Air Roasted Coffee Brands: Where to Buy Air Roasted Coffee Online
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Quick Summary
Air roasted coffee brands you can buy online in the U.S. include Gigawatt Coffee Roasters (Bensenville, Illinois), Graffeo (San Francisco, California), Legendary Aviation Coffee (Rockwall, Texas), rhost coffee (Costa Mesa, California) and The Roasterie (Kansas City, Missouri). They differ in how they roast with air, what they sell, and what you pay per ounce.
Full disclosure: we're Gigawatt, the first roaster on this list. We air roast every bag ourselves, so we've kept this guide to facts you can check on each roaster's own website.
Key Takeaways:
New to air roasting? Start with how it works →
What counts as air roasted coffee?
Most coffee is roasted in a drum: a heated metal cylinder that tumbles the beans as they roast. Air roasted coffee is roasted on hot air instead. In a fluid-bed roaster, a column of hot air lifts the beans and keeps them moving, so the beans roast on a bed of hot air rather than tumbling against a hot drum wall, and the airflow carries the chaff away during the roast.
Not every brand that says "air roasted" uses the same machine. Some roast in a true fluid bed, where the air does all the work. Others use hot-air drum systems, where hot air is recirculated through a drum. Both can make good coffee. If you want the purest version of air roasting, look for the words fluid-bed or fluid bed on the roaster's site.
"Ours is forced hot air through a chamber, much like a big popcorn machine."
— Eli Coleman, Co-Founder of Gigawatt Coffee Roasters, on The Locals
Want the side-by-side? Our guide to air roasted vs drum roasted coffee walks through how each method works and what it changes in the cup, and our page on air roasted coffee covers how we roast.
Air roasted coffee brands compared
Here's how the five roasters on this list compare, using what each one says about itself and the prices on its own website when we wrote this. Bag sizes differ (10 oz, 12 oz and 1 lb), so the price per ounce is the fair way to compare.
| Roaster | How they roast | Price | Per ounce | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gigawatt Coffee Roasters (us), Bensenville, IL | Fluid-bed, small batch | $13.99 for 10 oz | about $1.40 | Fresh small-batch coffee you drink every day |
| Graffeo Coffee, San Francisco, CA | Fluid-bed blends, since 1935 | $25.99 for 1 lb | about $1.62 | A classic dark or light blend |
| Legendary Aviation Coffee, Rockwall, TX | Air-roasted single origins | $24.99–$26.99 for 1 lb | about $1.56–$1.69 | Exploring single origins |
| rhost coffee, Costa Mesa, CA | Air-roasted specialty coffee | $19.50–$21 for 12 oz | about $1.63–$1.75 | Specialty single origins |
| The Roasterie, Kansas City, MO | Calls its coffee air-roasted | $19.50–$21 for 12 oz | about $1.63–$1.75 | Variety, including flavored coffees |
Where to buy air roasted coffee online
1. Gigawatt Coffee Roasters (Bensenville, Illinois): fluid-bed, sold direct
That's us. We're a husband-and-wife roastery, family-run since 2020, and every bag is roasted on a fluid-bed air roaster in small batches. We roast blends, single origins, espresso, half caff and a water processed decaf. We don't run a café: we sell online and at our market booths, which is how we keep a 10 oz bag at $13.99. We write the roast date on every bag by hand, and orders ship in 1–3 days. We have 3,000+ five-star reviews, and the word customers use most is "smooth."
Best for: fresh, small-batch coffee you drink every day. Most people start with Kite & Key Blend, our medium dark roast with dark chocolate, walnut and caramel notes, or Live Wire Espresso Blend if they pull shots. Decaf drinkers go for Static Resistor, our water processed decaf.
2. Graffeo Coffee (San Francisco, California): the long-running classic
Graffeo describes itself as family-owned in San Francisco since 1935, selling fluid-bed roasted blends rather than single origins. Its 1 lb bags are $25.99, in dark, light, a half-and-half custom blend and a Swiss Water decaf.
