San Franciscan SF-6

the verdict

the SF-6 sits in the small cafe and artisan roaster category, handling 0.5 to 2.7 kg per batch. that's roughly 1 to 6 pounds of green coffee, which gives you enough capacity for a small retail program or steady wholesale accounts without jumping to a 10 or 15 kg machine. like all San Franciscan roasters, it's manual: gas valve and airflow controlled by hand, no computerized profiles unless you add a third-party controller. the upside is nimble heat adjustment and fast response when you need to react to a roast. the downside is that you're doing the work every time. build quality is solid, with the same schedule 40 steel drum and hand-fabricated construction as the rest of the lineup. if you're roasting many different single-origin lots and want control, the SF-6 fits. if you're planning to scale quickly or need automation for consistency, consider whether you'll outgrow the batch size or the manual workflow.