JP2000342182A - Modification of coffee bean - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To modify the quality of low-quality coffee beans such as of lobster variety to higher-quality ones such as of arabica variety, and to further modify such higher-quality coffee beans to further higher-quality ones by diminishing offensive acidity inherent in the coffee beans of arabica variety. SOLUTION: This method for modifying coffee beans comprises the following steps: coffee raw beans are soaked in and fully impregnated with a sucrose solution; the raw beans thus impregnated are steamed with saturated steam at 130-160 deg.C for 5-30 min in a boiler; the raw beans thus steamed are subjected to vacuum cool drying for 5-15 min and then roasted to obtain the objective high-quality coffee beans of excellent flavor. Another version of this method comprises the following steps: raw beans are roasted, then steamed with saturated steam and then subjected to vacuum cool drying under the same conditions as described above to obtain the objective high-quality coffee beans of excellent flavor. The above method is also applicable to coffee beans of arabica variety, thereby diminishing offensive acidity inherent in such coffee beans and improving them to higher-quality ones.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for modifying the quality of coffee beans, and more particularly, to improving the quality of unroasted green beans or roasted beans themselves obtained by roasting green beans. The present invention relates to a method for modifying coffee beans.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Coffee roasted coffee produced in various parts of the world can be roasted to obtain a unique taste and aroma such as bitterness, acidity, etc., and used as coffee beverages such as straight coffee and blended coffee. Extracts extracted from crushed roasted beans have been used as food additives. The quality (deliciousness, aroma, etc.) of coffee beverages depends on many factors such as the source and varieties of green beans, the method of roasting green beans, the method and degree of grinding of roasted beans, the method of dripping ground beans, and drip conditions. Are determined intertwined. In particular, the decisive factor that greatly influences the quality of coffee beverages is the locality or variety of green beans.

[0003] The varieties of coffee beans are broadly classified into three types: Arabica, Robusta, and Rebellica. Among them, the Arabica varieties such as those from Brazil and Colombia are considered to have the highest quality in both taste and aroma. Yes, 70-8 of world gross product
It accounts for 0%. The next largest producers are Indonesian and Vietnamese Robusta species. Robusta green beans are rated low quality because of their unpleasant and unpleasant odors compared to Arabica green beans, but they have excellent resistance to pathogens and are easy to produce in lowlands. Various measures have been attempted to improve the quality of beans, for example, because the cost of beans is significantly lower than that of Arabica varieties.

[0004] For example, as a method for stabilizing or modifying the quality of green beans such as Robusta seeds, when steaming green beans in a vacuum, the vacuum is efficiently combined and the green beans are steam-heated uniformly and uniformly. It has been practiced to vacuum-dry steamed green beans with ventilation of inert gas to adjust the moisture content of the green beans. In addition, various roasting conditions for green beans are often selected to modify the quality of green beans themselves in the roasting process.

[0005]

However, the quality determined by the variety of green coffee beans is decisive, and the bitterness, acidity, and aroma of robusta green beans are considered to be high quality of Arabica. At present, it is difficult to approach a well-balanced bitterness, acidity, and aroma. Therefore, inexpensive robusta green beans are mainly used as industrial coffee beans such as blended coffee and instant coffee, canned coffee and liquid, and expensive Arabica green beans are mainly used for regular coffee and straight coffee,
This makes it difficult to reduce the cost of regular coffee and straight coffee.

An object of the present invention is to improve the quality of coffee beans, and in particular, to provide a method for modifying coffee beans which enables the quality of Robusta to approach that of Arabica. Another object of the present invention is to improve the quality of Arabica by reducing acetic acid and formic acid, which are unpleasant acids contained in coffee.

[0007]

The technical means of the present invention for achieving the above object is to impregnate a green coffee bean with a sugar solution, and to convert the green bean impregnated with the sugar solution into a saturated steam of 130 ° C to 160 ° C. For 5 to 30 minutes, and a step of vacuum cooling and drying the steamed green beans for 3 to 15 minutes.

