The specialty coffee world took notice when industry publication Daily Coffee News featured the U.S. market debut of the Roma Pro Smart Home Coffee Bean Roaster.
Published in January 2025, the article introduced the Roma Pro as a 300-gram-capacity fluid-bed roaster designed to occupy a distinctive space in the home roasting market: larger than many entry-level air roasters, yet more approachable than highly specialized sample-roasting equipment.
At the time of the report, Mago Maga was led by parent company Time100 Inc. Mago Maga later entered a new stage of development under Coffee Is Home Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.
Here are the main features highlighted in the report—and how the story has developed since then.
A 300g Capacity for Everyday Home Roasting
Many compact fluid-bed home roasters are designed around relatively small batches. More advanced systems may offer greater precision but often come with a higher price, smaller capacity, or steeper learning curve.
Daily Coffee News positioned the Roma Pro between these parts of the market.
The machine supports up to 300g per batch, giving home users enough freshly roasted coffee for regular daily brewing without moving to a large commercial machine.
Its five automatic presets are designed around specific batch sizes:
- Levels 1–2: approximately 150g
- Levels 3–5: approximately 300g
Manual Mode supports more flexible experimentation within the machine’s recommended capacity range. Accurate weighing remains important because batch size affects airflow, heat development, and roast consistency.
Home Roasting With Sample-Roasting Potential
The Daily Coffee News report also discussed the Roma Pro’s potential use in roastery labs for evaluating green coffee.
Its combination of automatic operation, a transparent roasting chamber, adjustable heat and fan settings, and a 300g maximum capacity can make it useful for controlled small-batch testing.
However, it should not be described as a machine for nonstop back-to-back production. The same report states that Mago Maga recommends allowing the roaster to cool for at least 20 minutes between batches.
The Roma Pro remains primarily a home coffee roaster, although its capacity and Manual Mode may also appeal to coffee professionals exploring sample batches.
Hearing First and Second Crack
Sound is an important part of hands-on coffee roasting.
First crack signals a major stage in bean development, while second crack generally appears later as the roast becomes darker. On some fluid-bed machines, fan noise can make these sounds difficult to hear.
According to information Mago Maga provided to Daily Coffee News, the Roma Pro was designed so that users can hear first and second crack over the fan. The transparent chamber also allows users to observe changes in bean color while roasting.
This combination of sound and visibility is especially useful in Manual Mode, where the user can adjust heat and fan power throughout the roast.
Dual Sensors and Automatic Cooling
The report highlighted two temperature sensors inside the Roma Pro.
One is used to monitor the roasting process, while the other helps protect internal components. These readings support temperature monitoring and operational safety.
Rate of Rise, or RoR, should not be confused with a separate physical sensor. RoR is a calculated measurement showing how quickly the recorded temperature changes over time.
After roasting, the Roma Pro enters an automatic cooling stage. Chaff is collected at the top of the roasting chamber, and the cooled beans are released through a side outlet into a separate container.
A Simpler Approach Without Requiring an App
The version covered by Daily Coffee News focused on built-in controls rather than requiring an external app or third-party roast-logging software.
Users could choose from five automatic levels or adjust heat and fan power directly through the machine’s LCD control panel.
In the original interview, founder Chifeng Lei said that feedback from early users across 30 countries and regions suggested most did not need an app for everyday roasting. This figure represented company-reported feedback from its initial user base, rather than an independent global consumer study.
The design philosophy was straightforward: make automatic roasting accessible while preserving a Manual Mode for users who want more control.
From Crowdfunding to SCA Recognition
The Roma Pro gained early international attention through an Indiegogo campaign that raised approximately US$127,000.
At the time of the Daily Coffee News article, Mago Maga was preparing to exhibit the machine at the 2025 Specialty Coffee Expo in Houston and enter the Specialty Coffee Association’s Best New Product competition.
That event has now taken place.
The Mago Maga Smart Home Coffee Bean Roaster received the 2025 Best New Product People’s Choice Award at the Specialty Coffee Expo in Houston, an achievement listed in the Specialty Coffee Association’s official awards records.
A New Option for Home Coffee Roasting
The Roma Pro’s appeal lies in its attempt to combine capacity, visibility, automatic operation, and manual control in one compact fluid-bed roaster.
Beginners can start with built-in presets, while more experienced users can adjust heat and airflow as they listen for first crack, observe bean color, and develop their own approach.
Read the original Daily Coffee News feature or explore the current Roma Pro V1.6 Smart Home Coffee Roaster.
