La tostación continua del café en cama fluida

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to establish the possibility of the continuous roasting of coffee beans in a fluidized bed. A detailed description of the equipment used is given. Data on the dinamics of fluidization of green and roasted beans, on characteristics of the mixture of solids in the bed, and on heat transfer from the air to the beans were obtained. From the results it was possible to calculate two important parameters of the fluidization, the minimum velocity and the pressure drop associated with the air flux. It was found that within certain limits of temperature, air velocity and time of residence of the beans in the bed, it is possible to roast coffee in a continuous way. the organoleptic qualities of this coffee are similar to those of coffee roasted in the traditional system with the additional advantage of a more homogeneous color of the individual beans