In all large coffee-consuming countries, coffee additions and fillers have always been used. Large numbers of French, Italian, Dutch, and German consumers insist on having chicory with their coffee, just as do many Southerners in the United States.
The chief commercial reason for using coffee additions and fillers is to keep down the cost of blends. For this purpose, chicory and many kinds of cooked cereals are most generally used; while frequently roasted and ground peas, beans, and other vegetables that will not impair the flavor or aroma of the brew, are employed in foreign countries. Before Parliament passed the Adulterant Act, some British coffee men used as fillers cacao husks, acorns, figs, and lupins, in addition to chicory and the other favorite fillers.
Up to the year 1907, when the United States Food and Drugs Act became effective, chicory and cereal additions were widely used by coffee packers and retailers in this country. With the enforcement of the law requiring the label of a package to state when a filler is employed, the use of additions gradually fell off in most sections.
In botanical description and chemical composition chicory, the most favored addition, has no relationship with coffee. When roasted and ground, it resembles coffee in appearance; but it has an entirely different flavor. However, many coffee-drinkers prefer their beverage when this alien flavor has been added to it.
Treated Coffees and Dry Extracts
The manufacture of prepared, or refined, coffees has become an important branch of the business in the United States and Europe. Prepared coffees can be divided into two general groups: treated coffees, from which the caffein has been removed to some degree; and dry coffee extracts (soluble coffee), which are readily dissolved in a cup of hot or cold water.
To decaffeinate coffee, the most common practise is to make the green beans soft by steaming under pressure, and then to apply benzol or chloroform or alcohol to the softened coffee to dissolve and to extract the caffein. Afterward, the extracting solvents are driven out of the coffee by re-steaming. However, chemists have not yet been able to expel all the caffein in treating coffee commercially, the best efforts resulting in from 0.3 to 0.07 percent remaining. After treatment, the coffee beans are then roasted, packed, and sold like ordinary coffee.
Vacuum drum drier, No. 1 size; diameter of drum, 12 inches; length, 20inches; used for converting coffee extract and other liquids into drypowder form. This is the smallest size, and was developed for dryingsmaller quantities of liquids than could be handled economically in thelarger sizes. To provide accessibility of the interior for cleansing,the outer casing may be moved back on the track of the bedplate (asshown in the cut), so that free access may be had to the drum andinterior of the casing. |
Used to concentrate coffee extracts and other liquids. The tubes areeasily reached through the open door for cleansing. Interior of thevapor body is reached through a manhole. |
Rear View of Drum DrierVacuum drum dryer. No. 1 size; rear view, showing outer casing rolledback from the drum. |
This shows the interior arrangement and principle of operation. Thedrawing represents a larger size than the photograph, and while thearrangement of some parts is slightly different, the principle ofoperation is the same. |
| UNITS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SOLUBLE COFFEE | |
Vacuum Drum Drier
Rapid-Circulation Evaporator
Cross-Section of Vacuum Drier