Coffee and Cold-Brew Roasters

Cold brew production has become a real manufacturing operation for brands that started in a coffee shop back room. The path from a 5-gallon batch in a commercial kitchen to a production facility running hundreds of gallons per day is a capital story, and the equipment at each stage, from the extraction vessels to the nitro cold-brew system to the filling line, defines the batch size, the shelf life, and the SKU count a roaster can actually support. We finance roasters and cold-brew brands at the production equipment stage, whether that means a first commercial extraction setup or a full canned RTD production line.

Coffee roasters who are adding packaged beverage production to their retail and wholesale operation face a specific capital challenge: the roasting equipment and the cold-brew production equipment exist in two different financing categories, and the timeline to get them both funded has to align with the retail launch. We handle both categories and can structure the financing so the roasting upgrade and the cold-brew buildout close together.

Equipment for Coffee and Cold-Brew Production

On the roasting side, commercial drum roasters for specialty production run from $20,000 for a 15-kilogram sample roaster to $500,000 and above for high-capacity continuous roasters used by large wholesale and retail roasters. Afterburners for emissions compliance, green coffee storage equipment, and destoning and sorting equipment are all ancillary capital items in a commercial roasting facility.

For cold-brew production, the extraction stage is the primary asset. Large-format cold-brew immersion vessels or continuous cold-brew extraction systems are the backbone of a production operation. After extraction, a jacketed batch tank holds the concentrate while it is blended to target dilution, and a bottle filling machine or canning line handles the final packaging. Nitrogen infusion equipment for nitro cold brew is a separate system that produces the cascade effect and creamy texture consumers expect from draft nitro products. Kegs for draft channel distribution and cans for retail each require their own packaging infrastructure.

• Commercial drum roasters (15 kg to large-capacity continuous)
• Cold-brew extraction vessels and immersion systems
• Jacketed holding tanks for concentrate blending
• Nitro infusion and draft systems
• Bottling and canning lines for RTD
• Refrigerated storage for cold-brew product

How We Finance Coffee and Cold-Brew Operations

Coffee and cold-brew equipment deals vary from a $60,000 roaster replacement to a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar cold-brew production buildout. For transactions up to approximately $400,000, application-only financing applies. For larger deals, or deals where the operator wants to demonstrate financial strength for better terms, full financial documentation goes to a competitive lender pool.

Coffee roasters with established wholesale and retail accounts have a revenue stream that lenders can assess quickly. Roasters who are launching RTD production for the first time, without retail placement yet confirmed, are in a startup financing situation and need to approach it accordingly: strong personal credit, a meaningful down payment, and a clear plan for how the RTD product enters distribution.

Cold-brew brands selling through restaurants and cafes as draft kegs often have steady purchase order revenue from those accounts. That recurring wholesale revenue is a positive underwriting signal even for brands without significant personal credit history at the business entity level.

Loan Terms and Equipment Lifecycle

Commercial roasters are durable assets with long useful lives, which supports longer financing terms. A high-quality drum roaster from a brand like Probat or Loring that is well-maintained can operate for 20 to 30 years. Financing on five to seven year terms for a roaster that will run for 20 years is a conservative capital structure that keeps monthly payments manageable.

Cold-brew production equipment is slightly more variable in useful life depending on the technology used. Stainless immersion vessels are extremely durable. Filling and packaging equipment for RTD has a shorter useful life in high-volume production environments because of the wear on sealing and filling heads. Financing terms of three to five years often align well with packaging equipment replacement cycles.

Roasters and cold-brew brands who are also exploring adjacent functional categories, like functional beverage production with coffee as a base ingredient, sometimes need the same jacketed tanks and filling equipment. We can finance a shared production infrastructure that serves multiple beverage types.

New and Used Roasting Equipment

Used commercial roasters are an established market, particularly from roasters that close or upgrade to higher-capacity systems. A well-maintained used drum roaster from a reputable brand can be an excellent purchase at 40 to 60 percent of new cost. We finance used roasting equipment on both private-party and dealer purchases. The key due diligence is the drum and burner condition, the control system version, and any required emission compliance certification for the local jurisdiction.

For cold-brew equipment, used stainless extraction vessels are widely available from beverage operations that have upgraded. Used filling and packaging equipment for RTD requires careful evaluation of the sealing systems and fill accuracy, because product quality in canned or bottled cold brew is directly tied to the precision of the fill and seal.

Related Financing Paths