It’s hard to imagine the average bleary-eyed person shuffling toward their coffee maker in the first few minutes of their morning and worrying about science. Other things besides chemistry require focus and attention before that first jolt of caffeine kicks in.
But for those who make coffee for a living – from the local barista to multi-national beverage companies – the science of coffee is superbly important. And for those folks, the equipment and brewing systems engineered and manufactured by Deutsche Beverage Technologies help remove the complexities of understanding and analyzing the science of coffee.
“People who’ve been in the coffee industry for any amount of time know the importance of lab-style analytics when it comes to consistently brewing their product,” said Evan Moser, Chief engineer at Deutsche. “Our brewing systems are specifically designed to measure the data needed to make the correct decisions in every step of production.”
WHAT GETS ANALYZED
From temperature to pH, from Total Dissolved Solids to specific gravity, conductivity, and Brix, Deutsche’s coffee brewing equipment is capable of measuring and analyzing the data that are vital in consistently producing a high-quality coffee product. Deutche’s automated systems give users real-time data that allow them to monitor the entire process and quickly make any needed adjustments.
“When companies make the decision to scale up and are purchasing our equipment, we spend a lot of time with them explaining why we have certain designs in tanks and how it’s designed to give them the information they need to make their best coffee product,” said Moser. “We want to provide them with the most important information we can without them having to babysit the system.”
While brewing coffee can seem like an art form to some, for engineers like Moser it comes down to what is essentially chemistry. And while the basics of chemistry remain in place, how those basics are used for making coffee is a process that continues to evolve.
“We’re seeing changes in how coffee is brewed and what the final coffee product is,” Moser said. “There’s a diverse range of coffee options ¬– from kegging cold brew coffee to new ready-to-drink coffees that you’re finding at convenience stores. There’s a lot of innovation happening in the industry.”
And with each innovation comes an increased need to monitor and analyze data at each step of the process.
Moser said Deutsche can customize the analytical equipment according to each customer’s wants and needs even as they evolve in a rapidly changing industry.
WHY ANALYZE
The rise in innovation requires that coffee brewers pay close attention to their analytical equipment to ensure that they are producing a high-quality product that meets the expectations of consumers, builds brand loyalty, and increases sales.
The benefits of using analytical equipment in the commercial brewing of coffee are numerous. They include:
- Improved quality control: Analytical equipment can help to identify and correct problems with the coffee beans, water, or the brewing process. This can lead to a higher quality cup of coffee.
- Increased efficiency: Analytical equipment helps automate tasks and improve efficiency. This can lead to lower costs and higher profits. “Once you get to a larger scale, there’s less work in brewing 10,000 cups in a semi-automated system than there is making each cup by hand,” said Moser. “It’s eye-opening when that happens.”
- Increased compliance: Analytical equipment can help coffee companies to comply with state and federal regulations. And make sure there product is safe to drink.
“At its core, brewing coffee might seem like an easy thing,” said Moser. “But doing it at a larger scale and doing it consistently requires paying attention to the analytics of coffee.”
