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Many major coffee roasters are finding the Agtron Coffee Roast Analyzers invaluable in controlling the quality and consistency of their product. These bench top units are the most accurate, repeatable, and easy to use roast analyzers available.
The development of the flavor of coffee is directly related to the degree and method of roasting, as such, quantitative measurement of roast becomes imperative in controlling both the absolute and customer perceived quality of the product. The Agtron E20-CP and M-Basic/II are near-infrared abridged Spectrophotometers, designed specifically for high resolution analysis of the degree of roast of ground and whole bean coffee. Both instruments use near-infrared because it provides much higher resolution measuring flavor as it relates to the chemistry of the roasting process. Other instruments that use the visible spectrum to evaluate degree of roast can be confused by variations in the complex color signature of the beans as they base their results on the lightness or darkness of the sample and not the chemistry. Two samples can be the same color yet cup to different roast classifications. This effect reduces the resolution of analysis and can often produce erroneous results. The eye is subject to the same deficiencies and is additionally affected by perception variables, making accurate and repeatable assessment impossible.
To solve these problems the Agtron E20-CP and M-Basic/II use a very narrow band of near-infrared energy which is outside of the visible spectrum. This frequency is selected because it sees the development of chemistry as it effects cup character independent of color. Samples are evaluated both as whole bean and ground, with simple preparation. Using an Agtron makes it possible to evaluate and subsequently control both the degree and uniformity of roast.
Of special interest are the Agtron Scientific Workshops, hosted each month at our Reno, Nevada facility, located adjacent to beautiful Lake Tahoe. This intense one day workshop introduces roasters to the science of their art and teaches the thermal chemistry, dynamics, methodology and objectives of optimized roasting. Students learn the revolutionary new way to roast coffee with dramatically better cup character and improved consistency. The course covers simple instrumentation and heat control modifications for roasting equipment as well as implementation of the new Agtron roasting system. Novices as well as seasoned experts will benefit immensely from this course.