Equipment & Workspaces     Color Analyzers (Lighttells, Roastrite, etc)

2022-03-15 23:13

Color Analyzers (Lighttells, Roastrite, etc)

Anyone use color analyzers to nail down consistency in roasts? Thoughts on equipment that you are using for this (e.g. Lighttells CM100 or CM200, Roastrite, etc.)?

I'm trying to understand the technology used in these. I'm finding other "off brand" (not necessarily marketed for coffee analysis) colorimeters and spectrometers for a fraction of the cost. Seems that the technology/methodology is the same.

Thanks much!

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2022-03-16 09:51

Hi Joe.

We use the roast color meters to check whole bean outer seed color relative to inner seed ground color. This gives us a baseline measurement of relative development and can tie back to specific attributes in the cup.

Cheaper alternatives use similar near infrared sensing tech, but the resolution is insufficient to measure whole bean samples. I've owned and/or used literally all of them. They are absolutely not the same.

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2022-03-16 11:53

Thanks Steve! I was hoping you would chime in on this. Surely, an engineer like yourself would have an opinion here. Greatly appreciated! Sounds like resolution is key.

Now that I have your attention, would you be willing to compare the coffee-specific meters (Lighttells, Roastrite, are there others)? I remember that you used to offer Roastrite on the MCR site. Now it's Lighttells. Thoughts?

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2022-03-16 12:19

For whole bean coffee color readings, sample size is critical. Unground seeds are round and reflect light back to the sensor in a very broad range of values.

Bigger sample sizes look at more seeds and generate a closer to "true" aggregate actual value.

The Roastrite "Big Foot" was the first benchtop unit capable of something closer to an Agtron standard sample size. The problem was the build quality was relatively poor and too many customers experienced malfunctions.

Lightells is a slightly more expensive option, uses a similar sample size and is much better built. We've had only one malfunction out of the couple of hundred we've sold. That unit was out of warranty, probably dropped and Lightells repaired it like new for $500 shipping and import clearance included.

Another of our customers recently bench marked his Lightells against a green coffee importer's Agtron with excellent results. Not too shabby for a unit that costs about 10x less. 🙂

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