COFFEE Ripe coffee cherries are first passed

COFFEE pant belongs to through pulping machines that break

botanical genus Coffea. and separate the pulp from the rest of
Cultivated species of coffee beans. Separation of pulp leaves a
Coffea arabica, which provides 75% of mucilaginous coating on the beans,
the World’s production. which must be removed. This is done
Coffea canephora, which meets ~25% by various methods including
of World’s demand (Marketed under microbial fermentation of beans
trade name of Robusta) heaped in large piles, use of
Production Practices commercial pectin-digesting enzymes
Depending on the species, coffee tree and various washing treatments. After
or shrub can grow from 3-12 m in mucilage removal, the beans still
height. The shrubs are pruned to keep contain an outer hull. The coffee beans
them 2-2.5 m height and thus facilitate are now partially dried either by being
harvesting. After about 5 years of spread out in the sun or by machine
plantation, the trees bear fruit. The driers. The object is to decrease the
fruit or berry has a green outer skin moisture level from about 53% to 12%.
which, when ripe, turns red-violet or After the beans are dried to about 12%
deep red and encloses the sweet moisture, hulls are removed by
mesocarp or the pulp and the stone- machines that apply friction to the
fruit bean. One coffee tree yields about hulls and then remove them in a
2000-4000 cherries per year. Each current of air (Green coffee).
cherries contain only two coffee beans; Coffee processing
some 3000 beans yield only about 454 Blending:
g (1 lb) of finished ground coffee. Different manufactures favour various
Structure of coffee bean coffee blends and buy their beans from
The two coffee beans are covered by a various countries producing the
thin parchment like hull, which is required coffee types.
further surrounded by pulp. Both the Roasting:
pulp and hull, which are removed Green beans smell earthy, so they
before the coffee bean, are roasted for must be heat treated in a process
use. called roasting to bring about their
truly delightful aroma. Green coffee
beans are roasted in the temperature
range of 200-250°C.
Both batch and continuous type
roasting equipments are available.
During roasting, heat is transferred by
contact of the beans with the walls of
the roasting apparatus or by hot air or
combusted gases. Centrifugal roasters
(rotating flat pans), revolving tube
Fig: Longitudinal section of a coffee roasters, fluid bed roasters are used
fruit. either batch wise (roasting time: 6-15
min) or continuously (2-5 min roasting
time). Current roasting practices

1 Compiled by: Amit M Patel DT-421 Food Technology

S.M.C. College of Dairy Science, A.A.U., Anand-388110

employ gas temperature of about • High roast coffee: Roasting
260°C for about 5 min. The beans temperature: 230°C, 20% weight
temperature rises to about 200°C loss
during roasting. All of the free Cooling
moisture is removed from beans Following roasting, the beans are
during roasting; in addition, bens lose cooled in a cooling vessel with an
about 5% more of their green bean upward moving cold air. In addition,
weight as volatile chemical substances. water may also be sprayed from
Physic-chemical changes occurring during within the roasting drum just before
roasting of green coffee beans the end of roasting. This process is
• The beans increase in volume (50- known as “water quenching”.
80%) and change their structure Advantages
and colour. • Assist in necessary cooling.
• The green colour is replaced by a • Remove undesirable flavour and
brown colour. aroma constituents and CO2 prior
• 13-20% loss in weight. to further processing.
• Built up of a typical roasted • Add small percentage of water by
flavour. weight to the roasted beans;
• Beans become brittle and mellow. thereby assist in uniformity of
• Specific gravity falls from 1.126- particle size in subsequent
1.272 to 0.570-0.694 (fall in specific grinding.
gravity more in case of continuous Grinding
process compared to batch type The size to which coffee is ground
roasting) depends on its intended end use –
Some of the flavour compounds formed Home use, drip, percolator brewer,
during roasting are Furans, pyrazines, restaurant use, vending machine or
ketones, diketones, pyrroles, use in manufacture of instant coffee. In
hydrocarbons, phenols, aldehydes, each case average particle size and
esters, sulphur compounds, amines, particle size distribution affect the
nitriles, lactones, pyridines, pyrazines, brewing time, degree of turbidity in
thiazoles, oxazoles, carboxylic acids. the cup.
Percentage Multi-stage twin horizontal rollers up
degradation/decomposition in to four stages may be used to ensure
chlorogenic acids (caffeic acid, ferulic more uniform particle size
acid and quinic acid) content is used as distribution. 1st and 2nd stage
an analytical measure for degree of essentially cracks or crushes beans into
roast. During normal roasting process smaller units. 3rd and 4th stage goes for
about 30% of chlorogenic acids are progressively finer grinding.
decomposed and during stronger Particle size desirable for marketing
roasting about 70% of chlorogenic • Fine grind: 430-800µ
acids are decomposed. • Coarse grind: 850-1130µ
• Medium roast coffee: Roasting Packaging
temperature: 200-220°C/3-10 Ground coffee gives off considerable
min, 14-17% weight loss CO2 and so must be allowed to outgas
before packaging or the CO2 will
accumulate and distend the package.
2 Compiled by: Amit M Patel DT-421 Food Technology
S.M.C. College of Dairy Science, A.A.U., Anand-388110

