Technology at Carlini Coffee

In the world of food and beverage, some industries evolve faster than others. The coffee industry is unique — part agricultural, part manufacturing — and while it’s not immune to trends, true innovation moves at a measured pace.

At Carlini Coffee, we combine decades of roasting expertise with best-in-class roasting platforms to deliver exceptional quality and consistency. Here’s how we see the state of coffee innovation, and why our approach sets us apart.

Coffee Trends vs. True Innovation

The food industry often experiences “fads” driven by consumer demand for variety and quality — amplified by social media and TV shows like MasterChef and My Kitchen Rules.

Coffee, however, is fundamentally a manufacturing process. Despite the romanticised marketing of some high-margin brands, roasting coffee involves the same principles as any production line: input costs, yields, conversion, compliance, distribution, and overheads.

Why Coffee Innovation Moves Slowly

Over the past few years — especially during the pandemic — innovation in coffee has been slowed by global challenges:

• Supply chain disruptions and extreme sea freight delays

• High global coffee prices (the highest in a decade) reducing incentives for farmers to push quality improvements

• Rising costs for fertilisers and pesticides

• Extreme weather events like heavy rains and frosts

While there are exciting developments at origin — such as extended fermentation processing — these apply to only about 1% of the global coffee market. For most producers, farming practices evolve gradually.

Advances in Coffee Roasting Technology

Roasting technology has seen incremental improvements, particularly in logging and profile control systems. However, the fundamental transformation from green to roasted coffee has clear boundaries.

Most innovation has focused on:

• Heat recirculation systems (with debate over potential flavour taints)

• Precision control of conduction and convection heat transfer

• Computer-controlled roast profiles for consistency

The Carlini Coffee Roasting Advantage

We believe roasted coffee standards in Australia are already high — but the difference between “good” and “exceptional” lies in the final few percent of quality. Achieving that requires world-class equipment and uncompromising processes.

Our roastery operates three distinct roasting platforms, including:

• Traditional drum roasting (50/50 convection/conduction)

• Drum roasting with 70/30 hot air convection

• A unique roasting plant in Australia capable of running at the extreme ends of conduction and convection

This latest platform produces coffee that is rich in flavour, clean in cup character, and balanced in sweetness, aroma, and finish.

Drum Roasters vs. Fluidized Bed Roasters

Globally, over 96% of coffee is roasted on drum roasters. Fluidized bed (or “hot air”) roasters have their advocates, but our extensive testing in Australia and overseas shows:

• Drum roasting delivers more even heat transfer, ideal for espresso

• Fluidized bed roasting can cause internal scorching, leading to dryness and underdeveloped coffee oils

Why Equipment Quality Matters

We’ve compared high-cost European roasting plants with low-cost Turkish and Chinese models and found significant differences in:

• Cup quality and consistency

• Heat transfer precision

• Build quality and metallurgy

Our latest platform features 72 fully modulating burners — more than eight times the cost of burners in most roasters — giving us unmatched heat control.

The Next Wave of Coffee Innovation

We believe the next major improvements in coffee will come from packaging, storage, and logistics — areas where quality can easily be compromised.

Our innovation principles include:

• Climate-controlled roasting environment for consistency year-round

• Computer-controlled roast profiles (not just monitored)

• Unique de-gas technology to enhance cup quality and freshness

• Rapid recipe and batch size changeovers for flexibility

• World-leading weigh-fill packaging equipment

• Fully redundant infrastructure to guarantee supply

• Real-world green bean evaluation — testing coffee in cafés, not just labs

Why This Matters for Our Customers

Whether you’re a café, wholesaler, or private label partner, our roasting technology and processes mean:

• Consistent flavour profiles

• Superior bean development

• Flexibility to meet custom specifications

• Confidence in supply and quality

At Carlini Coffee, innovation isn’t about chasing fads — it’s about protecting and enhancing what’s in the cup.