STiR coffee and tea magazine

36 STiR coffee and tea | 2025 Quarter 3 Autumn (Sep/Oct/Nov) Nicolai Wickert, senior sales manager at DEVEX, debuted the concept of artisanal instant coffee production for SMEs at the 2025 World of Coffee show in Dubai. Photo credit: Diana Jendoubi DEVEX's new frost-drying method doses a very thin layer of liquid extract onto a conveyor belt that instantly freezes and evaporates excess moisture, retaining maximum flavor and aroma. Photo credit: DEVEX GmbH Cold brew's only drawback is that its slightly complex brewing methods require a certain level of skill to avoid errors and product waste. "We found that combining cold or hot brew extraction methods with soluble production offers incredible potential for endless opportunities," adds Wickert. "We're amazed and have even surprised ourselves with the end results." Combining traditional cold maceration and advanced high-efficiency ex- traction technology with DEVEX's new state-of-the-art frost-drying method creates soluble crystal granules that have a glittery golden hue and completely dissolve in hot or cold liquids within seconds, with no off-taste or sediment left behind. "The flavor is absolutely different," Wickert states. "There's mas- sive potential to achieve specialty coffee levels of aroma and taste — with more intense and complex flavors than traditional instant coffee. No one has ever made soluble coffee this way. It's completely new." Named after its attractive appearance, superior soluble qualities, and pre- mium flavor, SOLAR (sol=soluble and ar=artisanal) Gold is the first example of artisanally produced instant coffee with serious marketing potential. "It even dissolves in cold (7°C/44.6°F) milk in five seconds," adds Wickert. "The solubility of the product is amazing. This opens up new opportunities for per- sonalized iced lattes made at home or bottled beverages on the go." Sustainable Soluble Production The compact modular nature of the DEVEX multi-extractor system requires much less space than traditional instant processing. "Our system only requires one 20-meter by 20-meter room with a 9-meter-high ceiling," Wickert ex- plains. "The initial investment is only a fraction of the big industrial plants. This makes SOLAR Gold even more appealing to smaller companies because it's modular. They can grow with it and add more components as they de- velop their product lines over time." One of the most significant components in terms of space and energy consumption in soluble processing is the drying element. Since most standard processing methods use only hot water to extract, the results must be either freeze-dried or spray-dried afterward. Freeze-drying preserves more flavor and aroma but requires large refrigeration rooms to cool the extract down before it can be frozen and broken up into granules. This time-consuming process needs a lot of energy and carries a high carbon footprint. Frost drying, a new method developed by DEVEX, uses a conveyor belt and vacuum system, to evaporate water within the extract below the water's natural freezing point. The extracted liquid is dosed into a very thin layer on a conveyor belt and passed under a deep vacuum that instantly freezes and evaporates the excess moisture. Wickert describes the efficiency of the frost- drying method. "From the very moment the liq- uid hits the belt, it starts to immediately evaporate and dry by releasing ice molecules," he explains. "This is very different from how others are doing the drying process. Running through our drying system takes about one hour, and by the time it reaches the end of the belt, the coffee is dehydrat- ed with a 2.5-3% moisture level." Sustainability has been taken into consider- ation at every stage of the SOLAR Gold process. Due to its individual components, the system saves energy by only operating what needs to be used at any given time, as opposed to having to run thousands of pieces of equipment simultane- ously in a standard facility. The absence of bitter off-flavors allows water to be conserved and reused multiple times. "Where cooling is required, we use the energy elsewhere for heating," says Wickert. "Where evaporation is required, we collect the condensate and return it as water to the process. Electricity consumption is only a fraction of that used in conventional meth- ods. All in all, it's a very sustainable way of produc- ing soluble coffee or extracts." Endless Possibilities Artisanal processing offers a level of personal- ized customization that industrial production can't match. Modern consumers desire products tailored to their preferences. Whether that's repre- sented by regional flavors, functional ingredients, or reduced caffeine levels, SMEs are ideally suited to address these rapidly rising trends. "This is the heart of the multi-extractor sys- tem," Wickert concludes. "It allows for countless processing methods. Every process or sequence is completely adjustable, allowing you to experiment with body, flavor, aroma, roast temperatures, cof- fee bean types (arabica, robusta), single origin, and blends. Even herbs, botanicals, and tea extracts can be made with this system. The possibilities are endless."

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