Methods for washing, drying, and roasting coffee beans

Abstract

To provide a method of processing coffee beans which can be applied to coffee beans in a short time.SOLUTION: The method of processing coffee beans includes: an electrolytic hydrogen water generating step; a washing step of coffee beans with electrolytic hydrogen water; a step of removing chaff from the washed coffee beans; a drying step of the washed coffee beans; and a roasting step of the dried coffee beans.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for washing, drying and roasting coffee beans before roasting. [[Background Art]]

[0002] Currently, various attempts focusing on hydrogen have been made for processing coffee beans to provide delicious coffee. For example, Patent Document 1 attempts to provide coffee beans for obtaining coffee with better taste and aroma by exposing unroasted coffee beans to a hydrogen atmosphere with a predetermined hydrogen concentration and roasting the same.

[0003] Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a method for adjusting the flavor balance of liquid food or drink, which can improve the preferable flavor of the liquid food or drink and reduce or alleviate unfavorable flavor by bringing hydrogen-containing gas into contact with the liquid food or drink.

[0004] All of these methods are common in that hydrogen is applied, but they differ in the application method. That is, in Patent Document 1, coffee beans are placed in a hermetically sealable container, the interior of the container is filled with hydrogen-containing gas, the container is hermetically sealed, and treatment is performed for a predetermined period of time. This method requires a long period of time such as 30 days to apply hydrogen to coffee beans (see paragraph 0026 of Patent Document 1, etc.).

[0005] Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a method of bringing hydrogen-containing gas into contact with liquid food or drink, that is, vegetable juice, plant extract, etc., but the method disclosed therein is either mixing high-concentration hydrogen water in which hydrogen is dissolved at a high concentration in advance together with other raw material liquids, or directly blowing hydrogen gas into the prepared raw material liquid (so-called bubbling), and application to solids such as coffee beans is not mentioned. [[Prior Art Documents]] [[Patent Documents]]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-176752 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-86085 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a coffee bean processing method that can be applied to coffee beans in a short amount of time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] This problem is solved by a coffee bean processing method characterized by comprising the steps of generating electrolyzed hydrogen water, washing the coffee beans with electrolyzed hydrogen water, removing chaff from the washed coffee beans, drying the washed coffee beans, and roasting the dried coffee beans.

[0009] In another implementation, the coffee beans are washed with electrolyzed hydrogen water before roasting.

[0010] In another implementation, the coffee bean processing method could be applied to multiple types of coffee beans blended in a predetermined ratio.

[0011] In yet another implementation, chaff removal can be accelerated by washing with electrolyzed hydrogen water.

[0012] To address the above issues, a coffee bean processing system is proposed that includes a weighing device for weighing coffee beans before and after washing, a hydrogen water generator for producing hydrogen water for washing coffee beans, a washing device for washing raw coffee beans, a drying device for drying the washed coffee beans, and a roasting device for roasting the dried coffee beans.

[0013] A more advantageous advanced version involves grinding the coffee beans obtained by the method described above and obtaining an extract from the ground material. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] Diagram of the method and system for washing, drying, and roasting coffee beans according to the present invention. [Figure 2] Detailed diagram of the method according to the present invention [Figure 3] Detailed diagram of the method according to the present invention [Figure 4] Detailed diagram of the method according to the present invention [Figure 5] Diagram of an experiment on the effects of electrolyzed hydrogen water. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] Figure 1 shows the method for washing, drying, and roasting coffee beans according to the present invention, and a system for carrying out the said method.

[0016] [Washing, drying, and roasting system] As shown in the right-hand figure of Figure 1, the system according to the present invention mainly includes a weighing device, a hydrogen water generator, a washing device, a drying device, and a roasting device. Each device and piece of equipment will be described below in order.

[0017] The weighing device is used to measure the amount of coffee beans. This allows for the accurate measurement of the amount of green coffee beans that need to be washed by the washing device described later.

[0018] A hydrogen water generator, also referred to as an electrolytic hydrogen water water conditioner, is designed to electrolyze general tap water to produce electrolytic hydrogen water. The hydrogen water generator is configured to be connectable to a so-called ordinary tap water faucet, and allows tap water to be introduced into an electrolytic cell provided inside the hydrogen water generator. The electrolytic cell is divided into a plurality of cells, and a platinum-plated electrode, for example, is inserted into each of the cells. A computer-controlled switching regulator is connected to the electrodes, and the amount of current is configured to be controllable by computer control. This allows the tap water supplied to the electrolytic cell to be electrically energized, so that the tap water is electrolyzed to produce hydrogen water (electrolytic hydrogen water), and the device is configured to be able to discharge the produced hydrogen water.

[0019] The hydrogen water discharge part of the hydrogen water generator is connected to a cleaning device. Accordingly, the device is configured such that an amount of hydrogen water suitable for cleaning can be discharged into the cleaning device.

[0020] As the cleaning device, a so-called ordinary household washing machine or the like can be used. The cleaning device is provided with a cleaning tank, an input port for introducing coffee beans into the cleaning tank, a hydrogen water inlet for introducing hydrogen water from the hydrogen water generator, a hydrogen water discharge mechanism for discharging hydrogen water after cleaning, a timer for measuring the cleaning time with hydrogen water, and the like.

[0021] The system according to the present invention includes a drying facility. This drying facility is for drying coffee beans that have finished being cleaned. The drying facility includes a drying shelf (mesh shelf) for placing coffee beans thereon, a fan (electric fan, blower) for blowing air to the coffee beans to promote drying, a dehumidifier for reducing the humidity of the drying environment, and the like.

