Tea may still be the number one British brew, but coffee is hot on its heels.

Our American cousins may have had reasons for dumping a load of perfectly good tea into the harbour at Boston, but we have treated their preferred hot beverage with a little less hostility – as is the British way. Coffee is on the rise and many households are ditching the freeze dried for fresh roasted. The industry is seeing something of a boom thanks to affordable coffee shop quality home espresso machines people aren’t just  bunging the kettle on anymore they are grinding and tamping their way through macchiato’s, cappuccino’s and flat white’s galore.

The rise in popularity means an increase in scale of production, which in turn means more and more artisan roasters are opening up and established roasters are expanding. As a coffee roaster you likely already know how much of a science goes into creating the perfect roast, temps and timings, first crack and second crack, the source of the beans, the colour of the roast the list is endless. The temptation is to focus time and money on gadgets, charts, sensors and all the fun stuff that tells you exactly how long to roast for depending on the direction of the wind and the days humidity and air pressure values but one thing that is often overlooked could ruin more than just a good batch, it could ruin your health or even your business or should that be the other way round? Nah, Coffee is everything right?

The most important piece in the roasting puzzle – especially on a large scale – is extraction, we are talking about burning natural matter here, so that means dumping burnt carbon into the air around us. Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, diacetyl and 2,3-pentanodine are all produced during the roasting process, and are known to cause obliterative bronchiolitis, getting this stuff away from your workspace really isn’t optional, it’s a necessity. The best way to do this is with a sufficient and well designed extraction system, a key part of that system must be the correct duct work.

Nordfab specialises in providing its Quick-Fit duct system to coffee roasting plants, our North American branch has gathered years of experience working with some of the biggest coffee roasters in the world, that expertise is now being put to great use in the UK. Our ducting is precisely laser welded to provide a completely seamless interior to our duct, which means zero opportunity for blockages or build ups, the fumes produced when roasting coffee can be sticky, ducting with spiral seams inside provide the perfect places for residue to build up which reduces performance and can present fire risks.

Our QF ducting is an absolute breeze to install too, the Quick Clips allow installers to very quickly build a comprehensive duct network from roaster to extractor in many cases needing northing more than an electric screwdriver to insert hangings.

Is your artisan coffee roaster about to become the next household name in coffee? Great news, as you grown your duct can grow with you, because of the Quick Clip system nothing is permanent and can be rearranged or grown as you grow. Our clips use rubber seals in tension over the rolled edges to ensure an almost completely leak free system that can be put up or taken down in minutes.

If you are unsure how much ducting you need or what type is best for your facility contact us for advice about ducting and layouts.