Parchmen & Co Distributes Santoker Roasting Machines
In mid 2019, Parchmen & Co upgraded from an electric 3kg roasting machine to the gas-operated Santoker R6 Master. As our demand and understanding of the machine deepened, we have scaled from a single roast day per week to 4–6 days with longer hours. Even after six years, we are still discovering new nuances. In June 2025, we made a visit to the Santoker factory in China.
A brief look at its origins: Santoker was founded in the summer of 2012 by a nuclear engineer and two aerospace engineers, united by a shared passion for coffee. Leaving behind secure careers in government service, the trio set out to develop a dependable and respected Chinese-made roasting machine capable of competing with the century-old Western brands that have long dominated the industry. They chose the Chinese name of 三豆客 (pronounced San1 Dou4 Ke4): San (三) means three, and represents the three founders; Dou (豆) means coffee beans; Ke (客) signifies clients, placing customers at the core of the company’s philosophy.
Santoker's headquarters is located in a technology park in Zhuzhou (株洲), a 40-min drive from Changsha (长沙) in Hunan Province (湖南). The four-storey facility houses production on the first two floors—larger machines are assembled on level one, and smaller models on level two. The third floor is reserved for future training programs, while the fourth houses the corporate office and roasting lab. The open-concept workspace, complete with free-flowing coffee, tea, and a freely roaming company cat, fosters a relaxed yet focused working environment.
We spent three days at the factory familiarising ourselves with the various models of roasting machines. On the last day, Zhou Nan (周南), the nuclear engineer co-founder, has graciously shortened his business trip to meet us. Soft-spoken and composed, Zhou Nan personally oversees the company’s operations with a lean structure - every staff member reports directly to him. This immediately resonated with us, as Parchmen & Co operates in much the same way. We interviewed him about his design philosophy and his views on China’s evolving coffee landscape, while watching him multitask - moving between CAD workstations, consulting with software engineers on the upcoming electrostatic smoke filters (ESPs), reviewing the roast curve of our test batch of Finca Deborah on the C20, and promptly cupping the results. Zhou Nan is the driving force behind Santoker, involved in every detail - from high-level CAD/CAM engineering to the selection of components, even down to the screws. Our long conversation with him, both in his office and over lunch, revealed a kindred spirit. As engineers ourselves (graduates of NUS and NTU), we deeply connected with his methodical approach: design, test, analyze, refine, repeat - a continuous engineering loop. As Zhou Nan described it, "he leads the small team of engineers to explore new designs and it is quite fun". His enthusiasm was contagious, evoking our memories of Final Year Projects in our university days. 
Zhou Nan spoke with particular pride about the new RX series. The machine features an airflow loop that first passes under the machine’s body, absorbing excess heat before reaching the burners. This preheating reduces burn risks to the roaster, recycles energy, and supports higher airflow rates - an innovative design that broadens roasting possibilities while promoting energy sustainability. Other forward-thinking designs include the Q10 and Q20 air roasters, which roast from ambient temperature without preheating. The Q20 is also built for upgrades, increasing its capacity from 200g to 500g with an attachment. Santoker machines use brushless motors, explaining the higher revolutions giving higher air flow, and faster cooling by the fan, underscoring yet again the focus on energy efficiency. All machines can be connected to their proprietary roasting app via bluetooth, enabling direct and stable connection without broadband restrictions.
Despite its modest size, Santoker has become the most popular coffee roaster brand in mainland China, outselling its nearest competitor by a factor of three. Santoker is the machine sponsor for the China Coffee Roasting Competition since its inception in 2016. This is where contestants roast on Santoker machines to earn a spot at the World Coffee Roasting Championship. In its final sponsorship year (2024), Liu Tai Yang (刘太阳) of Pincle Coffee secured first place by a commanding margin of 45 points. Diao Cheng Lei (刁成磊), another China competitor who deferred from the 2023 competition, was placed fourth.
Roasting is part science, part art. We lean toward understanding the science behind our empirical findings. We shared feedback of our roasting experience on the R6 Master with Zhou Nan, who explained his design considerations and shared details of several patents he has secured.
At Parchmen & Co, we believe in deeply understanding the products we represent. That is why we visit farms and factories and collaborate directly with producers whenever possible. We are proud to represent Santoker in Singapore and look forward to a lasting partnership - one built on shared values, mutual respect, and a common love for both engineering and coffee.
Afternote: We are finalising the arrangement for a Santoker home roasting competition this year. More details will be released when available.