Apparatus for roasting coffee beans, the apparatus comprising: a casing that defines an internal void, a baffle for dividing the internal void into first and second zones that are in fluid communication with one another; a heater for heating air to temperatures suitable for roasting coffee beans, the heater being located in the second zone; a control system for controlling the apparatus; the control system being located in the first zone; and a fan operable to draw ambient air into the first zone and drive the air from the first zone past the baffle into the second zone for heating by the heater, the arrangement being such that in use the first zone is cooler than the second zone.

The invention concerns process of calibration of a coffee beans roasting apparatus in order to reproduce coffee beans roasting recipes defined with one specific master roasting apparatus, said calibration process comprising the steps of: a—introducing at least one second temporary temperature probe inside the chamber of the roasting apparatus, b—controlling the heating device to reproduce a preset curve R said control being based on the temperature Treg regulated by the at least one first temperature probe, c—during the reproduction of the preset curve Rset, measuring the temperature Tcal in function of time inside the chamber, d—comparing the temperature Tcal@ti with the temperature Tref@ti of a pre-determined calibration curve Rref obtained with the master roasting apparatus (M), said calibration curve Rref representing the temperature Tref measured in the chamber of the specific master apparatus (M) while controlling the heating device of the master apparatus to reproduce said preset curve Rset, e—based on this comparison, calibrating the roasting apparatus by applying a correction, to the temperature Treg regulated by the first temperature probe inside the control system of the roasting apparatus.

A coffee roasting apparatus (100) is disclosed that comprises a compartment (110) for holding coffee beans (10); a roasting element (140) for directing a heated air flow through said compartment; a particulate matter sensor (120) for detecting a peak amount of particulate matter in said air flow; and a controller (130) arranged to control said roasting element. The controller is adapted to select a defined control time for said roasting element as a function of an amount of time lapsed from the start of the roasting process until the detection of said peak amount; and apply the defined control time to said roasting element after first cracking of the coffee beans to complete the roasting of the coffee beans in order to obtain a consistent roasting result. A coffee brewing apparatus including such a coffee roasting apparatus and a method of controlling such a coffee roasting apparatus are also disclosed.

The invention concerns a coffee beans roasting system comprising : - a coffee beans roasting apparatus (10), said apparatus comprising : a chamber (1),. a heating device (2),. at least one first temperature probe (5) to regulate the temperature of air supplied by the heating device, said first temperature probe being positioned outside the chamber,. a control system (80) configured to control the heating device and configured to reproduce roasting curves each of said roasting curves providing a set of points (T@ti; ti) based on the temperature Treg regulated by the at least one first temperature probe, and - at least one second temperature probe (3) configured to be introduced temporary inside the roasting apparatus to measure the temperature inside the roasting chamber, and - means configured to create a pressure loss of the flow of hot air while the chamber is void of coffee beans in order to simulate the presence of coffee beans inside the chamber during a roasting operation.

An apparatus includes a receptacle configured to receive a container containing a substance for processing. The container includes a readable tag having processing information associated with the substance. The apparatus also includes a processing chamber operably coupled to the receptacle and configured to receive the substance and process the substance. The apparatus further includes a controller operably coupled to the processing chamber and configured to generate one or more processing instructions based on the processing information in the readable tag and further based on additional processing information received from a remote device. The processing is also configured to process the substance based on the one or more processing instructions.

The invention concerns a method to roast coffee beans in a room (100), said method comprising the steps of wherein, when at least one roasting operation is implemented, —obtaining desired roasting data input of said at least one roasting operation, said desired data input, —getting access to information relative to the room and to the coffee beans roasting apparatus, and —before initiating the at least one roasting operation: determining the concentration of each contaminant generated in the room during said at least one roasting operation, for each contaminant, comparing the determined concentration of said contaminant generated in the room with the concentration of said contaminant authorized according to local health and safety regulations.

A roasting and grinding system (100) for preparing and delivering on demand roast and ground coffee, the system having: one or more raw containers (10, 10′, 10″, etc.) having green coffee beans of the same or of different types; a roasting unit (20) receiving green coffee beans from one or more of the raw containers (10, 10′, 10″, etc.) at the time, the roasting unit (20) adapting automatically the roasting parameters to the type of green coffee beans to roast; a conservation area (30) where the roasted coffee is stored at appropriate atmosphere until it is grinded; a grinding area (40) having one or more grinding units (41, 41′, 41″, etc.) one per type of coffee to be ground, adapting automatically the grinding parameters to the type of coffee or coffee mix to be ground. The invention further relates to a raw container (10, 10′, 10″, etc.) having green coffee beans detachably connectable to a roasting and grinding system (100), and to a method for roasting and grinding coffee blends on demand using such a system.

A fluidized electric coffee roaster includes a housing; a fluidizing chamber having a predetermined volume into which raw coffee beans are introduced, discharged, and roasted; a heating unit communicating with a lower end of the fluidizing chamber; an air supply unit connected to the heating unit and supplying external air inside the housing to the heating unit; a raw coffee bean injecting unit connected to an upper end of the fluidizing chamber and allowing raw coffee beans to be injected into the fluidizing chamber from an outside; and a coffee discharging unit connected to a lower end of the fluidizing chamber and allowing roasted coffee to be discharged, wherein air heated by the heating unit is supplied to the lower end of the fluidizing chamber and is discharged to an upper end of the fluidizing chamber so that the raw coffee beans are circulated from a lower part of the fluidizing chamber to an upper part of the fluidizing chamber and roasted.

A device and a method of sensing characteristics of a food material and a machine and a method of brewing coffee. The device comprises: a wave source (20) configured for emitting waves to said food material (22), with the wavelength range of said waves comprising a selected near infrared band neighboring a visible band; a detector (26), configured for detecting intensities of the waves reflected by said food material; and an analysis module (28), configured for determining said characteristics according to the detected intensity of the reflected waves. Preferably, the food material comprises coffee powder, and the characteristics comprise at least any one of: color of the coffee powder (corresponding to the roasting degree of coffee powder); and grind fineness of the coffee powder.

Disclosed is a vacuum roaster including a chamber, a door cap formed on one side of the chamber so as to be opened or closed, a vacuum cap formed on an opposite side of the chamber, a basket spaced apart from an inner circumferential surface of the chamber, and including a basket door that is opened or closed for introduction and discharge of an object to be processed, a vacuum adjustment device for adjusting a vacuum state inside the chamber, a drive motor connected to the basket via a shaft for rotating the basket, and a heater provided inside the chamber so as to be spaced apart from the basket.