The History of Coffee Roasting Machines in One Museum

If you’ve ever wondered how coffee went from being roasted in a pan over a kitchen fire to being precisely processed by computer-controlled machines capable of roasting five tons an hour, the answer lies in a small German town near the Dutch border. This is where commercial coffee roasting was first industrialized—and where one company preserved the entire journey in a unique museum.

Today, that museum holds over 1,000 items, including more than 600 home coffee grinders, 50 commercial grinders, and hundreds of roasting machines spanning 150 years—from 1870s coal-fired ball roasters to 20th-century electronic prototypes.

The Origins of Commercial Coffee Roasting

The story begins in 1877 Germany, when a 28-year-old engineer named Theodor von Gimborn designed one of the earliest dedicated commercial coffee roasting machines: the ball roaster. Though patented by the Emmerich company, the design originated with von Gimborn. This innovation moved coffee roasting away from unreliable home stovetop pans to a more controlled, repeatable process that preserved flavor.

The company formed from this innovation—originally an equipment dealer merged with a green coffee importer—became the Emmericher Maschinenfabrik & Eisengießerei, today known globally as Probat. By 1899, Probat had produced its first patented gas-powered quick-roasting machine, and it remains the world’s first company to mass-produce coffee roasting equipment.

The Probat Museum: From War Ruins to Global Archive

The Probat Museum officially opened in 1978, but its origins go back to the devastation of World War II. In 1944, Allied bombing destroyed 98% of Emmerich, including Probat’s original factory. Rebuilding after 1946 meant reconstructing machines from memory and salvaged customer units. Probat even repurchased old machines to remake or stock as spares.

By the 1970s, these archived machines, gathering dust in storage, inspired the creation of a permanent exhibition. The museum opened inside Probat’s new office complex in 1977 and has since expanded multiple times. It now spans 600 square meters.

The push for the museum came from Carl Hans von Gimborn, then head of the family business and now its honorary chairman at age 80. The collection doesn’t just focus on Probat’s own machines but includes competitors’ equipment, showcasing the broader evolution of coffee technology.

What’s Inside the Museum

The museum’s collection includes:

• More than 1,000 items overall
• Over 600 vintage home coffee grinders, many with decorative designs for 19th- and early 20th-century kitchens
• 50+ commercial and industrial grinders
• Ball roasters from the 1870s, including one that roasted 5kg of green coffee with a 40-minute coal-fired cycle
• The 1884-patented Emmerich gas quick-roaster
• The world’s longest-running industrial roaster: an SB drum roaster with dual grinders, in continuous use from 1900 to 1981
• A 1930s-era two-bag capacity charcoal drum roaster with built-in cooling system, displayed outside the museum
• A 1900s one-bag ball roaster, also on outdoor display
• An early 20th-century battery-powered sample roaster
• A simulated 19th-century kitchen scene showing a hand-cranked home roaster and a grinding mill
• Early European home roasting tools: simple pans and paddled rollers used on stovetops until the 1900s
• Machines from US rival Jabez Burns, including the Burns No. 1, a charcoal-fired roaster for two 60kg bags

Outside the museum building, the lawn displays additional historic roasters, and architectural details around the office incorporate roasting machine parts as decoration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Probat Coffee Technology Museum located?

The Probat Coffee Technology Museum is located in Emmerich, Germany, near the Rhine river and the Dutch border, on the grounds of Probat’s industrial campus.

When was the museum established?

The Probat Museum officially opened in 1978, though planning began in the 1970s. It was created to preserve the company’s and industry’s historical roasting and grinding equipment.

What kinds of machines are on display?

The museum features over 1,000 items, including ball roasters, drum roasters, gas-powered and charcoal roasting machines, home and commercial coffee grinders, sample roasters, and even battery-operated prototypes from the 1900s.

How old is the oldest machine in the collection?

The oldest commercial roaster in the collection is a 1870s coal or charcoal-fired ball roaster, which could roast 5kg of coffee over 40 minutes.

Why was the museum created?

The museum originated from the need to rebuild Probat’s production knowledge after WWII destruction. It evolved into a permanent exhibition as archived machines were stored and later displayed to showcase the history of coffee roasting technology.

Who founded the company behind the museum?

The company now known as Probat originated from a merger in Emmerich in the late 1800s. Its roasting machine innovations are attributed to Theodor von Gimborn, a 28-year-old engineer. The von Gimborn family still leads the business today.

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