How popular is specialty coffee? Even if you don’t drink coffee, you must have heard of it. What exactly is “specialty coffee”? From coffee farmers to baristas, all must pursue high standards of quality. High-standard bean selection, superb roasting technology, and brewing technology.  Erna Knutsen, the godmother of specialty coffee, used the term “Specialty Coffee” innovatively in the monthly magazine of “Tea & Coffee Trade Journal” in 1974.

She pointed out that only in the most favorable altitude, soil, and climate, can cultivate specialty coffee with a unique sapling flavor, this is also compared with the bulk of commercial low-cost blending coffee beans. Later, she and five others founded the Specialty Coffee Association of America in 1982, the word “specialty coffee” is known all over the world, it was not until 2000 that specialty coffee gradually entered the mass market from the niche market.

Like Chinese tea, coffee has been integrated into the traditional culture of some countries. From the initial roasting, grinding, brewing, and filtering of coffee beans, to the selection of coffee utensils and different blending techniques, all are very particular.

Hand Brewed Coffee Appliance

1. Ground coffee VS instant coffee, which one tastes better?

Instant coffee is a coffee beverage that has been extracted. Once flushed with boiling water, it will melt and there is no slag, so you can drink it directly. Instant coffee is divided into instant pure (black) coffee and 3 in 1 instant coffee, 2 in 1 instant coffee, the taste is prepared by the manufacturer in advance. Drinking instant coffee only needs to open its packaging, pour the powder inside into the cup, then pour the boiling hot water into it and stir, until all the powder is melted, you can drink directly.

Ground coffee, you need to grind the roasted coffee beans and extract them with the corresponding tools, which is what we call “brewed coffee”. There are many tools for making coffee, such as coffee machines, hand brews, French press pots, siphon pots, etc. For ground coffee, the coffee liquid will be obtained after being boiled, and it already has a strong coffee aroma without adding anything else.

Grinding of Coffee Beans

Ground coffee retains more of the aroma, taste, and nutrition of the coffee beans themselves, instant coffee will lose some of these things due to the processing process, so there is no doubt that the taste of ground coffee is better than that of instant coffee.

Fresh green coffee beans are emerald green, the green beans must be roasted, ground into powder, and then brewed to become the coffee in our cup. If you don’t want to invest money and energy to roast and ground coffee, it is better to buy pre-ground roasted coffee beans, that is the roasted coffee beans have been ground into coffee particles or coffee powder before packaging, and they need to be filtered when you brew the coffee, to prevent coffee grounds from remaining in your cup.

Like Starbucks, the largest coffee chain in the world also sells pre-ground coffee beans of different roasting and grinding degrees. In the latest coffee market research of RESEARCH AND MARKETS, it is pointed out that during the period 2017-2021, the global roasted and ground coffee market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.94%.

2. The demand for organic ground coffee continues to grow

In the process of coffee planting, especially Arabica beans, coffee trees are prone to pests and diseases. In order to harvest coffee, coffee farmers will spray medicines on coffee trees, including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc. . Because pesticides act on the rhizomes of coffee trees, it will also easily residue in the places that rich in lipids, coffee seeds are such a place.

The country has standards for pesticide residues, so as long as it does not exceed the national standards for pesticide residues, there is no big harm to the human body after eating. After all, measurement determines everything. If you do not want to drink coffee with any pesticide residues, you can choose organically certified coffee beans.

As some coffee consumers pay more and more attention to food safety, coupled with some environmental and social problems during the growth and production of ordinary coffee, the demand for organic ground coffee is increasing, it is also an emerging trend that will promote the development of the future high-end coffee market.

About three-quarters of all Fair Trade Coffees are grown and produced organically. The main reason is those small family farmers are more inclined to adopt organic farming techniques, and small family farmers are farmers served by fair trade practices.

