Automatic Coca Powder Production Line

Automatic coca powder production line, different from the pure physical crushing of chili powder, is a complex integration of “wet chemical and dry physical” processes—its front end needs to extract cocoa butter from cocoa beans (wet extraction), while the back end involves precise pH alkalization for color modification (chemical modification) and strict low-temperature crushing (heat-sensitive prevention and control). Existing search results fully cover the complete equipment configuration from cocoa bean feeding to finished product packaging, especially in high-value links (alkalization and color adjustment, low-temperature crushing) with patent-level technical solutions. The following is an in-depth breakdown of this core production line that spans multiple disciplines, with detailed explanations of each part to help you fully understand the working principle, equipment configuration and key technical points of the automatic coca powder production line.

Panorama of the Production Line: Two Distinct Process Stages

An automatic coca powder production line consists of two major sections with completely different process logics: the front-end oil pressing section and the back-end powder making section. These two sections are closely connected and complement each other, and each section is equipped with professional equipment to ensure the smooth progress of the whole production process. All key equipment is powered by a stable charger to avoid production interruptions caused by power failures, and most of the equipment in contact with materials is made of stainless steel, which is corrosion-resistant, high-temperature resistant, easy to clean and meets the strict hygiene standards of the food and Medicine industries.

The front-end oil pressing section is mainly responsible for converting cocoa beans into cocoa liquor and separating cocoa butter through pressing. This section belongs to thermal processing and physical pressing, and its key products are cocoa butter (a high-value by-product) and cocoa cake (solid residue after oil pressing). Cocoa butter is an important raw material for making chocolate, cosmetics and Medicine, which can bring additional economic benefits to enterprises. The back-end powder making section is mainly responsible for alkalization, crushing and refining of cocoa cake, which belongs to chemical modification and low-temperature physical crushing, and the key product is finished coca powder. The production capacity of the automatic coca powder production line ranges from 100kg/h to 2000kg/h, and the 300-600kg/h range is common for small and medium-sized lines. Different production capacities correspond to different equipment configurations, such as small grinder machine for small lines, 200KG grinder and 500KG Grinder for medium lines, and large-scale integrated equipment for large lines, most of which are CE Certificate grinder to meet international quality and safety standards.

Core Technological Process and Equipment Details (Full Chain from A to Z)

The automatic coca powder production line has a complete and complex technological process, which can be divided into four key stages from cocoa bean pretreatment to finished product packaging. Each stage has unique technological requirements and core equipment, and the equipment is closely matched to ensure the quality of coca powder. In the production process, various grinding equipment, crushing equipment and auxiliary equipment are used, such as grinding machine, herb grinder, Industrial Weed Grinder, cryogenic grinding machine, Dry Fruit Powder Grinder Machine, dry ginger grinding machine, licorice grinding machine, black pepper grinder, Air cooled crusher, cassava grinding machine, universal grinder, airflow pulverizer, Dust Grinder, Hammer Mill, Ultrafine Grinder, vibrating pulverizer, turbo grinder, dust collector grinder, Vacuum Mill, high speed Dry Grinder, cutting type grinder, Electric Grinder, coarse crusher, etc., which can not only meet the production needs of coca powder, but also be used for processing other food and raw materials such as Seasam, Peanut, mushroom, bone, seeds, bean, tobacco, salt, sugar, tea, flour, spice, wheat, chemical, corn, coffee, rice, meat and metal.

First Stage: Pretreatment——From Cocoa Beans to Cocoa Cake

This stage is completely different from the chili powder production line. Its core is “oil pressing” rather than “direct crushing”. Cocoa beans contain about 50% oil. If they are directly crushed without oil pressing first, they will become “chocolate sauce” instead of powder, which cannot meet the quality requirements of coca powder. Therefore, the pretreatment stage is crucial to the subsequent production, and each link is equipped with professional equipment to ensure the effect of oil pressing and the quality of cocoa cake.