Hence, it is advisable to use packaging the aroma and flavour of freshly
under vacuum. brewed coffee.
Allow roasted and ground coffee in Historically most instant or soluble
bulk to degas over a sufficient period coffee contain added carbohydrates
of time to a low level, followed by (upto 50% w/w) such as corn syrup
inert gas purging while individual solids (CSS) to the hot water (100°C)
packages are filled. extract of roasted and ground coffee.
Brewing But during spray drying it was
Brewing is the hot water extraction of difficult to dry such coffee mixture to a
roasted and ground coffee. Brewing satisfactorily free flowing, low
coffee to the correct strength and hygroscopic powder.
flavour depends on several variables. In 1950s instant coffee of 100% of pure
• Ratio of coffee to water. coffee solids became commercially
• Particle size of the ground coffee. available. This was possible by slight
• Temperature of water. hydrolysis of polysaccharides in the
• Mixing action in brewer. roasted coffee (by a further aqueous
• Time of brewing. extraction at temperature up to 175°C)
Flavour quality of he brewed coffee which is reflected in the slightly
depends on. increased reducing sugar content (e.g.
• Choice of blend used. Arabinose, Mannose & Galactose).
Coffee (roast) bean contains 22% of
• Degree of roast.
insoluble/non hydrolysable fibers out
• Brewing conditions.
of 53% of total carbohydrates.
• Choice of grind. Manufacture of instant coffee involves
There is an optimum degree of three basic operations.
extraction for best flavour; extraction
• Extraction
beyond this point removes bitter
• Dehydration
constituents from the beans and ruin
the brew. Optimum extraction can be • Aromatization
measured by determining the soluble Extraction
solids in the brew (using hydrometer). Extraction of roasted ground coffee
bean is accomplished in an extraction
Yield of soluble solid battery that may consist of as many as
Coffee (roasted & ground) 21 %w/w six to eight percolators connected to be
Exhaustive extraction 32 %w/w operated as a single unit.
(at 100°C) Percolators are run at different
Instant coffee 40-55 %w/w temperatures decreasing from about
150°C to 70°C and removes most of the
Instant coffee readily soluble solids and hydrolyses
Instant coffee was developed during less soluble coffee bean carbohydrates
World War – II primarily for the resulting in a total extraction of about
Armed Forces. Instant coffee is a 40% of the weight of the roasted and
dehydrated coffee brew, with a colour ground beans.
and particle structure resembling to Without high-temperature hydrolysis,
roast and ground coffee, which only about 20% of the bean weight
dissolves with ease in hot or cold would be extracted, which is about
water, without foam or scum, and has
3 Compiled by: Amit M Patel DT-421 Food Technology
S.M.C. College of Dairy Science, A.A.U., Anand-388110

what is obtained at home and separated from the extracted oil for
restaurant brewing. reuse.
Conditions are set to obtain maximum The extracted oil is then sprayed on to
extraction without heat damage (to the the instant coffee.
aroma compound) or over extraction Decaffeination of coffee
of bitter constituents. Cleaned, moisturized coffee beans are
The brew is then filtered through extracted to a caffeine level of 0.1%
coffee ground and thereby remove fats with super critical fluid extraction
and waxes which otherwise would method using carbon dioxide at 200bar
adversely affect subsequent drying pressure and at 90°C. the carbon
and storage stability. The extract is dioxide after extraction passes over an
then rapidly cooled and when activated carbon bed where the
possible, dehydrated immediately, extracted caffeine is adsorbed. The
since coffee aroma and flavour can carbon dioxide is then recycled to the
deteriorate in as little as 6 hrs even extractor.
when cooled to 4°C.
Dehydration
The principle method of dehydrating
the extract is spray drying, and spray
driers have been designed especially
for coffee.
Spray dried particles commonly are
agglomerated either simultaneously or
subsequent to drying to appear more
like roasted and ground coffee to
improve solubility and minimize foam
in the cup.
Freeze drying of coffee extract ensures
maximum retention of flavour and
aroma. Freeze dring is a milder
treatment than spray drying and
produces higher quality instant coffee
but at higher price due to the expences
of the process.
Aromatization
Even the best instant coffee from the
drier lacks the full flavour and aroma
of freshly brewed coffee. To improve
flavour and aroma, aromatization
treatments are developed.
One technique involves extraction of
roasted and ground coffee with a
coffee oil solvent such as liquid carbon
dioxide. The cold CO2 does not
damage flavour and aroma
compounds in the coffee oil and easily

4 Compiled by: Amit M Patel DT-421 Food Technology

S.M.C. College of Dairy Science, A.A.U., Anand-388110