[0022] A roasting apparatus is an apparatus for roasting coffee beans that have been cleaned with hydrogen water and dried. The roasting apparatus has a roasting kiln, a heater and the like inside. It is a general conventional apparatus having a structure that allows coffee beans to be put into the interior and heated and roasted.

[0023] [Washing, drying, and roasting methods] The washing, drying, and roasting methods according to the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Here, for example, a method for washing, drying, and roasting so-called blended coffee beans from multiple varieties (three types in this example) of coffee beans (green beans) will be described.

[0024] [Preparation / weighing process] In the preparation step, prepare the coffee beans (green beans) to be used and weigh them according to the recipe. In this example, for example, 500g each of three types of green beans—Brazil, Colombia, and Mandheling—are prepared and weighed. The three weighed types of green beans are placed in a net (a washing net, or a general laundry net can be used) and prepared for washing in the subsequent washing step. Since washing can be done for multiple blends at the same time, for example, five nets can be prepared, and the coffee beans for each blend can be placed in each net.

[0025] [Hydrogen water generation process] In this process, electrolyzed hydrogen water is produced from tap water by a hydrogen water generator. The generated hydrogen water is then discharged and introduced into a washing device. In this example, the amount of hydrogen water introduced is, for example, 45 liters.

[0026] Once the hydrogen water supply is complete and the washing tank is filled with hydrogen water, the coffee beans (green beans) are added. The coffee beans are placed in a washing net before being added.

[0027] [Washing process] The washing of coffee beans (green beans) is carried out by repeating processes such as washing, rinsing, and dehydrating. For example, it is possible to perform a process of washing for 6 minutes, dehydrating for 2 minutes, rinsing for 3 minutes, dehydrating for 2 minutes, rinsing for 3 minutes, and dehydrating for 2 minutes.

[0028] [Chaff removal process] The washing process removes the chaff (the thin outer skin of the coffee bean) from the coffee beans. As shown in Figure 2, a large amount of the removed chaff appears inside the washing device, on the surface of the washing net, etc. In the chaff removal process, this chaff is removed.

[0029] [Drying process] After the chaff is removed, the coffee beans, still in their washing nets, are placed on drying racks and subjected to the drying process. The drying equipment includes dehumidifiers and fans, and the coffee beans are dried for more than 15 hours in the summer and more than 24 hours in the winter.

[0030] [Weighing process] The coffee beans, dried in this manner—for example, Brazilian, Colombian, and Mandheling coffee beans in this example—are then weighed and separated again in their dried state.

[0031] [Roasting process] The weighed Brazilian, Colombian, and Mandheling coffee beans are placed in a roasting machine and roasted according to the specific requirements of each bean. The roasting process is a standard process and will not be described in detail here. After roasting, each bean is weighed in predetermined proportions and blended. In this case, the roasted beans are weighed again and blended in predetermined proportions. It is also possible to weigh and blend the dried Brazilian, Colombian, and Mandheling coffee beans in predetermined proportions and then place them in the roasting machine for roasting.

[0032] [Effects of cleaning with electrolyzed hydrogen water] Finally, Figure 5 illustrates the effect of washing raw coffee beans with electrolyzed hydrogen water. The upper part of Figure 5 shows the changes in metal clips after approximately 7 and a half years when placed in bottles containing tap water and electrolyzed hydrogen water, respectively. The metal clip in the bottle with tap water (left photo) has rusted, and the rust has caused the tap water to turn brown. In contrast, the metal clip in the bottle with electrolyzed hydrogen water has not rusted, and the color of the electrolyzed hydrogen water has not changed. When each bottle is shaken to agitate, the bottle with tap water becomes completely cloudy, but the bottle with electrolyzed hydrogen water shows no change.

[0033] A similar experiment was conducted by adding coffee beans to cups filled with tap water and cups filled with electrolyzed hydrogen water (bottom of Figure 5). The color of the water in the cup with tap water remained unchanged even after 5 minutes. In contrast, the color of the water in the cup with electrolyzed hydrogen water became darker.

[0034] When we looked at each cup from above, the cup filled with tap water showed no changes, but the cup filled with electrolyzed hydrogen water had fine debris floating in it.

[0035] While the technical relationship between these effects and the changes that occur in the coffee beans, and consequently the changes in the taste, flavor, and aroma of the roasted coffee, is not yet clear, the coffee beans washed, dried, and roasted using electrolyzed hydrogen water according to this invention showed remarkable improvement in taste, flavor, and aroma. Furthermore, the coffee tasted delicious even after being brewed and tasted after 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, and 12 hours.

Claims

1. A method for processing coffee beans, comprising: an electrolytic hydrogen water generation step, in which the amount of current is controlled by computer control of switching regulators connected to electrodes in a plurality of electrolytic cells provided inside, and tap water supplied to the electrolytic cells is electrolyzed to generate electrolytic hydrogen water; a step of washing coffee beans with the electrolytic hydrogen water; a step of removing chaff from the washed coffee beans; a step of drying the washed coffee beans; and a step of roasting the dried coffee beans.

2. The coffee bean processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that the step of washing the coffee beans with electrolyzed hydrogen water is performed before roasting the coffee beans.

3. The coffee bean processing method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is performed on multiple types of coffee beans blended in a predetermined ratio.

4. A coffee bean processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the removal of chaff is promoted by washing with electrolyzed hydrogen water.

5. A coffee bean processing system for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a weighing device for weighing coffee beans before and after washing, a hydrogen water generator for generating hydrogen water for washing coffee beans, a washing device for washing raw coffee beans, a drying device for drying washed coffee beans, and a roasting device for roasting dried coffee beans.

6. A method for producing a coffee beverage, characterized by grinding coffee beans obtained by the method described in claims 1 to 4, and obtaining an extract from the ground product.

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