The cocoa bean roaster is the first equipment in this stage. Its main function is to roast cocoa beans to produce chocolate flavor and facilitate peeling. It is a continuous equipment with a production capacity of 200-1000kg/h. It can be heated by electricity or gas, and is equipped with an automatic temperature control system to avoid scorching of cocoa beans due to excessive temperature. After roasting, the cocoa beans need to be quickly cooled by a cooling and drying machine to prevent scorching caused by residual temperature. The cooling and drying machine operates in conjunction with the roaster to ensure the continuous progress of the production process. The cocoa bean peeling machine is used to separate the cocoa kernels from the shells (cocoa nibs), with a peeling rate of more than 99%. It uses air separation to separate the shells and kernels, ensuring the purity of cocoa nibs. The separated cocoa shells can also be processed into powder by a small grinder machine for other purposes, realizing resource reuse.

The colloid mill/cocoa grinder is the key equipment for producing cocoa liquor. It grinds cocoa nibs into cocoa liquor (paste), with a fineness of 2-50 microns (chocolate-grade standard) and a production capacity of 50-500kg/h. This kind of grinder belongs to a high-precision grinding machine, which is similar to the universal grinder in structure but more suitable for processing high-oil materials such as cocoa nibs. It can also be used to grind other high-oil food raw materials such as Peanut and Seasam. The hydraulic oil press is the core profit-making equipment in this stage. It presses cocoa butter from cocoa liquor. It is a batch-type equipment with a processing capacity of 10-100kg per batch and a working pressure of 50Mpa. It separates cocoa cake (solid) and cocoa butter (liquid) through high-pressure pressing. The cocoa butter extracted is a high-value by-product, which can be sold separately or used for making chocolate, cosmetics and other products, while the cocoa cake is the raw material for producing coca powder. The hydraulic oil press is made of stainless steel to avoid pollution of cocoa butter and cocoa cake, and is equipped with a stable charger to ensure stable operation during high-pressure work.

Second Stage: Core Value-Added Section——Alkalization (Dutching) and Color Adjustment

This stage is the dividing line between high-end coca powder and ordinary coca powder, and also the most intelligent link in the automatic production line. The vacuum paddle mixing/drying integrated machine of PerMix in the UK is the benchmark solution in this field. Whether to integrate this equipment depends on the product positioning: ordinary industrial-grade coca powder production lines may not include this section, while production lines for export-grade and high-value-added coca powder must be equipped with it. This section involves chemical modification of cocoa cake, which has high requirements on equipment precision and hygiene, and all equipment in contact with materials is made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel to avoid chemical reactions between equipment and alkali agents.

Alkalization is the core process of this stage. Its main function is to adjust the pH value of natural coca powder from about 5.0 to 6.2-8.8, neutralize the sour taste and improve solubility. The specific technical implementation is to spray potassium carbonate/sodium carbonate solution in a vacuum environment, and the PLC control system accurately controls the pH value to ensure the stability of product quality. Color customization is another important function of this stage, which can produce different color systems such as light brown, reddish brown and deep black by controlling three variables: pH value, alkali agent type and reaction time. Specifically, when the pH value is 6.2-6.6, light brown (natural color) coca powder is produced; when the pH value is 6.8-7.5, it is Dutch process (classic) coca powder; when the pH value is 7.0-8.0, it is reddish tone coca powder; when the pH value is 8.0-8.8, it is black coca powder (high-end baking raw material). Black coca powder is widely used in high-end baking fields such as chocolate cakes and cookies, and has high added value.

Vacuum drying is an indispensable link after alkalization. The water content of the material after alkalization is high, which needs to be dried to ≤4% (≤3% for black powder) to avoid caking and mildew of coca powder during storage. The vacuum paddle mixing/drying integrated machine adopts jacket heating and vacuum environment to dehydrate at low temperature without damaging the color and flavor of coca powder. The advantage of integration is that alkalization, drying and cooling are completed in the same closed container, which reduces material transfer loss and meets BRC/SALSA food safety certification. In addition, this equipment can also be used for drying other heat-sensitive materials such as Medicine, mushroom and dry fruit powder, and can be equipped with a Dust Grinder to collect dust generated during drying, ensuring a clean production environment.