[0008] The green coffee beans here are preferably of Arabica variety and Robusta variety for the purpose of improving the quality.
The sucrose solution (sucrose solution), which is a typical sugar component, is suitable for the sugar solution in which the green beans are immersed, but other sugar solutions may be used. The sugar solution is preferably a monosaccharide or disaccharide, and examples thereof include sucrose, fructose, and glucose. These saccharides may be used alone or in combination of two or more, and are appropriately selected. The concentration of the sugar solution is preferably 1 to 8% based on the weight of the green beans. If it is less than 1%, the coffee beans cannot be sufficiently modified, and if it is more than 8%, the beans cannot be uniformly roasted due to caramelization of the beans during roasting. In the step of steaming green beans impregnated with the sugar solution with saturated steam, the green beans are efficiently steam-heated without being oxidized, and the surface and the inside of the beans are uniformly heated. In the heat treatment at a high temperature of 130 ° C. or higher in the steaming step, the sterilization treatment of the green beans is also performed simultaneously. The moisture content is adjusted to the same level as before the treatment by vacuum cooling and drying the green beans after the steaming process, and the unpleasant odor is thermally decomposed and removed by the steaming process to improve the taste and aroma quality of the green beans. Higher reforming.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2 of the present invention, the green solution impregnated with the sugar solution is housed in a vacuum and pressurizable pot,
After evacuating the kettle and supplying saturated steam to steam the green beans, the inside of the kettle is evacuated again and the green beans are vacuum-cooled and dried. The kettle here may be any existing kettle equipment used as a short-time cooking and sterilizing apparatus. In one pot, green beans are steamed with saturated steam at 130 ° C to 160 ° C for 5 minutes to 30 minutes. After that, by performing vacuum cooling and drying for 3 to 15 minutes, the coffee bean reforming operation can be performed efficiently and advantageously in terms of equipment investment.

[0010] When the raw beans of the Robusta species are modified using the sucrose solution, the quality of the Robusta species is modified to a level very close to the quality of the Arabica species. A similar treatment using Arabica seeds reduces unpleasant sourness and can be modified to higher quality coffee beans.

[0011] In addition, the invention according to claim 4 of the present invention, which achieves the above object, comprises a step of roasting green coffee beans, and a step of roasting the roasted beans with saturated steam at 130 ° C to 160 ° C for 5 minutes. ~ 3
Step of steaming for 0 minutes, and steaming roasted beans for 3 minutes ~
It is characterized in that it includes a step of vacuum cooling and drying for 15 minutes. In this case, coffee beans of either the Robusta type or the Arabica type are suitable, and roasting of green beans is performed by appropriately setting the degree of roasting according to the purpose of use and roasting. By steaming the roasted beans under the conditions of the present invention, and drying and cooling under vacuum, the quality of the Robusta species approaches the quality of the Arabica variety.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 of the present invention is characterized in that the roasted beans are housed in a vacuum and pressurizable kettle, and after evacuating the kettle, saturated steam is supplied to supply the roasted beans. After steaming, the inside of the pot is evacuated again and the roasted beans are vacuum-cooled and dried. The pot here may be any existing pot equipment used as a short-time cooking and sterilizing apparatus similar to the invention of claim 2, and roasted beans are stored at 130 ° C. in one pot.
By steaming with saturated steam at ~ 160 ° C for 5 to 30 minutes, and then drying by vacuum cooling for 3 to 15 minutes, the coffee bean reforming operation can be performed efficiently and advantageously in terms of equipment investment.

The coffee beans obtained by the above method can be used for producing various coffee drinks such as regular coffee, canned coffee and instant coffee. When used for manufacturing, without special treatment
What is necessary is just to use like normal coffee beans.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The outline of the method of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S1, unroasted green coffee beans are prepared. In step S2, the green beans are immersed in the sugar solution to sufficiently impregnate the green beans with the sugar solution.
Green beans are typically low quality Robusta seeds,
A certain effect can be expected even with high-quality Arabica species. The sugar solution is a sugar solution such as a sucrose solution. When the green beans are sufficiently impregnated with the sugar solution, the green beans are taken out of the sugar solution, sufficiently drained, and transferred to the steaming and vacuum drying pot 1 in step S3.

