Let’s start: roast and grind your coffee beans…

… then brew powder, and condense extracts using instant coffee manufacturing equipment

Instant coffee production: the freeze-drying method

Freeze-drying is the most common process used to remove moisture from coffee extracts. This process minimizes the chances of altering the flavor and aroma. The process involves freezing the coffee extracts to turn them into solid slabs. We are talking about ice age temperatures, around -40 °C or lower. The slabs are broken down into granules and loaded into trays for vacuum heating. The process removes the remaining moisture from the granules by applying heat at 60 °C under pressure in a strong vacuum.

This is called the sublimation process, where solid crystals turn to vapor without passing through a liquid phase. The aromas collected and stored in the tank are sprayed over the granules as they pass through giant sacks before they are prepared for packaging.

Instant coffee production: The spray-drying method

Another method used for drying coffee extract is the spray-drying process. The process involves atomizing or spraying the liquid coffee extract into tiny droplets. At the same time, a high-velocity stream of hot air at more than 500 °C quickly vaporizes the moisture leaving instant coffee powder.

This method can quickly dry the coffee extract into powder but may lose part of its flavor and aroma due to high temperature and pressure during the drying process. In terms of operating cost, this method is cheaper to operate compared to the freeze-drying method.