糖心视频

A freshly roasted cup of coffee is harder to come by than you would think, so CEO wants to make it easier.

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Traditional coffee roasting machines require permits, gas lines, venting systems and maintenance. So, coffee beans are usually 鈥渞oasted at large, centralized roasting facilities and then shipped to retailers, which not only is expensive but also leaves a huge carbon footprint,鈥� Gilliland, the company’s CEO, told Crunchbase News.

To bring that process in house would give coffee shops the ability to avoid that steep price tag as well as get a fresher cup of coffee by eliminating a step of the process. So created an electric coffee roaster, and just raised a $40 million Series B round to sell the product globally.

The financing event was led by and brothers and . Additional investors include , , , , , , , and , according to a press release.

Bellwether has raised $56 million in venture capital funding to date, inclusive of this round, . Customers range from traditional chains to local small shops.

Commercial Plans

The company commercially released its electric ventless roasting system – about the size of a refrigerator – last year. There are about 40 units installed across the US to date.

While it did not disclose the price of a roaster, Bellwether said its cheaper, and is more sustainable to operate. It claims the roaster reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent versus traditional gas-powered alternatives.

鈥淢any of our customers have always dreamed of roasting their own coffee on-site but couldn’t afford to before or didn’t know where to start,鈥� said Gilliland

Bellwether鈥檚 round is the largest round scored by a company focused on coffee since June, according to . Recent examples of caffeinated capital include Seattle-based raising $750,000 and Shanghai-based , which wants to connect roasters to coffee farmers, recently raising $510,000. And there鈥檚 , which most recently raised $150 million in June and went public minutes later.

This round goes to show that venture capitalists believe startups have the potential to change a market as old as coffee. The only question now is whether Bellwether鈥檚 round is harbinger of excess, or a bellwether that the market is thirsty for a better sourced, more sustainable cup.

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