Flavourtech has developed a simple, flexible solution for producers of cold brew coffee to increase production capacity with less floor space.
The process also makes more efficient use of the available soluble solids in the coffee beans. The Flavourtech rotating disc column (RDC) is a precise mixing column where users can accurately control the residence time and temperature. “Using Flavourtech developed grinding techniques each coffee particle is cut to the same size and automatically mixed with the required amount of water,” according to Leon Skaliotis, sales and marketing director at Flavourtech in Griffith, Australia
“The coffee and water slurry then enter the bottom and are pushed up through the column for a period of time controlled by the operator. Each portion of slurry then exits the RDC having undergone the same amount of mixing and residence time. This ensures an identical brewing time and an extremely consistent product,” he explains.
Cold brewers preferred the taste of the RDC product over their own and were surprised to find out that the residence time was only 20 minutes and not the 12-14 hours that they normally used, said Skaliotis.
Although the process was conducted at room temperature, the yield of soluble solids was up to 40% more, meaning they could produce up to 40% more product from the same volume of coffee beans. “They saw this as a real advantage in being able to reduce their cost of production and final product price,” he said. “The speed and small footprint of the system also had flow-on effects in that they would not need to move to larger facilities or employ further staff as they expanded their business,” he said.
The advantage of the spinning cone column (SCC) for producers is that they can now manufacture not only cold brew coffee but also RTD products from the same beans, maximizing the recovery of soluble solids from the coffee for their artisanal products. The technology extracts more than 50% of the available soluble solids in the coffee bean compared to the 20% currently obtained by most cold brew producers. Not only will this reduce production costs but a more consistent artisanal cold brew product is possible with the ability to also extend the product line with a high-quality RTD coffee, he said.
Alternatively, the SCC can be used to produce an extract easily and continuously solely for use in RTD coffee products. Integrated extraction system (IES) is a combination of Flavourtech’s core technologies (including RDC and SCC) in a continuous, automated processing line, he said.
Learn more: www.flavourtech.com