Coffee Laboratory Setup

Coffee laboratories usually must serve several functions. It is rare for a medium sized roaster or growing country to have the facility space and capital for a fully functional laboratory dedicated to cupping, another dedicated to sample preparation, and another for physical testing. Often available testing facilities are also used in marketing to bring in customers for tasting products and training.

Challenges of laboratory design include:

Functions of Coffee Laboratories

Coffee laboratories are designed for different purposes and for different degrees of testing detail. Some are designed to be mainly sensory labs with a few physical green bean tests, while others will need larger physical testing capacities. One way to proceed in the design process is to make a list of the desired functions and then determine the physical “work stations” where the tests will be performed. Below is a discussion of some typical laboratory functions and the tests performed.

Sensory evaluation of samples (cupping): This is the most common purpose. Coffee samples are evaluated sensorially using standard methods under controlled conditions. Relevant issues for the design of such a lab include sample preparation and clean-up facilities and equipment as well as tables and work spaces.

The space in which any sensory tasting takes place should be clean and free of noise or other distractions. It should be comfortable in temperature and have adequate ventilation. Specialized lighting (orange or blue) which limits the visual clues to the tester (forcing them to rely more upon their perception) is also common in sensory testing facilities. To completely eliminate outside influences, in advanced sensory labs individual booths with small doors connected to the preparation area are used.

Besides cupping rooms, additional training rooms for special applications may be utilized. Sensory analysts (cuppers) should be regularly evaluated and trained according to most standard methods and should have a clean space free of other sensory distractions in which to do so. Training rooms can also be utilized for customer demonstrations. Some training rooms include specialized equipment for sample preparation such as brewers and espresso machines.

However, most cupping rooms are set up for group cupping where cuppers all imbibe the same samples. This can be set up as rectangular long tables where cuppers walk from sample to sample (as in typical Cup of Excellence or Q-grading setups) or more traditional lazy-susan type spinning round tables.

The primary considerations in design are for capacity (how many cuppers will be cupping at any one time) and spatial considerations, ensuring that there is adequate space around and between tables so that cuppers can move comfortably. Proximity to the preparation area especially in allowing easy access to water pouring should be considered. There should be at least one meter around (two meters between) the long rectangular tables for easy movement and a meter and a half between the round tables.

Besides the actual cupping, a major aspect of having a valid sensory test is preparation of samples. For coffee, this includes roasting, measuring, grinding, and pouring of water. This can be usefully divided into areas of roasting, general preparation (measuring and grinding), and table preparation (boiling of the water and pouring). The roasting area should be located away from the cupping area due to noise considerations and possibility of aromatic interference from the roasted coffee. It is useful to have the grinding done in a separate space also for noise considerations. The boiling of water should be done in close proximity to the cupping itself so that the water can be poured at the tables immediately after coming to a boil.

A clean-up area of a capacity commensurate with the cupping capacity is also a major design consideration in a sensory lab. Especially important are supplies of hot water, adequate drainage, and provision for disposal of coffee grounds (these can be composted and recycled). These should also be located away from the main cupping area so that cleaning can be done during cupping and the smell associated with detergents will not interfere with cupper perceptions.

Placement of storage cabinets for glasses and/or cups and other cupping utensils should be designed so that the cabinets can both be stocked after cleaning and easily available to sample preparation personnel as they get ready for a new test.

Physical analysis: Typical green physical tests include bean size, density, defect examination, and moisture tests. These mainly require adequate counter space for samples as well as space for the specialized equipment involved.

Roasted coffee physical tests are focused mainly degree of roast. This is measured by color meters of various types or specialized equipment such as the Agtron and usually represent a considerable investment. Water activity measurement is also important especially in humid areas as freshly roasted coffee will pick up moisture on its outside that will eventually cause shorter shelf life. Measurement of total moisture may be necessary if a water quench system is used.

A major consideration in measuring roast degree is proximity of the testing equipment to the roaster. The roast color changes slightly due to degassing and/or adsorption of moisture, so the window of time after roasting in which analysis takes place should be specified.

Advanced physical or chemical testing: In some cases, more extensive physical testing is desirable. For instance, to calibrate field moisture meters, it is often desirable to have the capacity to use a “primary” method of moisture determination.

A “primary” method of measurement is one that directly measures the parameter in question. A “secondary” measurement is one that measures something known to correlate to the parameter in question. The typical method of moisture measurement in the field is using capacitance type machines that operate on the basis of an assumed density. These are usually precise enough for the moisture determination of green coffee, but are not for roasted coffee since the relative density of roasted coffee varies with degree of roast. To obtain more precise results, primary methods of drying (involving long-term loss-on- drying methods or Karl Fischer titration) are used to directly measure the moisture of a particular coffee type.

“Process” measurements are those that take place during the actual roasting process. These measure the changes in temperature of the environment and bean and the amount of airflow over time.

Other more advanced methods of analysis include color meters, DNA analysis for determination of biological variety and genotype, ochratoxin testing equipment, a black- light box (for examination of various mold types), and color analysis. Methods of chemical analysis such as chromatography can also be considered, but are usually of use only to the most advanced labs. For the medium or small green coffee lab, it is usually more cost effective to contract this level of work to a specialist laboratory.

