced by Cropster based on samples roasted per month. See Cropster.
Target Markets
IKAWA explicitly addresses five buyer segments:
| Segment | Key use case |
|---|---|
| Planning a roastery | Learn profiling before production roaster arrives; start green buying |
| Small roasteries | Hands-free sample roasting during production hours |
| Roasteries | Team consistency; reduce production test batches |
| Farmers | Roast samples during harvest for visiting buyers (at-origin use) |
| Traders | Evaluate samples anywhere; share profiles with roaster customers |
Notable customers: Square Mile Coffee, Verve Coffee Roasters, Spyhouse Coffee Roasters, Grind & Co, Monogram Coffee; green coffee traders Caravela, Nordic Approach, Café Imports. (source: IKAWA (website))
Key Differentiators vs. ROEST
Both IKAWA and ROEST are hot-air convection sample roasters in the 50–200 g class. The two are direct competitors. Key distinctions:
| Feature | IKAWA Pro X | ROEST L200 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| First crack detection | Humidity sensor (moisture-based) | Microphone (acoustic) |
| DTR automation | Target Development Mode (pre-set seconds) | Not mentioned |
| Moisture Release Graph | Yes (Pro X) | No |
| Counterflow mode | No | Yes (L200 Ultra only) |
| Max batch | 100 g | 200 g |
| Portability | Peli case standard | — |
| Production roaster tie-in | Roastmaster 5–20 kg (w/ Bühler) | P3000 1–3 kg |
| Profile sharing community | Hot Air Community (app-based) | ROEST Connect (web) |
ROEST emphasizes raw throughput and Counterflow technology; IKAWA emphasizes portability, moisture sensing, and automated development time control.
Pricing and Availability
No prices listed on the website — enquire via quote form. Payment options include instalment plans via Splitit (3–12 monthly payments; 3–7.5% fee) or interest-free US instalment (30% upfront, 70% over 12 months). Full-service preventive maintenance: £570 / €630/machine. IKAWA sells direct globally; no distributor network documented for sample roasters.
Relevance to Kaiserblick
The IKAWA GO is a compelling at-origin tool: roast-ready from the Peli case in under 10 minutes, one-button operation, zero wait between samples. For a farm or processing facility receiving buyers, this enables in-field cupping without a dedicated sample-roasting setup.
The Pro50x or Pro100x is the relevant lab bench roaster for Kaiserblick’s roasting operation if a second sample roaster (alongside ROEST) is considered — the Target Development Mode and Auto-Detect First Crack offer semi-automated profile iteration that reduces operator error during high-volume sample tasting.
The Roastmaster is out of scope at Kaiserblick’s current scale; ROEST’s P3000 (1–3 kg) is the more appropriate production bridge.