Flavoured coffee has been steadily rising in popularity since the turn of the century. Heat and Control reveals how automating the flavouring process can save time and money on labour and product wastage.
Coffee is no longer restricted to the world of the humble latte, long black, or espresso. Growing demand for different milks, flavours, and signature drinks is driving significant change in the industry, and it’s up to coffee companies to keep up with these changing preferences.
For more than 75 years, Heat and Control has worked in the food-processing innovation space, aiming to advance efficiency, quality, and sustainability. Today, the company supplies processing, packaging, and inspection solutions to food manufacturers worldwide, offering a broad portfolio that helps processors optimise operations and bring their best products to market.
Within its family of brands, Spray Dynamics specialises in coating and seasoning applications. Experienced in adapting solutions for new industry segments, its coating systems are used in a range of sectors. This includes coffee applications, designed to help processors meet growing demand for flavoured coffee products.
Developed to coat whole or ground beans, the equipment applies a glycol- or alcohol-based flavouring that evaporates, leaving consistent flavour without clumping or oiliness.
The single-stage drum-based coating system is engineered for continuous production and can coat up to 5400 kilograms of product per hour, while the batch system is geared towards small- and medium-size businesses. With a batch capacity of 15 kilograms, its maximum throughput is 1700 kilograms per hour – it also provides quick changeover for lower production rates of less common flavours.
Tim Nanney, Heat and Control Technical Sales Manager – Spray Dynamics Products, says the rise of flavoured coffee around the world has accelerated over the past two decades.
“There’s always been growth in Heat and Control in servicing the flavoured coffee space,” says Tim. “We’ve seen huge demand for flavoured coffee in different markets. It started with flavours such as vanilla and hazelnut, and moved into things like raspberry and caramel.
“We’ve been in the coffee space since 1995. Initially we only offered the continuous coating system, but now we also have the batch system, which is better suited to those wanting to run different flavours or smaller batches.”
While automation is a key element of the modern food-processing industry, Tim says the application of a Spray Dynamics flavouring system can save the manual labour of up to six people and reduce product waste.
“It’s definitely a labour saver. If you’re in a truly manual process you’d be looking at four to six people just to do this function,” he says. “Most people also automate how they get the coffee into the hopper, so they’ll usually have some sort of conveyor or pneumatic transfer.
“I remember calling in on a coffee company experiencing significant growth in their flavoured coffee business. After observing their method of manually blending the numerous flavours, I knew we could offer a solution to greatly improve the process.
“They had big plastic barrels with more than 60 flavours, and the way they were mixing it there was so much wastage of the base product and the liquid. Our systems simplify the whole process, whether it’s continuous or batch. The recipes are controlled, it’s an incredibly efficient method for coating coffee, and it limits labour need and product loss.”
As with all its food-processing solutions, Tim says the highest priority has been placed on hygiene and safety in line with product efficiency. Those who choose Spray Dynamics for their coffee flavouring process will not be left to figure out the system on their own.
“As with everything Heat and Control builds, we know where our equipment is going – it’s going to food production, so we maintain incredibly high hygiene standards in everything we build and ensure they’re very easy to clean,” he says.
“There are also a lot of safety sensors in the unit. Although we initially launched these products years ago, we are continually assessing how we can improve them to make them better and safer.”
With a focus on integrated solutions designed specifically for coffee business, Heat and Control’s mission is to help its customers bring their best coffee products to market.
In addition to its Brisbane manufacturing facility, the privately owned company has a further 12 manufacturing facilities, 13 test centres, and more than 30 offices globally.
For more information, visit heatandcontrol.com
This article appears in the October 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
