[figure 1]
One-Roaster Plant
Equipment Requirements
For Whole-Bean Roasting
d Green bean storage
d Roaster
d Cooler
d Destoner
d Pollution control
d Gentle transfer mechanisms between pieces of equipment
(so as not to break beans)
d Blending area (if combining beans into custom blends)
d Packaging equipment
d Finished product storage/warehousing
For Ground Coffee
d All of “Whole-Bean Roasting” (except transfer mechanisms
may not have to be as gentle because breakage is less of a
concern)
d Grinder
d Dedicated packaging equipment (if also doing whole-bean,
because changeover time from one to the other can be a
consideration)
For Flavored Coffee
d All of “Whole-Bean Roasting”
d If flavored coffee is ground also, all of “Ground Coffee” too
d Ribbon blender and/or centrifugal mixer (maybe even a
separate room and/or a ventilation system to minimize
cross-contamination)
d Dedicated packaging equipment (can be even more
important here so that non-flavored varieties don’t end up
accidentally flavored)
d Equipment for clean-out (wash station or chemical
cleaners prior to changing flavors)
Other Considerations
d Current Good Manufacturing Practices
d Integrated pest control
d HVAC airflow requirements
d HACCP requirements
d OSHA requirements for employees (including first-aid
stations)
d Storage for packaging: master cartons, film, labels, tape,
etc.
d Storage for chemicals, glass and flavoring (MSDS
documents)
d Space for palletizing and staging orders for shipments
(including shrink wrap, if required)
d Incorporating quality control/quality assurance into plant
plans
d Shipping stations by the case, pallet or truckload