Third Stage: Powder Making Section——The “Life-or-Death Gate” for Heat-Sensitive Materials

Coca powder contains residual cocoa butter (10-24%), which melts and becomes viscous when the temperature exceeds 36℃, making it impossible for conventional crushers to work. Therefore, this link is the technical barrier of the automatic coca powder production line, and the key is to solve the problem of material melting during crushing. At present, there are two main configuration schemes: standard configuration scheme (standard configuration of conventional manufacturers) and patent-level high-end scheme (solving the pain point of hot melting).

The standard configuration scheme includes cocoa cake crusher and coca powder grinder. The cocoa cake crusher pre-crushes large cocoa cakes into small particles to reduce the pressure of subsequent grinding. It is similar to the coarse crusher in structure, and can also be used to crush other solid materials such as cassava and corn. The coca powder grinder is hammer-type/claw-type, assisted by air cooling, with a fineness of 10-120 mesh. It is a common Dry Grinder with high speed, simple operation and easy maintenance. It can also be used to grind other food powders such as flour, spice and coffee. The Air cooled crusher is used as an auxiliary equipment to cool the materials during crushing, preventing the materials from melting due to heat generated during crushing. This scheme is suitable for ordinary coca powder production lines with low requirements on product fineness and quality.

The patent-level high-end scheme is the cooling and crushing complete set system (Chinese patents ZL 201320555778 / ZL 201220705939.4), whose core design is that the discharge port of the crusher is connected to a water-cooled jacket pipeline, and the materials are forced to cool during negative pressure air flow transportation. The circulating cooling system uses an induced draft fan to send cold air into the crushing cavity to form a closed-loop cooling circuit. The process effect is that the materials are protected by cooling air throughout the process, which completely eliminates melting and bonding, improves the yield, and the fineness can reach 20-30 microns (chocolate-grade standard). This scheme uses a variety of advanced grinding and cooling equipment, such as cryogenic grinding machine, airflow pulverizer, Ultrafine Grinder, vibrating pulverizer, turbo grinder, dust collector grinder and Vacuum Mill. The cryogenic grinding machine cools the materials to low temperature first to make them brittle, which is convenient for crushing; the airflow pulverizer uses high-speed airflow to crush the materials into ultra-fine powder; the Ultrafine Grinder ensures the fineness of the powder; the dust collector grinder collects the dust generated during crushing to keep the production environment clean. This scheme is suitable for high-end coca powder production lines for export and high-end baking markets.

The fineness standard of coca powder is closely related to its application field: 40-80 mesh for ordinary baking; ≤25 microns for chocolate raw materials (with delicate taste and no sand feeling); and rough taste for those >40 microns. Therefore, enterprises can choose the appropriate crushing equipment and scheme according to their own product positioning and market demand. For example, enterprises producing chocolate raw materials can choose the patent-level high-end scheme, and configure 500KG Grinder or large-scale grinding equipment to meet the production capacity requirements; enterprises producing ordinary baking coca powder can choose the standard configuration scheme, and configure 200KG grinder or small grinder machine to reduce investment costs. All grinding equipment can be selected as CE Certificate grinder according to export needs to ensure that the products meet international standards.

Fourth Stage: Packaging and Auxiliary Systems

The fourth stage is the final link of the automatic coca powder production line, which mainly includes automatic packaging, central control and cleaning systems. This stage is directly related to the quality stability and shelf life of finished coca powder, and also affects the production efficiency and hygiene level of the production line. All equipment in this stage is made of stainless steel, which is easy to clean and disinfect, and meets the hygiene standards of the food industry.

