Unraveling the Performance of Fluidized Coffee Roasters Under Slow and Fast Roasting Processes: Energy, Quality, and Economic Analysis

This study aimed to investigate the performance of fluidized coffee roasters subjected to slow and fast roasting processes, focusing on energy, quality attributes, and economic analysis.

Experiments were carried out using two roasting conditions (slow and fast heating) and three levels of roasting degrees (light, medium, and dark). The energy analysis included electricity, fuel, and total energy consumption. Quality analysis included moisture content, ash content, color, pH, caffeine content, and roasted coffee uniformity. Economic analysis included the yield of roasted coffee, cost, income from coffee roasting, and revenue.

Slow roasting required a cracking time almost two times longer than that of fast roasting, but this phenomenon was temperature-dependent in the range of 190–200 °C. Fast roasting at light and medium levels was the most energy-efficient condition. Although the fuel required per second was greater for fast roasting, the time required to reach the target degree of the roasted coffee was much lower. Increasing the roasting level increased energy consumption and pH value, and decreased L*, moisture content and yield in both roasting types, but no significant changes were found in caffeine content. The roasting uniformity was also found to be above 80% under the two roasting conditions. Economic analysis shows differences in each treatment.

Overall evaluation underscores the profitability of fast roasting methods, with higher yields and profits, indicating their cost-effectiveness and potential for enhancing profitability in coffee production. The light level of coffee roasted using fast techniques gave the highest revenue, followed by medium and dark levels.