Mill City Roasters Launches 2-Kilo Electric Roaster, the MCR-2E

The Mill City Roasters MCR-2E 2-kilo electric roaster. All images courtesy of Mill City Roasters.

Minneapolis-based roasting equipment maker Mill City Roasters has launched the MCR-2E, the company’s largest and most advanced electric-heat roaster to date. 

The 2-kilo-capacity MCR-2E pairs UL-listed 5,000 watt heating elements with a precision-laser-cut single-wall steel drum manufactured by Mill City in Minneapolis. 

Mill City previously offered 500-gram and 1-kilo sample roaster models with electric heat options, but discontinued those models to focus on improved performance. The launch of the 2E comes after two years of testing, Mill City President Steve Green recently told DCN.

The new machine reflects Mill City’s increased investment in fabrication and assembly in Minneapolis, where all of the MCR-2Es drums and heating elements will be made. Additional components continue to come from Mill City’s manufacturing partners in Shenzen, China.

Out of the box, the MCR-2E is outfitted with Mill City’s recently launched RoastPath roasting software.

Its 2-kilo chassis is designed to harvest heat from the exhaust path, similar to the efficiency-boosting process incorporated into Mill City’s 60-kilo production machines.

Precision in its electrical heat output is provided by an advanced programmable square wave modulation system, according to the company. The machine includes automation capabilities for preheating between batches, as well as assist functions for the charge, discharge and cooling tray commands. 

The MCR-2E is optionally available with the UL Sanitation certification necessary to meet NSF requirements for food service locations in California. For environments requiring further scent and emissions mitigation, the machine is designed to be paired with the Reicatino 100 system from environmental equipment company ReiCat. 

Green said he believes the MCR-2E is the “best performing electric of this size ever built.”

“We’re getting high-quality production capacity roasts without heat or roast defect,” Green said. “In serial production roasts of 10 or more batches, we’re holding 2-second accuracy to roast events like EOD (end of drying), first crack and finish temp, both manually and via automation.”

Starting at $15,000, the MCR-2E is currently available for delivery.

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