Coffe drying on fluidised bed

Abstract

All coffee is harvested as cherry grains which are then crushed and extracted traditionally or by applying the Becolsub method. Once the coffee parchment obtained has been washed, it is naturally or mechanically dried. Static dryers are the most used mechanical dryers, generally producing lack of uniformity in the grain's final humidity content which must range from 10% to 12% b.h. Drying by fluidization was used in the present research work; this turns a solid particle bed into a suspended and expanded mass, possessing many of the properties of a liquid. A 5,000 g capacity prototype was designed and constructed in which coffee was dried at three air drying temperatures: 42°C, 46°C and 49°C; drying time lasted 6 to 8 hours. Good uniformity in final grain humidity content was obtained, differences being less than 0.86%. As well as the grain test, a control cup test was used, finding that the product presented good organoleptic qualities.