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 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.

The invention concerns an apparatus for roasting coffee beans comprising:—a vessel (1) to contain coffee beans,—an electrical heating device (13) to heat coffee beans contained in the vessel,—at least one temperature sensor (23) to measure temperature in the vessel, —a control system (180) operable to control the heating device, wherein the control system is configured to:—apply a roasting recipe dedicated to the roasting of partially pre-roasted beans comprising at least a temperature versus time profile by controlling the electrical heating device based on the measure of the temperature sensor,—detect a decrease of the consumption of electrical power of the heating device in function of time,—stop heating if no decrease of the consumption of electrical power happens after a set reference time ti.—continue or stop the electrical heating device depending on the type of identified beans.

A coffee roasting apparatus (100) is disclosed comprising a compartment (110) for holding coffee beans (10); a roasting element (140) for roasting the coffee beans in said compartment; and a controller (130) for controlling the roasting element, wherein the controller is adapted to control the roasting element as a function of the concentration of volatile organic compounds residing in the compartment. A coffee brewing apparatus including such a coffee roasting apparatus and a coffee roasting method are also disclosed.

The invention concerns a system for roasting coffee beans comprising: —a roasting apparatus (1), said apparatus producing smoke, and—a smoke treating unit (2) configured to collect and treat smoke produced by the roasting apparatus, wherein: —the roasting apparatus comprises a smoke outlet (11), and—the smoke treating unit comprises: a smoke inlet (21) configured to cooperate with the smoke outlet of the roasting apparatus, a smoke filtering sub-unit (22) comprising at least an active carbon filter (221), a smoke driver (23) configured to circulate smoke through the smoke treating unit from the smoke collecting device to an outlet (25) of the smoke treating unit, wherein the smoke treating unit (2) comprises an air inlet (24) configured to mix the smoke produced by the roasting apparatus (1) with ambient air before the smoke is circulated through the smoke filtering sub-unit (22).

The invention concerns a system for roasting coffee beans comprising: —a roasting apparatus (1), said apparatus producing smoke, and—a smoke treating unit (2) configured to collect and treat smoke produced by the roasting apparatus, wherein: —the roasting apparatus comprises a smoke outlet (11), and—the smoke treating unit comprises: a smoke inlet (21) configured to cooperate with the smoke outlet of the roasting apparatus, a smoke filtering sub-unit (22) comprising at least an active carbon filter (221), a smoke driver (23) configured to circulate smoke through the smoke treating unit from the smoke collecting device to an outlet (25) of the smoke treating unit, wherein the smoke treating unit (2) comprises an air inlet (24) configured to mix the smoke produced by the roasting apparatus (1) with ambient air before the smoke is circulated through the smoke filtering sub-unit (22).

A coffee roasting apparatus (100) is disclosed that comprises a compartment (110) for holding coffee beans (10); a roasting element (140) for roasting the coffee beans in said compartment; a controller (130) for controlling the roasting element; and a sensor (120) for monitoring a total amount of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) released by said coffee beans during roasting and providing the controller with an indication of said monitored amount. The controller is adapted to receive an indication of the total weight of the coffee beans in the compartment and control the roasting element as a function of the indication of the monitored total amount and the indication of the total weight, said function defining the total VOC release characteristics of said coffee beans during roasting. A coffee brewing apparatus and coffee roasting method are also disclosed.

A device for use in a process for roasting coffee beans comprises measuring means (10) for performing measurements of an actual value of particulate matter emission from the coffee beans during a process of roasting the coffee beans, and controlling means (20) coupled to the measuring means (10) for receiving the outcome of the measurements from the measuring means (10), wherein the controlling means (20) are adapted to find a pattern of the particulate matter emission over time on the basis of the outcome of the measurements, to determine an actual roasting degree of the coffee beans on the basis of the pattern, and to determine and set at least one characteristic of the roasting process on the basis of the roasting degree.

A device for use in a process for roasting coffee beans comprises measuring means (10) for performing measurements of an actual value of particulate matter emission from the coffee beans during a process of roasting the coffee beans, and controlling means (20) coupled to the measuring means (10) for receiving the outcome of the measurements from the measuring means (10), wherein the controlling means (20) are adapted to find a pattern of the particulate matter emission over time on the basis of the outcome of the measurements, to determine an actual roasting degree of the coffee beans on the basis of the pattern, and to determine and set at least one characteristic of the roasting process on the basis of the roasting degree.