The kettle 1 is equipped with an existing short-time cooking sterilizer (RI).
The vacuum and pressurized kettle used in C) is used. A vacuum system provided with a vacuum pump (not shown) and a steam heating system provided with a boiler as a steam generation source are connected to the kettle 1. In step S3, when a fixed amount of the raw bean impregnated with the sugar solution is stored in the pot 1, the air in the pot 1 is removed by a vacuum pump to make the inside of the pot 1 a vacuum of 20 torr or less. Saturate by supplying steam at a temperature of ℃ to 160 ° C, and steam the raw beans with the saturated steam for 5 minutes to 30 minutes.
When the inside of the pot 1 is vacuum degassed and the green beans are steamed with the saturated steam, the green beans are efficiently brought into contact with the saturated steam to uniformly heat the inside and outside of the beans, and oxidize the green beans during the heating. Is prevented. In addition, sterilization treatment of green beans is performed due to the high temperature of 130 ° C. or higher. Here, the saturated steam temperature in the steaming step is desirably 130 ° C. or higher for expecting a sterilizing effect of the green beans, and 160 ° C. or lower is appropriate for preventing quality deterioration of the green beans. If the steaming time is less than 5 minutes, the effect of the steaming does not occur, and if the steaming time exceeds 30 minutes, the possibility of quality deterioration increases. Therefore, approximately 5 minutes to 30 minutes is appropriate. It is determined by the bean variety, the degree of quality change, and the saturated steam temperature.

Next, the process proceeds to step S4, where the raw beans steamed in the kettle 1 are vacuum degassed in the kettle 1 again for 3 minutes.
Dry under vacuum for 15 minutes. The vacuum cooling drying time of 3 to 15 minutes is set based on various experimental data so that the moisture content of the green beans is adjusted to be the same as before the sugar solution impregnation treatment. The raw beans obtained by actively cooling and drying the green beans in the pot 1 to return the moisture content to the state before the treatment are removed, and the unpleasant odor at the beginning is removed by thermal decomposition in the steaming treatment, and the unpleasant odor is removed. The green beans themselves become more fragrant. In addition, the harmonization of various tastes such as bitterness and sourness of the raw beans is favorably modified by the sugar solution impregnation and the steaming treatment in the previous step, and particularly sourness is strongly generated, and the bitterness is masked by this sourness, and as a result, And the overall quality of green beans taste and aroma is changed to high quality.

The green beans whose quality has been modified in the pot 1 are taken out of the pot 1, and thereafter roasted in step S5 when necessary, crushed in step S6 and extracted in step S7 to become coffee drinks and the like. . In this case, in the roasting in step S5, the degree of roasting is appropriately set according to the purpose of use, and roasting is performed. In addition, it is known that the extraction efficiency of the coffee beans in step S7 is further improved by the modifying effect of the green beans by the above-described various processes.

In the above method for modifying coffee beans of the present invention, Robusta seeds such as those produced from Indochina are used as green beans, and a sucrose solution is used as a sugar solution in which the green beans are immersed. The examples described below demonstrate that when the raw beans are modified by the method, the quality (taste, aroma) of the green beans of the Robusta species is improved to a quality close to the taste and aroma of the green beans of the Arabica species. .

Further, as in the method of the present invention, the step of steaming green beans and the step of vacuum cooling and drying are continuously performed in one pot 1, so that the trouble of moving beans between the steps can be eliminated. Workability is improved, and vacuum cooling and drying can be performed in a very short time after the end of steaming, so that the quality of green beans can be stably changed. Furthermore, the existing short-time cooking sterilizer (RIC) can be applied to the kettle 1, and the method of the present invention can be carried out advantageously in terms of equipment investment.

Next, another method for modifying coffee beans of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2. In step S2, the green beans prepared in step S1 are roasted. In this roasting, the degree of roasting may be appropriately set according to the purpose of use, and may be performed by a usual roasting method. The roasted beans roasted in step S2 are transferred to the same kettle 1 as in FIG.
Roasted beans with saturated steam of 130 ° C to 160 ° C for 5 minutes to 30
Cook for a minute. By this steaming treatment, the taste of roasted beans, mainly bitterness and sourness, is modified. Upon completion of the steaming process, the process immediately proceeds to step S4, in which the same pot 1 is vacuum-evacuated again, and the roasted beans are vacuum-cooled and dried for 3 to 15 minutes. By this vacuum cooling and drying, the moisture content of the roasted beans is adjusted to a state before the steaming treatment, and the unpleasant odor component thermally decomposed by the steaming treatment is removed. As a result, the harmony of various tastes such as the bitterness and sourness of the roasted beans is satisfactorily modified, the aroma is emphasized, and the quality of the taste and aroma is improved.

