GERMANY – NKG Kala Hamburg, one of Europe’s largest and most modern green coffee warehousing and processing facilities, has taken a bold step in sustainability with its newly operationalized lab plant.
NKG Kala Hamburg is a company of Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) and specializes in green coffee handling.
Built between November 2021 and November 2022, the new facility extends over two levels and is approximately 10 metres high.
The green coffee facility’s location was strategically chosen to minimize transportation-related carbon emissions, as it is in close proximity to key coffee-growing regions.
Additionally, the facility’s operations will be powered primarily by renewable energy sources, further reducing its carbon footprint.
The lab plant was officially opened to customers in May 2023 and consists of a mixer for pre-moistening, a pressure bin, a vacuum dryer, and a cooling tray.
“With the help of Neuhaus Neotec, they will be able now to easily upscale the steaming results from this lab plant to its larger industrial-scaled vaporization plant,” Neuhaus Neotec Head of Marketing Lars Henkel underscored.
“The lab plant will be ideal for customers wanting to conduct smaller trials before they move to a bigger scale plant for larger orders.”
KG Kala Hamburg’s Head of the Steaming Department Alexander Jank pointed out that the installation process included a precise and extensive calibration phase between the lab plant and the larger industrial plant, testing various parameters to achieve identical results on both plants to assure upscaling possibilities.
He added that due to the smaller size of the lab plant, the usage of raw materials as well as energy resources for these trials is reduced to a minimum which decreases emissions.
“In the steaming plant Arabica and Robusta beans can be processed using a unique in-house vaporization system that operates without any chemical additives and is always customized to the client’s needs,” NKG Kala Hamburg’s Managing Director Sven Hähnsen explained.
“The product enhancement of the client’s green coffee is done by processing it with pure steam at elevated temperatures and pressure. The water comes from our own 330-meter-deep well and is converted to steam in our boiler house.
The significant milestone comes on the back of an expansion move that the green coffee service group made by acquiring a majority share in the Nordic Approach Group, including Tropiq, based in Oslo, Norway.
Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) is a globally operating green coffee service group, focusing on coffee only in 26 countries operating more than 50 companies.
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