The hot air coffee roaster has the following performance characteristics:
Advantages
High heating efficiency: Air is drawn in by a blower and then passed through a heating coil to increase its temperature. Hot air is used as the heating source to roast coffee beans. Hot air not only provides the temperature required for roasting but also uses the power of air flow to stir coffee beans, thereby accelerating the roasting process. For instance, modern and highly efficient hot air roasters can complete the roasting task within a few minutes, ensuring that coffee beans are heated evenly and significantly enhancing the roasting efficiency.
Uniform heating: By controlling the speed and direction of the air flow, the hot air roaster can prevent the coffee beans from being heated unevenly during the roasting process. Compared with the traditional direct heating method, the hot air baking machine is more flexible during the heating process. It can adjust the heating method according to different baking needs, ensuring consistent baking quality for each batch. This is particularly important for industrial baking in large-scale production.
Precise temperature control: The hot air roaster responds very quickly when adjusting the temperature and can steadily and consistently increase the temperature of the beans. The shorter roasting time also allows for a deeper roasting degree in a shorter period, retaining the sugar and oil within the beans. Meanwhile, the complex control system it is equipped with can precisely control the heating rate (RoR) in the baking curve, making the baking process more stable and controllable.
Highlighting the acidity of coffee beans: Roasting in a hot air roaster often highlights the acidity of coffee beans better than in a drum roaster, making the roasted coffee have more acidity and fruity flavors, which is suitable for coffee lovers who prefer a fresh taste and bright acidity.
Energy saving: The hot air type baking machine does not require preheating the baking machine, which can save energy each time it is baked. This is a significant saving when calculating the baking for a whole year.
Easy operation: The hot air baking machine is easier to operate, and training employees becomes less complicated. Moreover, its equipment cost is relatively low, making it more friendly to small businesses and amateur bakers.
Disadvantages
It is prone to cause rapid temperature rise: Due to the high heating efficiency, it is easy to cause rapid temperature rise, resulting in the beans being “undercooked”. Moreover, excessive temperature rise can easily lead to insufficient caramelization reaction, resulting in a monotonous and dull flavor. Especially during deep roasting, it may produce a rather pungent flavor, which is not very suitable for coffee lovers who pursue complex flavors.
High maintenance cost: Most hot air baking machines have some moving parts that may need to be replaced regularly, which increases the maintenance cost of the equipment.
High requirements for operational skills: Good control demands that bakers have high skills and experience. If not handled properly, it can easily lead to the beans heating up too quickly, resulting in a “half-cooked” condition and affecting the flavor of the coffee.
Strict load control: In hot air baking, the control of load is more strict than that in traditional baking. A specific baking curve is usually only applicable to a certain load, and any change in load requires readjusting the curve. Overloading is a serious problem for hot air baking machines. It not only affects the uniformity of baking but may also lead to unstable operation of the equipment.