Dynamic Coffee Roasting Profile Calculation for Blend Uniformity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee roasting technologies face challenges in achieving optimal roasting of blends containing different types of coffee beans, as pre-determined roasting profiles often result in uneven roasting, with some beans becoming burnt while others are not fully roasted, leading to waste and inefficiency, especially when roasting multiple types of beans simultaneously.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that determine a customized roasting recipe for blends by identifying the type and quantity of each coffee bean, accessing pre-determined roasting recipes and temperature adaptation factors, and calculating a blended roasting profile using formulas to ensure uniform and optimal roasting, preventing over-roasting or under-roasting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a pre-determined roasting profile is used for a specific type of coffee beans, then optimal roasting is achieved for that specific type, but uneven roasting occurs when blending with other types (some beans burnt, others under-roasted)
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts the roasting profile by calculating a blended recipe that combines parameters from multiple coffee types based on their proportions in the mixture. The controller adjusts temperature and time parameters in real-time based on the detected blend composition, transforming a static pre-determined profile into a dynamic adaptive recipe that maintains optimal roasting across diverse bean types.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the roasting parameters (temperature, time, airflow) by computing a weighted combination of parameters from individual coffee type recipes according to the blend proportions. This parameter transformation allows the system to derive a new optimized recipe for the blend that prevents both burning and under-roasting by balancing the thermal exposure for each component type.
2Manufacturing precision
If split roasting is used to roast each type of beans separately and then mix, then optimal roasting is achieved for each type, but the process becomes too time consuming and complicated for blends with more than two types
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple individual coffee type recipes into a single blended recipe by mathematically combining their parameters according to the proportion of each coffee type in the mixture. This consolidation allows all coffee types in the blend to be roasted simultaneously in one batch while maintaining optimal roasting quality for each type, eliminating the need for separate roasting operations and subsequent mixing.
Solution Approach 2:
The blended roasting recipe serves as a universal solution that works for any combination of coffee types in the blend. The controller uses a single calculated recipe that adapts to the specific composition, making the system versatile for handling complex multi-type blends without requiring multiple separate processes or storage facilities for intermediate roasted products.
3Manufacturing precision
If testing different roasting profiles is done to determine the best profile for a blend, then optimal results can be reached, but it requires time and produces important waste of beans
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of the optimal blended roasting recipe before actual roasting by using the known parameters of individual coffee types and their proportions in the blend. This pre-computation of the blended recipe based on established individual recipes eliminates the need for time-consuming trial-and-error testing, allowing the operator to directly apply the calculated optimal profile and avoid wasting beans on unsuccessful test runs.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for automatic determination of a roasting profile that ensures all beans in a blend are correctly roasted, reducing waste and improving the consistency of the sensory profile, even when multiple types of beans are used, by calculating a blended roasting temperature based on the properties and quantities of each bean.
Implementation Method 1
a heating device to heat coffee beans contained in the chamber
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention concerns a method to determine the roasting recipe Rblend for roasting a customised blend of coffee beans CA, CB, … introduced in a chamber of a roasting apparatus, said recipe Rblend providing the temperature T@t1, T@t2, … to be applied at discrete successive times t1, t2, …, respectively, said method comprising the steps of : - obtaining for each type of coffee beans Cn comprised in said blend at least :. the type Cn of said type of coffee beans, and. the quantity mn of said type of coffee beans Cn introduced in the chamber, and - based on the obtained type Cn, getting access at least to :. roasting recipes RMA, RMB, … of the different types of coffee beans CA, CB, … respectively, and. temperature adaptation factors KA, KB, … of said different types of coffee beans CA, CB, … respectively of the customised blend, and - based on the obtained quantities mn of the different coffee beans Cn and the accessible roasting recipes RMn and temperature factors Kn, determining the roasting recipe Rblend to be applied to said customised blend of coffee beans introduced inside the chamber.