[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":200},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guides-en-GB-roast-loss-and-shrinkage":3},{"kind":4,"guide":5,"categorySlugs":192},"guide",{"key":6,"slug":6,"slugs":7,"category":14,"order":15,"schema":16,"title":17,"seoTitle":18,"description":19,"excerpt":20,"keywords":21,"published":29,"updated":29,"readingMinutes":30,"cover":31,"related":34,"body":59,"faq":115,"products":125,"sources":134,"paths":135,"slugMap":136,"categorySlug":191},"roast-loss-and-shrinkage",{"de-DE":8,"fr-FR":9,"es-ES":10,"es-419":10,"pt-BR":11,"pt-PT":11,"it-IT":12,"nl-NL":13},"roestverlust-und-schwund","perte-a-la-torrefaction-et-freinte","merma-de-tueste-y-perdidas","quebra-de-torra-e-perdas","calo-peso-in-tostatura-e-perdite","brandverlies-en-krimp","running",17,"Article","Roast loss and shrinkage: where your kilos go","Coffee Roast Loss: How to Measure and Cost It","What coffee roast loss is, typical ranges by roast degree, how to measure it per batch, and how roast loss changes cost per kg and margin.","Every kilo of green coffee comes out of the roaster lighter. How much lighter depends on the coffee and the roast, and it changes your cost per kilo more than most price negotiations.",{"primary":22,"secondary":23,"intent":28},"coffee roast loss",[24,25,26,27],"roast weight loss percentage","coffee shrinkage roasting","how much weight does coffee lose when roasted","green to roasted ratio","informational","2026-10-09",6,{"figure":32,"kicker":33},"15%","Roast loss",[35,43,51],{"key":36,"slug":36,"category":14,"title":37,"excerpt":38,"readingMinutes":39,"updated":29,"cover":40},"gross-margin-per-kg","Gross margin per kilo: the number that runs a roastery","Turnover tells you how busy you are. Gross margin per kilo, by channel and by coffee, tells you which customers and products actually pay the rent.",7,{"figure":41,"kicker":42},"£ \u002F kg","Margin",{"key":44,"slug":44,"category":45,"title":46,"excerpt":47,"readingMinutes":30,"updated":29,"cover":48},"development-time-and-roast-logging","quality","Development time and roast logging: the business case","Every batch you do not log is a batch you cannot repeat, explain or improve. What to log, how development time fits in, and what good records save in money and time.",{"figure":49,"kicker":50},"DTR","Roast logging",{"key":52,"slug":52,"category":53,"title":54,"excerpt":55,"readingMinutes":30,"updated":29,"cover":56},"green-coffee-moisture-and-density","green-coffee","Moisture, water activity and density in green coffee","Three quick measurements tell you how a green coffee has been dried and stored, how long it is likely to hold up, and how it will take heat in the roaster.",{"figure":57,"kicker":58},"10 to 12%","Moisture",[60,62,64,87,89,91,93,95,97,104,106,108],{"p":61},"Roast loss is the weight lost between green coffee going into the roaster and roasted coffee coming out, as a percentage of the green weight. Most of it is water: green coffee typically holds around 10% to 12% moisture. The rest is organic matter driven off as gases, and chaff.",{"h2":63},"Typical ranges",{"chart":65},{"type":66,"title":67,"suffix":68,"axis_min":69,"axis_max":70,"items":71,"note":86},"range","Roast loss by roast degree, typical ranges","%",8,24,[72,76,78,82],{"label":73,"min":74,"max":75},"Light (filter)",11,14,{"label":77,"min":75,"max":15},"Medium",{"label":79,"min":80,"max":81},"Medium-dark (espresso)",16,19,{"label":83,"min":84,"max":85},"Dark",18,22,"Indicative ranges only; your own figures depend on the coffee's moisture, density, processing and your profile. Measure every batch.",{"h2":88},"How to measure it",{"p":90},"Weigh the green charge and the roasted output of every batch on the same calibrated scale, after cooling and before any is taken for samples. Roast loss = (green weight minus roasted weight) divided by green weight. Record it in the batch log. Over a few weeks you will have a reliable figure for each coffee and profile.",{"h2":92},"What it does to cost",{"p":94},"Green cost per roasted kilo is green price divided by (1 minus roast loss). At £9.00 per kg green, a 14% loss gives £10.47 per roasted kilo, while an 18% loss gives £10.98. That half a pound per kilo is often more than the discount you negotiated on the green.",{"h2":96},"Other shrinkage",{"ul":98},[99,100,101,102,103],"**Destoner and handling losses:** spilled beans, stones, defects removed.","**Sample roasts and QC cups:** small, but count them.","**Overruns:** batches rounded up and roasted coffee that ages out.","**Packing tolerance:** filling above declared weight to stay legal under the average system. See [coffee labelling](guide:coffee-labelling-uk).","**Moisture loss in storage:** green coffee can lose weight slowly in dry storage.",{"h2":105},"Reconcile monthly",{"p":107},"Once a month, compare green coffee used (opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock) with roasted coffee sold and in stock. The gap is your total shrinkage. If it is larger than your logged roast loss explains, look at overfilling, waste and unrecorded samples.",{"checklist":109,"title":114},[110,111,112,113],"Green and roasted weights recorded for every batch","Roast loss averaged per coffee and profile, updated monthly","Pack