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Water at high pressure and temperature is pumped through the roasted, ground coffee granules, to dissolve any soluble solids and produce the coffee extract. GEA offer three versatile extraction technologies The FIC® extractor enhances extraction rate at the desired temperature. The CARINE extractor prolongs extraction time, at higher temperatures, to optimize yields. The CONTEX technology offers short, low temperature processing to extract the aroma-rich fraction of the coffee.

The hydrolysis fraction is extracted at a feed water temperature of approx. 180°C and a pressure of 16 bar, to increase overall yield. Following centrifugation the weak extract undergoes evaporation to a concentration of 38–46% solids for freeze drying, or approx. 50% for spray drying. Water is gently removed in the evaporator (TVR or MVR heated) under vacuum at low temperature to help preserve coffee taste. A decanter separates the coffee extracts from the solids, and the recovered coffee extract is recycled back into the process. The dry solids are used for energy recovery.

The extract is centrifuged to separate any insoluble material, and then undergoes an aroma recovery, or freeze concentration process. The extract is stripped of its volatiles in a flash evaporator, the mixture of aroma volatiles and water vapor is then further concentrated using a distillation column, and the resulting distillate recovered by condensation. The aroma distillate is subsequently added to the concentrated extract prior to spray or freeze drying.

To prevent the loss of valuable aroma components, the roasted coffee beans undergo micro-grinding just before the concentrated coffee extract is dried. The GEA MicroWet grinding system uses a wet grinding technique to capture and preserve both the flavor and aroma of the coffee bean, and is designed to help you increase both the overall yield of the coffee beans and the capacity of the dryer.

Spray drying the freshly concentrated coffee extract produces free-flowing, coffee powder, or, if an agglomeration step is added, coffee granules. The wetted powder is agglomerated, sieved, and transferred to a fluid bed for drying and cooling. The multi-stage GEA FSD® Spray Dryer with integrated fluid bed is ideal to help ensure safe and efficient processing.

Freshly concentrated coffee is cooled, foamed and subsequently pre-frozen in preparation for freeze drying. The pre-frozen product is then pumped into either a belt freezer or rota freezer to produce a solid phase (flakes), which is then granulated, milled, sieved and automatically charged into trays, for loading into the freeze dryer. GEA offer two types of freeze dryers. The CONRAD® range is ideal for the continuous processing of large volumes, while our RAY® batch freeze dryers are designed for smaller capacities.

Precise dosing and sifting and safe, gentle handing of the dried product during storage, conveying and packing all help to retain quality. The GEA Scan-Vibro sifter removes dust and oversized particles before packing. Proprietary GEA vibration technology means that the freeze-dried coffee can be conveyed in cold room environments at temperatures as low as –53 °C.

GEA offer a range of solutions to fill coffee powders into bags, boxes and drums. Our range of bag/sack powder fillers are designed for low, medium and high production capacities. Latest additions to the range, for low capacity powder plants, include the semi-automatic SmartFil M1, and the fully automatic HYGiPac R1. Bag palletizing and emptying options are available for integration to provide a turnkey solution.

GEA can integrate smart refrigeration and heating solutions into the entire instant coffee process, resulting in lower energy consumption, minimized operating costs, increased sustainability and reduced carbon footprint.

GEA technologies can be configured with full automation, to help ensure optimum efficiency and performance. The GEA Codex® solution supports automation, by providing full and transparent traceability of raw materials and ingredients, throughout the process, and into the final product.