The automatic packaging machine adopts screw metering + vertical bag making and sealing, and can be optionally filled with nitrogen for fresh-keeping. It can accurately measure and package coca powder according to the preset weight, ensuring the consistency of the weight of each package, avoiding the problem of insufficient or excessive weight, and meeting the market supervision requirements. This equipment can also be used to package other powder products such as salt, sugar, flour and spice, with strong versatility. The PLC central control system integrates and controls the whole line, and can store multiple sets of formula parameters (one-key switching of different alkalization degrees and fineness). Operators can set and adjust production parameters on the touch screen, and real-time monitor the operation status of each equipment, which reduces the influence of human factors on product quality and improves production efficiency. The system is also equipped with a stable charger to ensure continuous and stable operation.

The CIP cleaning system is a standard configuration for high-end lines, especially the alkalization section needs to thoroughly clean residual alkali liquor to avoid cross-contamination between batches. This system can automatically clean each equipment and pipeline in the production line, saving labor and ensuring cleaning effect. In addition, the production line is also equipped with various auxiliary equipment such as dust collector grinder and Electric Grinder. The dust collector grinder collects the dust generated during packaging to keep the production environment clean and protect the health of operators; the Electric Grinder is used for small-batch processing and sample preparation, which is easy to operate and flexible to use.

Core Parameters and Production Capacity Selection Guide

The automatic coca powder production line has a variety of production capacity options, which can meet the production needs of different scales of enterprises. The selection of production capacity should be based on the enterprise’s market demand, investment budget and development plan. Different production capacities correspond to different equipment configurations and prices, and enterprises can choose the appropriate production line according to their own actual situation.

For small and medium-sized lines (100-300kg/h finished powder), the equipment configuration mainly includes: roaster with 100-250kg/h, peeling machine with 200-400kg/h, grinder with 50-200kg/h (liquid), oil press with 10-50kg/batch, crusher with 60-150kg/h (powder). The reference total price is $22,000 – $35,000 (domestic). This kind of line is suitable for small enterprises or start-ups with small production demand and limited investment. It is usually equipped with small grinder machine, 200KG grinder, Electric Grinder and other small equipment, which has the advantages of small floor area, low energy consumption and simple operation.

For medium-sized lines (500-600kg/h finished powder), the equipment configuration mainly includes: TZ-600 type roaster with 600kg/h, peeling machine with 400-500kg/h, TZ-320 type oil press with 90kg/h, TZ-350 type crusher with 350kg/h. The reference total price needs to be inquired, usually $80,000 – $150,000. This kind of line is suitable for medium-sized enterprises with certain market share and production scale. It is equipped with 500KG Grinder, Hammer Mill, airflow pulverizer and other medium-sized equipment, which has high production efficiency and stable product quality. Most of the equipment is CE Certificate grinder, which can meet the export requirements.

For large-scale lines (1000-2000kg/h), it is necessary to use multi-machine parallel connection or customize a continuous oil pressing system to meet the high production capacity requirements. The alkalization section is recommended to integrate a vacuum paddle dryer to improve production efficiency and product quality. This kind of line is suitable for large-scale enterprises with large market demand and export business. It is equipped with large grinding machine, high speed Dry Grinder, cryogenic grinding machine and other high-efficiency equipment, and the whole line adopts intelligent control to realize unmanned production. The equipment is made of high-quality stainless steel, which has a long service life and low maintenance cost.

Essential Differences from Chili Powder Production Line (Must-Read for Purchase)

There are essential differences between the automatic coca powder production line and the chili powder production line in many aspects such as raw material characteristics, core equipment, chemical treatment, by-products and hygiene standards. Understanding these differences is crucial for enterprises to purchase equipment and avoid wrong investment. These differences are mainly reflected in the following five dimensions.

In terms of raw material characteristics, the chili powder production line processes low-oil raw materials (<10%) which are non-heat-sensitive, so it can be directly crushed by ordinary grinding equipment such as Hammer Mill and universal grinder; while the coca powder production line processes high-oil raw materials (~50%) which are heat-sensitive (melting at 36℃), so cocoa beans must be pressed for oil first, and the crushing process needs forced cooling to avoid material melting. This difference determines the fundamental difference in the process logic and equipment configuration of the two production lines.

