A removable bin for a dryer comprises a substantially circular floor portion and a wall portion. The wall portion comprises an upper portion and a lower portion. The lower portion comprises a plurality of zones arranged along a height of the lower portion and extending along a perimeter of the lower portion. Each zone defines a respective area of the lower portion. Each of the zones comprises a number of openings for drainage, and each zone has a respective density of openings. Each of the openings is defined by one or more circumferential edges, with the circumferential edges being molded. The respective density of openings in each of the zones increases towards the bottom of the bin.

The current invention provides an automatic gear-shift drive mechanism including a first gear system having a first gear ratio, and a second gear system having a second gear ratio, wherein the first gear ratio is higher than the second gear ratio, and is biased to spin the drying assembly with the first gear system when the automatic gear-shift drive mechanism is driven and the workload is below a threshold workload, and switch to spin the drying assembly with the first and the second gear systems when the automatic gear-shift drive mechanism is driven and the workload is at or above the threshold workload.

Some implementations of the described methods relate to a process for frying coffee beans (and/or another food product) in a fry medium (such as cooking oil) and then centrifuging the coffee beans (and/or other food product) to remove a significant portion of the fry medium. Although the frying and centrifugation can occur in separate devices, in some cases, the described systems comprise a device that acts as both a fryer and a centrifuge. Indeed, in some cases, after the coffee beans (or other food product) has been fry roasted in a perforated container (e.g., a basket), the fry medium is drained from the container, and container is spun. In some cases, liquid nitrogen is also applied to the beans (or other food product), before and/or after being fry roasted. Other implementations are described.

A cooling arrangement for a roasted vegetable bulk material. The cooling arrangement includes a cooling chamber for cooling the roasted vegetable bulk material. The cooling chamber has a bulk material receiving surface and a sensor arrangement having at least one temperature sensor which monitors a temperature of the roasted vegetable bulk material.

A bean roasting system includes a roasting subsystem and an air handling subsystem. The roasting subsystem is configured to receive and to thermally roast a batch of beans. The air handling subsystem is coupled to the roasting subsystem and includes a blower, a cyclone separator, and a heater. The blower is configured to impart air motion. The air passes through the air handling subsystem. The cyclone separator is configured to remove particulates from the air handling subsystem. The heater is configured to heat the air passing through the air handling subsystem. The heater includes heater windings that are incorporated into the cyclone separator.