fill weights checked against the target","Monthly reconciliation of green used vs roasted sold","Shrinkage controls",[116,119,122],{"q":117,"a":118},"How much weight does coffee lose when roasted?","Commonly somewhere around 12% to 20%, more for darker roasts. It varies with the coffee's moisture and density and with your profile, so measure your own.",{"q":120,"a":121},"How much green coffee do I need for 1 kg of roasted coffee?","Divide 1 kg by (1 minus your roast loss). At 15% that is about 1.18 kg of green.",{"q":123,"a":124},"Does roast loss tell me the roast degree?","It correlates with it and is a useful consistency check, but colour measurement and cupping are better guides to roast degree.",[126,130],{"target":127,"label":128,"note":129},"page:factory","Green and roasted weight per batch","Roast loss calculated on every log.",{"target":131,"label":132,"note":133},"page:green-coffee-inventory","Stock reconciliation","Green used against roasted produced, by lot.",[],{"en-US":6,"en-GB":6,"de-DE":8,"es-ES":10,"es-419":10,"fr-FR":9,"it-IT":12,"ja-JP":6,"pt-BR":11,"nl-NL":13,"el-GR":6,"fi-FI":6,"et-EE":6,"lv-LV":6,"lt-LT":6,"sk-SK":6,"sl-SI":6,"pt-PT":11},{"how-to-start-a-coffee-roasting-business":137,"coffee-roastery-business-plan":138,"coffee-roastery-startup-costs":139,"roastery-premises-and-planning-permission":140,"register-a-food-business-as-a-coffee-roaster":141,"haccp-plan-for-coffee-roasters":142,"insurance-for-coffee-roasters":143,"business-structure-for-a-roastery":144,"how-to-price-wholesale-coffee":145,"retail-coffee-pricing":146,"gross-margin-per-kg":36,"roastery-cash-flow":147,"staffing-a-roastery":148,"roastery-production-planning":149,"batch-scheduling-for-roasters":150,"roast-loss-and-shrinkage":6,"roastery-stock-control":151,"choosing-a-coffee-roaster":152,"gas-vs-electric-coffee-roasters":153,"new-vs-used-coffee-roaster":154,"buying-a-used-coffee-roaster-checklist":155,"importing-a-coffee-roaster":156,"afterburners-and-roaster-emissions":157,"roastery-extraction-and-ventilation":158,"commercial-coffee-grinders-for-roasteries":159,"coffee-packing-lines-and-heat-sealers":160,"coffee-roaster-maintenance-schedule":161,"leasing-vs-buying-roastery-equipment":162,"how-to-buy-green-coffee":163,"green-coffee-importers-vs-direct-trade":164,"importing-green-coffee-into-the-uk":165,"green-coffee-contracts-and-incoterms":166,"green-coffee-samples-and-sample-roasting":167,"grading-and-cupping-green-coffee":168,"green-coffee-moisture-and-density":52,"storing-green-coffee":169,"green-coffee-landed-cost":170,"selling-wholesale-coffee-to-cafes":171,"cafe-wholesale-account-terms":172,"coffee-subscription-business":173,"selling-coffee-online":174,"selling-coffee-at-markets-and-events":175,"private-label-coffee":176,"b2b-coffee-pricing-tiers":177,"coffee-labelling-uk":178,"allergens-for-coffee-roasters":179,"vat-on-coffee":180,"coffee-traceability":181,"food-safety-records-for-roasters":182,"roast-profiling-for-consistency":183,"coffee-roastery-qc-programme":184,"production-cupping-protocol":185,"development-time-and-roast-logging":44,"coffee-roasting-software-buyers-guide":186,"when-to-buy-a-second-roaster":187,"contract-roasting":188,"hiring-a-head-roaster":189,"multi-site-roastery":190},"how-to-start-a-coffee-roasting-business","coffee-roastery-business-plan","coffee-roastery-startup-costs","roastery-premises-and-planning-permission","register-a-food-business-as-a-coffee-roaster","haccp-plan-for-coffee-roasters","insurance-for-coffee-roasters","business-structure-for-a-roastery","how-to-price-wholesale-coffee","retail-coffee-pricing","roastery-cash-flow","staffing-a-roastery","roastery-production-planning","batch-scheduling-for-roasters","roastery-stock-control","choosing-a-coffee-roaster","gas-vs-electric-coffee-roasters","new-vs-used-coffee-roaster","buying-a-used-coffee-roaster-checklist","importing-a-coffee-roaster","afterburners-and-roaster-emissions","roastery-extraction-and-ventilation","commercial-coffee-grinders-for-roasteries","coffee-packing-lines-and-heat-sealers","coffee-roaster-maintenance-schedule","leasing-vs-buying-roastery-equipment","how-to-buy-green-coffee","green-coffee-importers-vs-direct-trade","importing-green-coffee-into-the-uk","green-coffee-contracts-and-incoterms","green-coffee-samples-and-sample-roasting","grading-and-cupping-green-coffee","storing-green-coffee","green-coffee-landed-cost","selling-wholesale-coffee-to-cafes","cafe-wholesale-account-terms","coffee-subscription-business","selling-coffee-online","selling-coffee-at-markets-and-events","private-label-coffee","b2b-coffee-pricing-tiers","coffee-labelling-uk","allergens-for-coffee-roasters","vat-on-coffee","coffee-traceability","food-safety-records-for-roasters","roast-profiling-for-consistency","coffee-roastery-qc-programme","production-cupping-protocol","coffee-roasting-software-buyers-guide","when-to-buy-a-second-roaster","contract-roasting","hiring-a-head-roaster","multi-site-roastery","running-a-roastery",{"starting":193,"running":191,"equipment":194,"green-coffee":195,"selling":196,"compliance":197,"quality":198,"scaling":199},"starting-a-roastery","roasting-equipment","green-coffee-buying","selling-coffee","compliance","roasting-quality","scaling-a-roastery",1791626954186]