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Business Unit Chocolate, Cocoa & Coffee

Process solutions that melt on your tongue.

Buhler has marked the development of chocolate production for almost a century, setting important standards in the chocolate industry. For example, the two-stage refining process developed by Buhler is applied in the production of more than 80 percent of the world’s chocolate, and Frisse conches are the quality standard in commercial chocolate production.

People around the world consume a wide variety of chocolate articles such as chocolates, bars, and figures, and the shapes and tastes offered by producers are increasing continuously. Buhler believes in the future of the chocolate market and is committed to the continuous development of new innovative technologies. In this, the Chocolate business unit benefits from the technological leadership and vast experience of Buhler, Frisse, and Bindler, as well as from synergies with other business units of the Group.

Blending & mixing, refining, conching..
Buhler has fine-tuned the process chain for producing chocolate masses so that capital investments are paid back within a short time by significant added value – in the form of high efficiency, excellent taste, and outstanding rheological properties.


The best that could happen to a nut or a cocoa or coffee bean.

Nuts.
In order to offer consumers the full pleasure of hazelnuts, peanuts, pistachios, almonds, cashew nuts and others, vast know-how of the valuable raw materials and of the upgrading process is required. Buhler knows what is needed to ensure gentle cleaning, separation, roasting, and size reduction and therefore offers the appropriate plant and equipment for these operations.

Cocoa.
The botanical designation – Theobroma Cacao (the food of the gods) – says everything: This valuable raw material is transformed into tempting products that no consumer will resist. The polyphenols contained in the cocoa bean, which are important to human health, pass through a large number of process stages, from harvesting to the creation of the intermediate products – cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cocoa powder. With its vast process expertise, Buhler helps maximize the product quality and yield during cleaning, pretreatment, winnowing, alkalizing, roasting, grinding, and pulverizing. The customized solutions of Buhler and Buhler Barth contribute significantly to the optimal development of the over 500 fragrances that cocoa contains.

Coffee.
This number two commodity traded worldwide is consumed in various forms around the globe. This means that coffee grinding is a highly individual process that will vary according to whether filter, Turkish, or espresso coffee is to be produced. Buhler offers the coffee industry not only its roller mill technology, which ensures an optimal particle size distribution of the ground coffee, but also a wide range of plant and equipment for all coffee processing operations – from handling and roasting to grinding.

The SeedMaster process has revolutionized the tempering of chocolate.

This new precrystallization process, launched by Buhler in 2002, boosts the shelf life of filled chocolates. Compared with conventional processes, it requires up to 60 percent less energy, and its robustness makes it resistant to factors influencing the process.

Depositing by FlexiShot – nothing short of ingenious.

The new process, presented in 2008, uses flexible nozzles to ensure thread-free depositing of a wide variety of masses. Its short production change times and appreciably lower production costs compared with fixed-nozzle systems support our customers in securing their success in the marketplace.

Wide variety of chocolates thanks to FlexiStamp.

Uniformly thin chocolate shells with accurate weights and sophisticated geometries are best produced by the cold-stamping process. In order to reduce the time and energy requirements when changing article shapes, Buhler Bindler developed the FlexiStamp multiple stamping head: Up to four separately cooled stamping plates can simply be turned to the appropriate position

Nut processing.

Gentle and efficient – that is Buhler’s ultimate philosophy. Thus, the new almond pasteurizing process effectively reduces germ counts without affecting the noble taste of the product. And gentle hazelnut roasting produces a longer shelf life.

Cocoa processing.

Buhler and Buhler Barth develop and supply complete solutions from the bean to the intermediate products – cocoa mass, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder. The carefully matched processes and Buhler’s extensive know-how allow the value-determining features – yield, taste, and color – to be maximized.

Coffee processing.

The best product properties are obtained through close cooperation between Buhler, Buhler Sortex, and outside partners. For example, our grinding know-how sets standards in terms of the wide variety of particle size distribution ranges that can be produced.