In terms of core equipment, the core equipment of the chili powder production line is crusher and sieving machine, which mainly realizes the physical crushing and sieving of raw materials, and the equipment structure is relatively simple; while the core equipment of the coca powder production line is oil press, alkalization reactor and cooling crushing system, which involves complex processes such as oil pressing, chemical modification and low-temperature crushing, and the equipment structure is complex and the technical content is high. The equipment of the two production lines cannot be used universally. For example, the grinding machine of the chili powder production line cannot be used to crush cocoa cake, and the oil press of the coca powder production line is not needed in the chili powder production line.

In terms of chemical treatment, the chili powder production line does not need any chemical treatment, only physical crushing and sieving, so the requirements on equipment corrosion resistance are low; while the coca powder production line needs alkalization (pH regulation) to improve product quality, which requires the equipment to be made of corrosion-resistant materials such as stainless steel to avoid chemical reactions between equipment and alkali agents. In terms of by-products, the chili powder production line has no by-products (all powder), and the raw materials are completely converted into finished products; while the coca powder production line has cocoa butter (high-value) as a by-product, which is an independent profit point for enterprises and can increase economic benefits.

In terms of hygiene standards, the chili powder production line only needs to meet the conventional food-grade hygiene standards; while the coca powder production line has higher hygiene requirements, requiring low moisture and high oil to prevent rancidity, so it has higher requirements on the airtightness of packaging equipment and the cleanliness of the production environment. For example, the automatic packaging machine of the coca powder production line needs to be equipped with nitrogen-filled fresh-keeping function to extend the shelf life of the product.

Search Conclusions and Action Suggestions

The current search results can fully answer the questions of “what is an automatic coca powder production line, what equipment does it consist of, and where are the key technical points”. Many equipment manufacturers have provided detailed equipment lists and flow charts, the description of the alkalization section by British suppliers has great engineering reference value, and the two Chinese patents accurately solve the industry pain point of heat-sensitive crushing. However, there are still some information gaps that are not covered by the existing results, which need to be further inquired and supplemented when purchasing equipment.

The information gaps mainly include three aspects: first, energy consumption data: no comparison of electricity consumption/heat consumption per ton of powder for different process routes has been retrieved, which is crucial for enterprises to calculate production costs; second, continuous pressing technology: most manufacturers still promote batch-type hydraulic oil presses, and fully continuous screw pressing has not been popularized in the cocoa industry, which limits the improvement of production efficiency; third, treatment of alkalization waste liquid: there is no description of relevant environmental protection supporting equipment, which may affect the environmental protection compliance of enterprises.

If you are evaluating equipment purchase, it is recommended to ask suppliers in the following order: “Please provide two sets of schemes including/excluding the alkalization section, clarify whether the crushing section is equipped with a water-cooled jacket closed-loop system, and explain the yield commitment of cocoa butter”. This can help you quickly understand the core configuration and product quality of the production line, and avoid being misled by suppliers. In addition, when purchasing equipment, you should also pay attention to the quality and after-sales service of the equipment, and choose manufacturers with rich experience and good reputation.

For further information, the following extended search suggestions are provided: Keyword A: “Cocoa Nib Grinder Disc Material” (affecting heavy metal migration), which is crucial for export products to meet the heavy metal limit standards of importing countries; Keyword B: “Black Coca Powder Production Process Ammonia Alkalization” (some manufacturers use ammonium carbonate for alkalization, which has an impact on product flavor and safety); Keyword C: “Cocoa Cake Fluidized Bed Drying” (a low-cost alternative to vacuum drying, which can reduce equipment investment costs). These keywords can help you find more detailed technical information and equipment options.

If you have a specific target daily production capacity or main sales market (domestic/EU/US), I can further assist you in screening matching equipment schemes. For example, if your main sales market is the EU, you need to choose CE Certificate grinder and equipment that meets EU food safety standards; if your target daily production capacity is 10 tons, you can choose a medium-sized production line with 500KG Grinder and continuous oil pressing system. Whether you are a new enterprise preparing to enter the field of coca powder production or an existing enterprise planning to upgrade the production line, these suggestions can provide you with effective reference and help.