Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/491368
STiR tea & coffee industry international 49 Quality Checks: Automated and Not Paulo explained how BRIGUS helps tie Joper systems together, "Software and hardware can be integrated from the re- ception, cleaning, storing, transporting, dosing and weighing of the green cof- fee, downstream to the automatic feed- ing of the green coffee in the roaster, its discharge into the cooler, de-stoning, and transporting it to silage separated by cof- fee origin, type, and quality." Those engineering diagrams once only useful in mapping out how beans and packaging move around the roasting facility can now become dynamic inter- faces that update with real-time data bin weights, value of inventory and many other roasting related details depending upon the sophistication of the sensor and control systems implemented. Repeatable roasts The idea of saving roast profile data in order to repeat the roast with those same settings is nothing new. In fact, Neuhaus Neotec first patented its solu- tion for roast profiling more than 20 years ago. Changes to the system have been made over time to take better ad- vantage of technological advancements; however the basic principles still work. A roaster records the parameters of a given roast and essentially uses it as a template against which to perform future roasts. Joper's BRIGUS captures and re- cords roast details. Then, when that pro- file is recalled as the basis of roasting a new batch, it presents the operator with 10 anchor points that can be dragged Coffee bags at Gaviña & Sons Courtesy of Siemens AG, Munich/Berlin Many of the quality control processes for a coffee roasting plant can be fully auto- mated. Still, many roasters choose to do manual or semi-manual checks in addi- tion. After all, automated controls may require recalibration and sometimes fail. Gregor Kleefeldt, chief electronic engineer and salesman for plant control systems at Neuhaus Neotec, described the operations at a typical facility, "First, customers have to proof the quality of their green coffee. The moisture is one main subject, which needs to be checked. Next, comes verifying the weight." Another area of concern is how much foreign material arrived mixed with the green beans. Kleefeldt said his company "provides several cleaning devices like vibrating sieves for dust and foreign par- ticles in the green coffee, magnets for removing metal parts or even rare-earth magnets for all kinds of non-magnetic parts. Customers who receive a lot of bags should integrate a string catcher for after the bags have been cut." Many roast- ers will check weight before and after pro- cessing the beans to remove such debris. Neuhaus Neotec offers Colour Con- trol, a monochromatic reflectance mea- surement for continuous color monitoring. The measured value is compared to refer- ence samples to ensure conformance to a saved roasting profile. When combined with readings from the moisture meter, these readings enable a roaster to verify the roast process operated as expected. Even though these processes can be automated, most roasters perform manual quality checks on a regular basis. Ross Bright, roast master at Spinelli Coffee in Singapore, said, "Our customers are comforted by the fact that they know when the coffee has been roasted, and that I personally stand by every kilogram of coffee that goes out our doors to be of the highest quality." Stuart Eunson, managing director of Arabica Roasters based in Beijing, China, said, "Producing high-end coffee is very much like producing a great meal at fine restaurant. In the restaurant, the head chef oversees what's coming out of the kitchen to make sure that the quality and flavor are what the chef demands. In a coffee roasting facility you need humans to be part of the roasting process for the same reason, to oversee and ensure that the coffees are at the quality level and fla- vor profile that the company has set." Over at Gaviña & Sons in Vernon, Ca- lif., Peter Gaviña reported the operations team checks the roast of every batch us- ing the "Agtron system to measure color primarily because it is an industry stan- dard." They also check moisture readings on "about every fourth roast batch since it takes about 12 minutes to get a reading." Photovolt Instruments in Minneapolis, Minn., offers a 580-PC classification sys- tem that analyzes ground, whole bean or green coffee by taking NIST color reflec- tance readings converted to SCAA values. Be it once a batch or according to a schedule, with or without the help of auto- mated conveyance or in-machine sensors, the human element remains an important factor for assuring coffee quality. Agtron is standard in many facilities. Example of seeing weights in a Neohaus Neotec automated coffee factory.