How does a color sorting machine help roasters?
The global market price for Arabica coffee has reached record highs in the past 12 months and is likely to persist into the foreseeable future. For this reason, coffee roasters need new operational practices and equipment to preserve margins.
Finding ways to preserve coffee quality while maintaining cost and time efficiency is now a primary challenge for roasters. Solutions like color sorting machines allow roasters to automate the sorting process, which saves them time and money. This allows them to dedicate resources elsewhere to optimize their roastery operations.
To learn more about the value of a color sorting machine for roasters, we spoke to two coffee professionals. They are Daniel Boobier, Head of Coffee at Calendar Coffee in Galway, Republic of Ireland, and Vytautus Kratulis, CEO of Huracán Coffee in Vilnius, Lithuania. Read on to learn how SOVDA’s Pearl Mini enhances their roastery operations.
What does a color sorting machine do?
A color sorting machine identifies defects in green or roasted coffee beans and automatically discards them. The SOVDA Pearl Mini uses two optical cameras to spot defective coffee beans according to user-set parameters and separates them via 64 air splash valves.
A color sorting machine eliminates defects in green coffee shipments and irregularities in roasted coffee. The Pearl Mini detects underripe quakers, insect damage, and burnt beans from scorching while roasting. It also identifies black beans, which are caused by nutritional deficiencies, diseases, or over-fermentation, as well as debris swept up from drying beds or patios.
After loading green or roasted coffee into the 110L hopper, roasters can navigate the Pearl Mini’s 12-inch color display and select from a number of sorting profiles. The Pearl Mini’s system memory stores sorting profiles for repeated use according to each roastery’s needs.
Why are color sorting machines necessary for coffee roasters?
To maintain standards amid ongoing financial instability within specialty coffee, color sorting machines are essential for minimizing defects and preserving quality. To be considered specialty grade, green coffee must have zero primary defects and five or fewer secondary defects per 350 grams. A color sorting machine allows specialty roasters to adhere to these standards while streamlining the sorting process, removing human error entirely.
By extension, color sorting machines give roasters the time to focus on other responsibilities. This is a valuable opportunity for roasters to optimize operations and sustain their margins in a competitive market.
Calendar Coffee, based in Galway, Republic of Ireland, has been using the SOVDA Pearl Mini color sorting machine since 2022. “We saw other roasters using the machine, and it seemed reliable and simple to use. We have been using it for almost three years now, and it has been fantastic,” says Daniel Boobier, Head of Coffee.
Their sorting process takes place after roasting and primarily highlights quakers and any twice-roasted beans – and the Pearl Mini has improved efficiency in this process. “We used to sort all our roasted coffee by hand, so it has saved us an enormous amount of time,” he says. “This time is now much better spent in other areas of the business,” such as Calendar Coffee’s environmental and social initiatives.
The Pearl Mini color sorting machine allows Calendar to run a quality-focused roastery without sacrificing time that could be spent on other processes. “All coffee contains defects, and if you are serious about quality, they must be removed either by hand or using specialist equipment such as the Pearl Mini,” Daniel concludes. “I can't imagine running a roastery without it.”
Similarly, Huracán Coffee, based in Vilnius, Lithuania, has used the SOVDA Pearl Mini for three years. Vytautus Kratulis, the company’s CEO, noted the increase in coffee uniformity and quality in that time – particularly for their coffee originating from microlots.
“You usually spend a lot of money to find a coffee and then once you receive it, normally it's not perfect,” Vytautus explains. “[The Pearl Mini] helps to remove these impurities, [which] gives us greater uniformity for the coffee,” he says.
For specialty roasters, quality is essential for building a positive reputation with consumers. This is a non-negotiable for coffee professionals like Vytautus, and something that he values from the Pearl Mini. “The initial thing that I'm looking for in the coffee is the cleanliness. Sometimes, if you get even one [defective] bean, you start thinking something is wrong,” he explains. “SOVDA helps to get a cleaner taste in the flavor in the coffee cup.”
With high standards for their coffee, both Calendar and Huracán reject beans that are good enough to drink but below specialty-grade. Therefore, Calendar donates its discarded coffee to local charities and food banks, while Huracán donates them to a local drug rehabilitation center. The Pearl Mini’s efficiency in sorting coffee helps both roasters give back to their communities with minimal extra labor and time.
How the SOVDA Pearl Mini helps roasters address coffee sorting challenges
Both Calendar and Huracán have seen a rise in coffee quality and operational efficiency by using the SOVDA Pearl Mini. When calibrated precisely, the Pearl Mini removes defective beans with a carryover rate as low as 10%. In fact, SOVDA customers have seen their cupping scores improve by up to three points when using the Pearl Mini color sorting machine.
The Pearl Mini color sorting machine can also increase operational efficiency, as it has a sorting capacity of 250 kg of roasted coffee per hour and 500 kg of green coffee per hour. This capacity is ideal for specialty roasters of all roasting volumes. It is an accurate, reliable, and powerful color sorting machine for specialty coffee roasters.
To learn more about SOVDA’s color sorting machine and other products designed to streamline the process of blending and packing coffee, get in touch with the team.