Organic Coffee Beans

Compared with non-organic coffee, organic coffee is coffee produced by organic farming methods. It refers to coffee that does not use synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers during the growth process. In terms of pest control, use pure natural methods such as planting protective trees, and various other natural farming techniques to ensure the health of coffee trees.

Although the production of organic coffee is more labor-intensive, and the production cost is very high, but organic farming has great benefits to coffee farmers, human health, and the environment. Coffee is a crop, to sell the product as an organic certified product, everyone in the supply chain must be certified, this means that as processors, exporters, importers, and transporters, all must be certified.

At present, there is no uniform standard for the organic certification of coffee beans all over the world, different countries have their own standards and certification processes, such as U.S. USDA certification, EU ECO-CERT certification, European Commission certification, France ECO-CERT certification, COSMEBIO certification, Germany BDIH certification, Demeter certification, NCCO certification, UK SOIL ASSOCIATION certification, Australia ACO certification, NASAA certification, OFC certification, Japan JAS certification.

3. The most popular ground coffee packaging-flat bottom bag

Ground coffee is a common brewing type of beverage, which requires high moisture resistance in the packaging. Choosing a package that correctly stores ground coffee powder or particles will prolong the freshness of the coffee. For roast and ground coffee producers, when choosing a packaging bag, it is necessary to consider the aesthetics of the packaging bag and its practicality. This packaging must keep the roasted coffee away from air, humidity, heat, and light as much as possible.

Over the years, there are many types of coffee packaging bags, and the material development and production technology of the packaging bags have also made great progress. However, the most popular ground coffee packaging is still the flat bottom bag. The flat bottom bag is usually made of multi-layer composite materials, the bag has a good three-dimensional effect, looks relatively high-end. Although its production cost is more expensive than other plastic flexible packaging bags, it is widely favored by consumers.

Coffee Flat Bottom Bag

It has 5 independent sides, the bottom is a rectangle, there are gussets on the left and right sides of the bag, and there are usually zippers at the opening of the bag for opening and sealing. Flat bottom bags are very popular in high-end food packaging. The opening of the bag is relatively big, making it easier to fill ground coffee. 5 sides can print brand information, which can greatly enhance consumers’ brand identity.

The bag has a sturdy structure and a stable standing, which is conducive to shelf display and attracts consumers’ attention. The flat bottom coffee bag has excellent airtightness and composite material strength, it is not easy to break and leak. The bag is light in weight, consumes less packaging material, and is very easy to transport. The very famous Lifeboost organic ground coffee is also packaged in a flat bottom bag.

4. What machine is used to fill ground coffee in a flat bottom bag?

The green coffee bean itself does not have any coffee aroma, and only after it has been roasted can you smell the strong coffee aroma. Therefore, the roasting of coffee beans is the transformation process of the internal components of the coffee beans. Only after roasting well, the coffee beans produce ingredients that can release the natural aroma of the coffee, we can smell the aroma of coffee.

But during the roasting process of coffee beans, the transformation of ingredients is very complicated. After all, coffee beans are organic products, so the transformation of this ingredient is a very complicated process. Roasting can be roughly divided into Light, Medium, City, and Deep. The roasting temperature, roasting method, and roasting time are the main factors that determine the final flavor of the coffee.

Coffee Roast Level

The thickness of the coffee powder is related to how much coffee ingredients are released when brewing coffee, and how fast it is. No matter what appliance is used to brew coffee, you need to grind the coffee beans so that the coffee flavors dissolve quickly. Of course, not all soluble substances in coffee are delicious. Therefore, it is necessary to extract the delicious flavor substances to the greatest extent, avoid the precipitation of bad flavor substances, so it is very important to determine the thickness of the coffee particles.

Coffee Beans Grinding Size

Generally speaking, the grinding degree of coffee powder can be divided into five levels – coarse, medium, medium-fine, fine, and very fine. For different grinding machine brands, because the design of the cutter head is different, the size of the ground coffee powder on the same scale is also different.

