Coffee milling is a crucial step in the entire bean processing cycle from the harvesting of the bean, to the roasting process, and on to the packaging of the finished product. Grinding coffee correctly means obtaining a high quality product and, therefore, an excellent response in terms of aroma and flavor perceived at the tasting stage.
Industry research is constantly aimed at finding innovative ways and techniques that can enhance these features.
Recent SIAD analyses demonstrate the importance of practicing rapid lowering of grain temperatures prior to the milling process. Cryomilling coffee (or cryogenic grinding), that is the technical terminology, not only significantly increases the quality of the beverage in the cup, but also has benefits on the production process.
In this article, we will find out what cryomacination of coffee consists of and some of the benefits it provides.
We will also see the SIAD offering, developed precisely to meet the emerging demands of coffee roasters: thanks to the properties of SIAD food gases, (e.g., nitrogen or CO2) innovative coffee cryomacination processes can be proposed and implemented.
What is coffee cryomilling and how it works
If coffee grinding is the process by which the beans are pulverized after roasting, into different grain sizes depending on the final use (mocha, espresso, and filtered), cryomilling is the optimization of processing through the inclusion of an additional step: temperature chilling.
Having completed roasting, in fact, cryogenic coffee grinding involves bringing the beans to a low temperature in the shortest possible time: this step, if performed correctly, allows the organoleptic characteristics of the finished product to be protected and enhanced.
To lower the temperature quickly, different food gases, such as nitrogen and CO2, can be used under cryogenic conditions, to bring the coffee beans, in a few moments, to a level of embrittlement. Therefore, when treated with the appropriate grinding equipment, which ensures perfect and homogeneous grinding, this minimizes the dispersion of volatile substances useful for ensuring the desired aroma in the finished product.
Cryogenic coffee grinding, all the advantages
SIAD’s experience has shown that the application of cryomilling of coffee provides clear advantages with respect to the quality of the final product.
The main advantages of cryogenic coffee grinding are:
- Obtaining coffee powders of finer and more uniform grain size
- Maintenance of organoleptic and aromatic characteristics
- Making original and alternative blends of high quality
- Reduction of oxidation and color change phenomena
- Increased product shelf-life
Following these considerations, the main benefits of cryogenic grinding generally emerge, which can be summarized as:
- Increased production: through deep cooling, process times can be reduced, thereby increasing productivity
- Improved cleaning and maintenance of mills
- Energy saving: reduction of energy costs required in the cooling phase
Precisely because of these advantages, cryomilling is not only suitable for coffee, but also for particle size optimization of a wide range of food products, such as:
- Chili
- Mustard seed
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Oregano leaves
- And many others.
Packaging, degassing and decaffeination
In addition to grinding, storage, degassing and decaffeination of coffee are the other stages of the production cycle that are particularly delicate for maintaining the organoleptic characteristics of the product.
A fundamental process is to reduce the percentage of oxygen and unwanted volatiles: discover the techniques developed by SIAD to create protective atmospheres, as well as to obtain decaffeinated coffee, go to the in-depth article.
Nitrogen and CO2, SIAD’s offering for roasters
SIAD, which has always been committed to finding advanced solutions for the beverage industry, produces the highest quality food gases for cryomacination. In particular, for this application in coffee processing, it exploits the potential of nitrogen, produced through the fractionation of air, and CO2, obtained from recovery from industrial processes or organic supply chain.
SIAD’s work for roasting plants is not limited to gas supply: it also combines ad hoc services for analyzing the process environment and choosing the best technological and innovative solutions.
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