Best for: a simple dark or light blend from a roaster with almost a century behind it.
3. Legendary Aviation Coffee (Rockwall, Texas): single origins
Legendary Aviation sells air-roasted, single-origin specialty coffee from Rockwall, Texas, and describes itself as 100% disabled veteran owned. Its 1 lb bags run about $24.99 to $26.99.
Best for: exploring single origins one country at a time.
4. rhost coffee (Costa Mesa, California): specialty single origins
rhost says it sources specialty beans in small batches and air-roasts them in California, at its roastery in Costa Mesa. Its 12 oz bags run about $19.50 to $21, with 5 lb bags for regular drinkers.
Best for: trying specialty single origins from a West Coast roaster.
5. The Roasterie (Kansas City, Missouri): the biggest range
The Roasterie is a long-established Kansas City coffee company, and its product pages describe its coffee as air-roasted. It sells a wide range, from single origins and decaf to flavored and seasonal coffees, in 12 oz bags at about $19.50 to $21.
Best for: variety, including flavored coffees.
How to choose an air roasted coffee
Four quick checks: the roast method ("fluid-bed" means the beans roast on air alone), the price per ounce (bags run 10 oz to 1 lb, so per ounce is the fair price), a roast date (fresh coffee tastes best within a few weeks of roasting) and how fast it ships (ours ships in 1–3 days, so it arrives fresh).
Roast level and brewing matter as much as the roaster. If coffee usually tastes bitter to you, start with a medium roast, grind just before brewing, and see our guide to coffee that isn't bitter or the five common causes in why coffee tastes bitter.
Not sure which coffee fits you? A sampler lets you try several before you commit to a full bag. Our coffee sampler packs start with five 3 oz bags, each enough for a full pot, or browse every coffee we roast.
Air roasted coffee near Chicago
If you're in the Chicago area, you can taste ours before you buy a bag. We bring our coffee to 250+ farmers markets and events a year across Cook, DuPage, Will and Kane counties, so there's a good chance we're near you.
Frequently asked questions
Which brands sell air roasted coffee?
U.S. roasters that sell air roasted coffee online include Gigawatt Coffee Roasters in Bensenville, Illinois, Graffeo in San Francisco, California, Legendary Aviation Coffee in Rockwall, Texas, rhost coffee in Costa Mesa, California, and The Roasterie in Kansas City, Missouri. Gigawatt and Graffeo describe their roasting as fluid-bed.
Is air roasted coffee more expensive?
Not necessarily. On this list, prices run from about $1.40 to $1.75 per ounce, and price mostly reflects how a roaster sells, not the roasting method. Gigawatt is about $1.40 an ounce because we sell direct, online and at our market booths, instead of running cafés. Compare per ounce, because bags range from 10 oz to 1 lb.
What's the difference between fluid-bed and air roasted?
Fluid-bed is the purest form of air roasting: a column of hot air lifts and moves the beans, so they roast on air. "Air roasted" can also describe hot-air drum systems, where hot air is recirculated through a drum. Both can make good coffee.
Is air roasted coffee better than drum roasted?
It's different. Air roasting carries the chaff away during the roast, and many people find the cup cleaner and smoother. A well-made drum roast can be excellent too. Roast level, freshness and brewing matter as much as the method.
Where can I buy air roasted coffee near me in Chicago?
Gigawatt Coffee Roasters is in Bensenville, Illinois, and sells at 250+ farmers markets and events a year across Cook, DuPage, Will and Kane counties. You can also order online, and orders ship in 1–3 days.
Does Gigawatt ship air roasted coffee nationwide?
Yes. Gigawatt ships across the U.S. Orders ship in 1–3 days, and shipping is a flat $5 per order.
Whichever roaster you pick, buy whole bean if you can, grind just before you brew, and check the roast date. And if you'd like to start with ours, our FAQ answers the rest.