The best choice for drinking freshly ground coffee is freshly roasted, freshly ground, and hand-brewed, but this method not only requires a certain knowledge of coffee but also needs to buy a bunch of utensils. The coffee roasting and grinding skills can’t be mastered in one or two days for the learner, it requires you to try repeatedly, sum up your experience and make continuous corrections to make a satisfying cup of coffee.

In addition, coffee roasters, coffee grinders, and fully automatic coffee machines are relatively expensive, ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Buy these coffee-making machines and keep them at home, how many times can you use them in a month or a year? After spending a few hours and energy to make a cup of coffee that can be drunk in a few minutes, do you feel a little frustrated?

All in all, if you are not a loyal fan of coffee. please never follow blindly, do not buy a coffee roaster or coffee grinder on impulse. Please buy roasted and ground coffee beans directly. You can choose different grinding and roasting levels according to your preferences. Our SF-GD-250/350 (for coffee powder) or SK-GD (granular coffee) ground coffee packaging machine is specially designed for filling pre-roasted ground coffee.

For ground coffee manufacturers, it is an automatic coffee filling machine with high degree automation, simple operation, high filling speed, and high filling precision. Because of its excellent sealing and filling performance, the finished bag is very beautiful and tidy, and it can also help coffee brands enhance product competitiveness and attract consumers’ attention, increase sales at the same time.

SF-GD Ground Coffee Pouch Filling Sealing Machine
SK-GD Ground Coffee Weighing Filling Machine

How to choose the right ground coffee packaging machine? Whether to use a powder filling machine or a granule filling machine for ground coffee, depends on whether the material is in powder form or granular form. If the thickness of the ground coffee powder is very fine like flour or milk powder, it is best to use a powder filling machine for the packaging. If the coffee particles are greater than or equal to the granulated sugar particles, a particle filling machine is more suitable.

The flat bottom bag is a kind of premade pouch, SF-GD or SK-GD automatic coffee packaging machine can fill and seal the bag automatically. The working principle of this machine is to use a manipulator to automatically take the bag, open the bag, At the same time, the functions of weighing, filling, and coding are completed under the coordinated control of the PLC system, so as to realize the automatic packaging of ground coffee.

Using the manipulator to replace taking bags, filling manually, which can effectively reduce the pollution of food in the packaging process, and at the same time improve the level of automation. It is suitable for small-size and large-volume automated packaging of food, condiments, chemical products, and other products. No manual operation is required in the whole filling process, which saves the labor investment of the enterprise and solves the problem of labor difficulty in today’s society.

Multiple Packaging Stations

If the output of manual packaging is 500KG/hour, the output of the automatic ground coffee packaging machine can reach about 1000-1500 KG/hour (depending on the characteristics of the material, the speed is different, and the fine powder may be slow). No matter it is a premade pouch made of a multilayer composite film, or a paper bag, or other types of heat-sealed bags, all can be packaged with this machine.

The automatic filling machine is equipped with a detection function. If the bag is not loaded or open, the packaging station will not heat seal the bag, and the bag can be recycled without causing waste. One machine can be used for packing various bag widths in a certain range, Through the touch screen, the width of all the bags clamps can be adjusted synchronously with one key, so even if the filling specifications are changed, it does not take much time to adjust the machine. The service life of the machine is 8-10 years or even longer.

Our SF-GD and SK-GD automatic ground coffee packaging machine is a new type of weigh and fill machine for coffee, which is easier to operate, accurate in measurement, more advanced in design, and faster in packaging than the horizontal premade pouch fill and seal machine.

Sywen Packaging is a leading ground coffee packaging machine manufacturer and supplier, we have a variety of manual and automatic ground coffee filling machines and other packaging equipment for you to choose from. If you need to get professional ground coffee filling advice, please send us the thickness of the coffee particles, the bag size, and other detailed packaging requirements, and we will customize the most professional and suitable coffee packaging solution for you freely.