Products of the tea and spice industry
Tea and spice blends are characterized by a wide variety of raw materials: dried leaves, herbs and plant parts, finely ground spices, botanical components, or complex seasoning powders. These components differ significantly in particle size, density, flow behavior, and surface.
In industrial processing, the aim is to combine these different bulk materials into homogeneous mixtures that perform uniformly for the end user—both sensorially and functionally. Dry bulk materials are processed, either filled directly as the final product or used as a premix in further process steps.
Typical dry products include: dried tea leaves and herbs, spice powders and herb blends, flavored seasonings, Seasonings, Premixes, botanical blends, as well as raw materials for spice and flavor components.
Requirements for mixing and refining
When blending tea and spice products, the particularly gentle handling of highly sensitive raw materials is paramount. Many components are sensitive to mechanical stress. The goal is to achieve a uniform distribution without unnecessarily altering structure, particle size, or aroma.
In addition to the uniform distribution of all components, aroma preservation plays a central role. Especially with high-quality herbs, teas, and spices, the characteristic flavor profile of the raw materials should be preserved and reproducibly reflected in the finished blend.
These requirements apply not only to small batches but also to large volumes and industrial throughputs. The mixing motion must act uniformly throughout the entire volume while still being gentle on the product. This ensures consistent sensory consistency even as production volumes increase.
In many applications, the controlled addition of liquid components such as flavors or extracts is also required. These must be incorporated evenly into the dry mixture without creating local overconcentrations or buildup. Dust avoidance, good cleanability, and frequent recipe or product changes also shape day-to-day production.
Depending on the product, additional steps such as drying or thermal treatment may be required, for example to achieve defined moisture levels or to meet microbiological requirements.
Typical process engineering requirements in the tea and spice industry are: homogeneous mixing of heterogeneous bulk solids, especially gentle product movement for delicate leaf and herb structures, reliable aroma retention, stable mixing quality even with large batch volumes, reproducible batch consistency, low-dust processing, and a hygienic, easy-to-clean equipment design.
amixon® solutions for the tea and spice industry
amixon® develops and builds mixers, dryers, and reactors for applications in which mixing quality, product preservation, and process safety are paramount. The selection of the appropriate mixer concept depends on raw material structure, batch size, and process engineering requirements.
For large batches and volumes of sensitive tea and spice raw materials, amixon® Gyraton® Mixers (GM) are used. They are suitable for applications where particularly gentle mixing is required and uniform batch consistency should be ensured.
For flexible batch sizes and changing formulations, amixon® conical single-shaft mixers (AM) are available. They are used wherever reproducible mixing quality and effective discharge are required.
The amixon® SpherHelics® Hollow Sphere Mixer (SH) is the entry into the world of amixon® precision mixers. It supports uniform mixing with short mixing times and is suitable for products with high requirements for process stability and hygienic plant design.
amixon® vertical single-shaft mixer (VM)The VM is a versatile industrial mixer for tea and spice products. Thanks to its vertical product flow, it achieves high mixing quality with short mixing times and is suitable for formulations with varying raw material properties and fill levels.
Additionally, amixon® offers vacuum dryers and mixing reactors that can be used for the thermal treatment and decontamination of tea and spice products.
Trials in the amixon® technical center support the design and validation of the processes.
amixon® offers the tea and spice industry individually designed industrial mixers, dryers, and reactors, as well as process engineering development and trials in the technical center.
If you are planning or further developing mixing or refinement processes for tea and spice blends, we support you with technical design and industrial implementation – from gentle homogenization to processing large batches with consistent sensory quality.
Talk to us about your application and your process engineering requirements.
amixon® – Process technology for high-quality spice and tea products.
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