The major features of this roaster that distinguish it from others are:

• The Alpenrost has a 1/2 lb. capacity, almost 3x the capacity of other home roasters.
• The Alpenrost is a rotary drum coffee roaster, all others on the market currently are air roasters (or fluid-bed type roasters). The Alpenrost is the only radiant heat/convective roaster.
• The Alpenrost has a much slower roast time than air roasters (it takes 20 minutes as opposed to an air roaster's 6-8 minute roast) which results in more body in the cup, a loss of brightness, but perhaps a better roast for espresso.
• It is quieter than air roasters: they sound like hair dryers ...this sounds like a KitchenAid mixer set on a low speed. The flow-through ventilation separates chaff during the roast cycle and keeps the exterior of the machine cool to the touch during roasting.
• It has one touch roasting with effective chaff collection and removes the coffee from the drum at the end of the roast into a cup at the end of the unit. But I consider it more of the "hobbiest" roaster because you need to attend to some details on this machine: you really MUST weigh out the batches of green beans. 7 oz. of green coffee roasts much darker than 8 oz. of green coffee at the same setting. So a good scale is needed (we have one, or there are others out there on the market used for postal purposes). But the roaster will roast consistenly with the same weight of green coffee in the drum.
• I consider the Alpenrost a machine for the dedicated home roaster, those not afraid of a little smoke (if you don't have any stovetop hood venting --or other venting -- I would not recommend this machine!) and for those determined to roast 1/2 lb of coffee. Not great for first time roasters because you can not see the batch in progress. Click here for more of our Review of the Alpenrost including Pros and Cons, and a quick comparison to other home roasters on the market