Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1483499
48 STiR coffee and tea | 2022 Issue 5 (October/November) Probat heralds hydrogen economy: Coffee processing machinery maker Probat doubled down on digitalization and sustainability at its latest annual Connecting Markets sympo- sium, held in September in Emmerich, Germany. The venerable company launched the first-ever roaster to be powered by hydrogen, a model P05 shop roaster, coming at a time when Europe is struggling to secure sufficient supplies of natural gas for the winter. (See press release at: https:// bit.ly/3DNooPn.) Hydrogen is one of the most promising energy solutions because when it is produced using electricity generated by solar or wind installations, the resulting "green" hydrogen hugely reduces total carbon footprint. Burning hydrogen to run an engine (or roast coffee beans) produces high levels of energy, yet it emits only water vapor. No carbon or other harmful emissions. The symposium participants reported that coffee roasted using this cleanest of all fuels tastes just like coffee roasted using gas or electricity. Probat has put sustainability high on the event's agenda since its first symposium, held in 2018. Beyond hardware innovation, another theme at the event was the potential of smart technologies to improve performance on environmental and social factors throughout the coffee supply chain. Some 300 coffee professionals, including many of the industry's leading figures, joined the two-day event. Well worth viewing are the speeches and panel discussions, all of which can be found on Probat's YouTube channel. www.youtube.com/user/PROBATWerke Neuhaus Neotec marries drum roast with hot air roast: Neuhaus Neotec has introduced the Maestro, an innovative drum roaster series that offers the best of both worlds: traditional drum roasting along the lines of the company's CTR model as well the hot air roasting advantages of its RFB series. The Maestro 3000, for example, is a large-capacity machine with a capacity of up to 3,000 kilograms per hour, in batches of 450 to 720 kilograms. The series features a modular design that can tailored to the individual customer. One advantage of the Maestro series is greater flexibility than drum roasters usually provide. And it can be used with profile and copy roasting. The technology's emphasis is consistency — producing precision, reproduc- ible roasts both per batch and throughout complete roasting processes. The key is heat transfer efficiency attained through the continuous, intensive streaming of roasting air through the coffee batch. The machine can be operated from a control room using a visualization system or directly at the roaster using a touchscreen. A programmable logic controller (PLC) enables complete automation of roasting if desired. "The sophisticated heat management with cold air injection for rapid temperature profile changes allows a greater variety of roasting curves than previously known from drum roasters," says Ralf Torenz, head of coffee unit at Neuhaus Neotec. Visit www.neuhaus-neotec.com for the full story. Revamping Indian tea gardens: An opinion piece in India's Agricultural Post calls for revamping sustainability in the nation's vast tea sector among both regulated tea gardens and small tea gardens. One idea: work with the government to establish minimum benchmark prices. See more info at: https://bit.ly/3NlTjFM Flower tea from Korea: Kkokdam, a Korean company specializing in flower teas, is going international with its innovative products, which include "flower stick tea," a novel presentation that functions like a tea bag but is shaped like a flower. The infusions include Siberian chrysanthemum, butterfly pea, Korean mint flower and mugwort flower. https://kkokdam.com/ STiR Marketplace|Machines|Messages|Merch