Input capacity: A coffee laboratory is designed not only for certain purposes but for the amount of samples that one expects to process over a given period of time. Unlike roaster laboratories, in growing countries, there is usually a peak season where more processing (and hence testing) capacity is needed. The occasional bumper crops that naturally occur in some seasons will tax the entire processing and evaluation capacity of a facility.

It is usually not practical to build a lab capacity for all needs. However, to anticipate excess demand, some protected space where numerous samples can be stored should be built in to the design.

Storage capacity: After testing, most lab practices require a sample to be retained for a certain period of time for re-testing or reference if necessary. Such a storage space should be located in a cool dark place so that sample degradation will be minimal.

The only known way to completely arrest degradation is through freezing. This appears to work better with green coffee than roasted coffee.

Record keeping: Testing is an investment in facilities, equipment, and manpower. To make the best use of this, a good record keeping system should be in place. This will allow regular evaluation of results as a group as well as individual results. By making use of developed information more than once, greater efficiency (in terms of use of resources) is attained.

Records are usually kept in the form of spreadsheets or relational databases. The difference between these systems is beyond the scope of this summary and much has been written about methodology using these resources. Essentially, the relational database is more useful in storage of data and making specific “queries” (questions based upon certain previously defined parameters), while the spreadsheets are more useful in summarizing data by means of various mathematical formulas. Most databases have the capacity to produce queries in spreadsheet form so data can be examined statistically.

Regardless of the type of record keeping used, computers should be easily accessed by testers. It may be possible to have a server/workstation system where several workstations converge at a central point. In this case, a workstation could be provided at the green physical testing stations. Recently, experiments have been performed using tablet computers to record sensory impressions, but most labs still have cuppers record their responses on paper and then do data entry later. In this case, a separate room or station will need to be included for data entry.

Printing and copying needs may also need to be considered if there is not an existing adjunct office. If necessary, large printing jobs (such as printing large numbers of forms) can be done by private printing firms, but some printing capacity is needed. Areas for file storage may also be needed.

As a practical point, the facility design divides areas into specific “stations” where individual tests are performed. Often, these stations can be designed so that several tests can be done consecutively at a single station, such as the green bean tests. Usually the defect count tests take longer than others and several areas can be designated for these.

Setting a Design

  1. Determining the functionality and projected capacity of the laboratory. Then make a list of the different types of equipment that will be needed, including such details and number of cups and spoons (it will not be practical to hold a cupping for a dozen people if there are only 48 cups available), taking into account clean-up time and turnover. Determine storage considerations and equipment dimensions, especially the “footprint”, how much counter space will be required for storage and operation of the piece of equipment. If there is a standard set of requirements, such as for the Specialty Coffee Association of America teaching laboratories, these necessities should be included. Some equipment has specific needs, such as voltage or other electrical requirements.

  2. Designing the physical space of the lab. If there is already a space that can accommodate a lab, one should measure the dimensions and do some rough sketches of where equipment, tables, and cabinets can be placed. Existing locations of electrical and plumbing service should be noted as one often has to design around these locations. A useful technique is to draw a sketch of the space, note existing infrastructure, cut out some paper squares and circles representing tables, other furniture, and pieces of equipment, and then constructing various configurations. This is also useful when building a new lab space where one has more freedom of size and in location of infrastructure. Each test to be performed should have a projected “work station”, though some tests can be performed at the same station.

  3. Determine how samples and personnel will move from place to place in performing their jobs. Note where the technicians (cuppers or testers) will stand while working and if they have what they need to do their jobs (including paperwork or computers) within easy reach. Also note how easy it is to move around the lab without running into other technicians and furniture. Storage areas for supplies such as cups and spoons should be in close proximity to where they are needed. One major consideration in the cupping area is how the water can get from the heating station to where it is poured at the cupping tables. The goal of this step is a projected “work flow”, how the samples and personnel will move within the lab.

  4. Designing the needed infrastructure. Once a workable floor plan is developed, determine where the electricity service and plumbing service (especially drains) should be run. This may be dictated by existing service availability and plumbing locations and capacity may need to be added. Waste disposal should also be considered. Computer station locations can be hard wired into walls and will have electrical needs, possibly with their own uninterruptible power systems.

Summary

A well designed coffee lab should add quality control capability and value to the company as a result. Consideration should be given to the desired tests to be done, facilities necessary, and laboratory capacity, including storage of tested samples. The design of the lab must reflect the goals of the testing to be performed and all aspects of this testing, from sample preparation to record keeping and sample storage should be taken into account. The comfort of lab personnel and those doing the actual tests such as cuppers must be well thought out.

The following is a list of possible equipment that should be considered in designing a quality control lab.

Equipment for Coffee Laboratory

N=Necessary O=Optional

Facilities

Individual Rooms

Work Stations

Equipment

Computer equipment

Green preparation

Cup Test

© 2007 Songer & Associates

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