After cleaning, green coffee beans are conveyed into storage hoppers based on their origin / variety. Combinations of bean varieties are drawn from these storage hoppers in precise amounts and blended to achieve specified flavor profiles during roasting.
Legacy industrial coffee roasters utilize a gravity batch system that consists of a multi-chamber storage hopper, fed by a rotary distributor and chute work system that directs beans to the appropriate section of the multi-chamber storage hopper. The outlet of each chamber features a transition funnel, chute work and slide gate that directs green beans to a common scale hopper. Process-specific facilities are required to accommodate the ~200-feet of stack up height of these gravity batch systems.
Thayer Scale Equipment for Green Bean Blending
Contemporary industrial coffee roasters typically lease multi-use industrial warehouse space from third party management groups whose building design readily supports repurposing to meet the needs of future clients.
To fit within these structures, green bean blending and roasting systems utilize a green bean storage array consisting of multiple, multi-quadrant hoppers, each fed by multi-position diverter valves. Each pair of silos can discharge onto a common Thayer Scale Model “MWF” Weigh Belt based on the positioning of slide gates at the bottom of each silo. Each weigh belt delivers high accuracy green bean blends in a low profile stack-up that readily fits within today’s building designs. The weigh belts eliminate gravity chute work and product free fall height, significantly reducing product damage. Gentle product handling maintains a higher bean quality and generates larger yields for the producer.
The weigh belts seamlessly integrate with modern roasting profile software facilitating automatic, real-time adjustments that mitigate variances in green bean characteristics. Each weigh belt accurately delivers a wide range of batch sizes to a high level of precision, allowing processors to adapt to rapidly changing flavor trends and develop more customized product SKUs for their clients.
Weighing equipment for the processing of coffee
Weigh belts
- Highly-accurate for reliable, repeatable measurements and batch control
- Available with open or enclosed construction
- Designed to fit new or existing process flow streams
- Cantilevered conveyor assembly simplifies maintenance
Loss-in-weight feeders
- Auger discharge
- Vibratory pan discharge
- Feed rates from grams/minute to tons/hour
Hopper and silo material flow promotion solutions
- Provide consistent, uninterrupted material flow
Modern Process Equipment selected Thayer Scale’s weigh belts for use in a fully automated coffee roasting plant. The high accuracy of the weigh belts located under the storage silos measures the green coffee beans contiguously as they are dispensed, ensuring efficient operation and adherence to the recipe.
