Apart from oil, coffee is the most important internationally traded product in view of its value. The raw coffee beans are roasted at a temperature of 200 - 250° C. At these temperatures, water and gases escape, starch is decomposed into sugar molecules which, among other factors, cause the brown color. The aroma itself is only produced by this roasting process. The most important ingredient of coffee is caffeine which is recovered by means of extraction with supercritical CO2.
For the coffee production, evaporators are used for the concentration of coffee extract and coffee effluent.