When step S4 is completed, the roasted beans
After that, the roasted beans that have been steamed and vacuum-cooled and dried are pulverized when necessary in step S5 and extracted in step S6 to obtain a coffee beverage or the like. Also in this case, step S6
Extraction efficiency of coffee beans is further improved by the modifying effect of the roasted beans by the above-described various treatments.

[0022]

EXAMPLES Organic beans of Robusta green beans treated by the method of the present invention, conventional coffee beans of robusta green beans, and conventional coffee beans of arabica green beans roasted The changes in acid are shown in the following Table 1 and FIG. 3, and the analysis results of the aroma components of these various coffee beans are shown in FIG.

[0023]

[Table 1]

Two samples of the present invention (USBBR-L, US) of coffee beans in which raw beans of the robusta type were treated by the method of the present invention.
BR-H) was immersed in a 3 to 5% sucrose solution, vacuum degassed by a short-time cooking sterilizer (RIC) to 20 torr or less, steamed at 150 ° C. for 15 minutes, and vacuum-cooled and dried for 8 minutes. Here, "L" and "H" indicate two-stage roasting degrees (light roast and high roast).

Three samples of the present invention of coffee beans (BSR-L, BSR-H, BSR-2H) obtained by roasting Robusta raw beans, steaming and vacuum cooling and drying according to the method of the present invention.
Is 20 tons of roasted beans with a short-time cooking sterilizer (RIC)
degas under vacuum at orr and steamed at 150 ° C for 15 minutes,
This was a vacuum cooling and drying treatment for 8 minutes. "2H" has a higher roasting property than "H", and indicates roasting of about Italian roast.

Conventional sample products (NR-L, NR-H, NR-2H) obtained by roasting, pulverizing and extracting raw beans of Robusta species
Uses the same robusta beans as the sample product of the present invention. The conventional sample products BM, BH, B2H using Arabica seed beans are roasted, crushed and extracted from Arabica seed beans from Brazil. In particular, the sample product BM has the best taste of Arabica seed beans, It is a medium roast product with high fragrance quality.

Table 1 shows numerical values of organic acids of various sample products, and FIG. 3 is a control graph of the organic acid composition. The organic acids are five types: maleic acid, citric acid, malic acid, formic acid, and acetic acid. From Table 1 and FIG. 3, it can be seen that the sample product of the present invention USBR-L and the sample product BM of Arabica medium roast from Brazil have very close absolute amounts and compositions of organic acids. From this fact, impregnating the robusta green beans with the sucrose solution, steaming, and vacuum cooling and drying, the quality of the green beans of Robusta closely approximates that of the high quality of Arabica. You can see that. The degree of this high quality,
It is determined by roasting of green beans.

Further, from Table 1 and FIG. 3, the absolute amount and composition of the organic acid such as BSR-L of the sample product of the present invention obtained by steaming roasted beans obtained by roasting Robusta raw beans and drying by vacuum cooling are shown. ,
It can be seen that the taste quality has been improved by being greatly modified from the absolute amount and composition of the conventional robusta sample product NR-L and the like.

FIG. 4 shows two samples of the present invention (USB).
7 shows the results of fragrance analysis of RL, BSR-L), the conventional robusta sample (NR-L), and the Arabica sample (BM). From FIG. 4, it can be seen that the Arabica seed sample (BM) and the sample of the present invention (USBR-L and B
It can be seen that the peak position and the peak value of the flavor component of SR-L) are very close. From this, the aroma of the coffee beans of the sample 2 of the present invention (USBR-L, BSR-L)
It can be seen that the aroma was modified so as to be almost the same as the fragrance of the sample product (BM) of the medium roasted Arabica. In addition, the conventional robusta sample product (NR-L) has a peak value of the fragrance component higher than the peak value of the Arabica sample sample (BM), and the fragrance component of this many peaks causes an unpleasant odor. It is thought that there is.

FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B) show the results obtained by collecting data on coffee beans obtained by treating Arabica raw beans by the method of the present invention in the same manner as in Table 1 and FIG. From this data, it was clarified that in the case of the Arabica species, formic acid and acetic acid, which cause discomfort, are reduced by the treatment of the present invention, and the quality is improved.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the quality of the green coffee beans itself or the quality of the roasted beans obtained by roasting the green beans is improved in both taste and aroma. In particular, when Robusta coffee beans are treated by the method of the present invention, the quality of Robusta coffee beans can be easily brought close to the quality of Arabica coffee beans, and the cost of Robusta coffee beans with good productivity is low. To provide high-quality, high-quality regular coffee and straight coffee, and reduce the cost of high-quality, high-quality coffee beverages. Further, in the case of Arabica, it is possible to reduce unpleasant acids, and it can be modified into mild coffee beans, so that higher quality coffee beans can be obtained.

Further, the steaming process and the vacuum cooling and drying process can be continuously performed with good workability by steaming green beans and roasted beans in one pot and performing vacuum cooling and drying. Can be used as it is, and the method of the present invention can be carried out advantageously in terms of equipment investment, and a remarkable sterilizing effect can be expected.
In beverages that require sterilization treatment, such as PET bottled beverages, the conventional heat sterilization conditions can be greatly reduced, and the quality of the beverages can be improved accordingly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining another method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing changes in organic acids of a sample product of the present invention of coffee beans and a conventional sample product.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the analysis results of aroma components of a sample product of the present invention and a conventional sample product of coffee beans.

5 (A) and 5 (B) are a table and a graph showing the amounts of organic acids in the sample product of the present invention and the conventional sample product of Arabica coffee beans.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 pot

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Wakako Matsushima 12-2, Kumanosho, Kashikachi-cho, Nishi-Kasugai-gun, Aichi Prefecture 45-2 Pokka Corporation Basic Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Shino Hata Takane, Kita-Koma County, Yamanashi Prefecture 4986 Higashiide, Town (72) Inventor Ryuichi Tsutsumi 2-1-48 Higashi-Koikemachi, Higashi-Osaka-shi, Osaka Co., Ltd. Inside the Kosaka Plant of Hisaka Works Co., Ltd. (72) Tetsuo Asahara 2-1-48 Higashi-Koike-cho, Higashi-Osaka-shi, Osaka 4B027 FB21 FB24 FC01 FC02 FK04 FQ01 FQ03

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. a step of impregnating green coffee beans with a sugar solution; a step of steaming green beans impregnated with the sugar solution with saturated steam at 130 ° C. to 160 ° C. for 5 minutes to 30 minutes; A method of vacuum cooling and drying the beans for 3 to 15 minutes. 2. The green beans impregnated with the sugar solution are housed in a vacuum and pressurizable kettle, and after evacuating into the kettle, supplying saturated steam and steaming the green beans, 2. The method for modifying coffee beans according to claim 1, wherein the green beans are evacuated again and the green beans are cooled and dried under vacuum. 3. The raw beans to be used are Robusta or Arabica, and the sugar solution to be immersed is a sucrose solution, a glucose solution, or a fructose solution, or a mixed solution of two or more thereof. The method for modifying coffee beans according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. A step of roasting green coffee beans, and roasting the roasted beans with saturated steam at 130 to 160 ° C.
A method for modifying coffee beans, comprising: steaming roasted beans for 3 to 15 minutes under vacuum cooling and drying for 3 to 15 minutes. 5. The roasted beans are housed in a vacuum and pressurizable pot, and after evacuating the pot, saturated steam is supplied to the roasted beans to steam the roasted beans, and then the pot is refilled. The method for modifying coffee beans according to claim 4, wherein the roasted beans are vacuum-cooled and dried by vacuuming. 6. Coffee and a coffee beverage produced using the coffee beans obtained by the method according to claim 1.