Food & Beverage Asia October/November 2021

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50 PROCESSING AND PACKAGING Blending in-house: Biron Teas’ 85 litre-capacity Rotary Batch Mini Mixer blends teas with or without liquid additions in three minutes with no shear or damage to delicate ingredients Biron Teas brings blending inhouse with Rotary Batch Mixer Founded in 2015, Biron Teas sells organic artisanal teas through retail epicurean grocers, the hospitality industry, and e-commerce. Owners Andi and Roland Biron first relied on a Seattle-based co-packer to blend their tea varieties. But with cross country shipping fees, delays, and growing demand, the company needed to expand capacity and bring blending in-house. “Mixing teas requires gentle handling. Because our co-packer used a V-cone mixer, I looked at this equipment first,” said Andi Biron. The V-cone mixer’s swinging operation, however, consumed too much floor space. Thus, Biron ultimately specified a Rotary Batch MX-3-SS Mini Mixer from Munson Machinery for its smaller footprint and ability to produce uniform blends without product degradation or cross-contamination. TEA INGREDIENTS REQUIRE GENTLE MIXING ACTION, SHORT CYCLES Premium tea blends require special handling at each phase. The first step is to screen dust, twigs and foreign matter from the ingredients. “With chrysanthemum flowers, we want the blossoms but must remove the pebble-hard buds,” said Andi Biron. “Ginger root also requires a thorough cleaning.” Proprietary combinations of herbs, florals, fruits and spices are loaded into the 85 litre-mixer, which is comprised of a stainless steel, horizontal drum having no internal shaft or shaft seals. Internal mixing flights impart a four-way mixing action that tumbles, folds, cuts and turns the material, causing particles to recombine 288 times per minute, with no shear or heat generation. Natural oils and liquid flavours are metered through an integral stainless steel spray line and pumped from a pressure pot on a scale for accurate liquid additions by weight. Andi Biron shared that the mixer blends 32 to 36kg batches of tea blends with or without liquid additions uniformly in three minutes. “Organic artisanal teas, especially blends with herbs, wildflowers, oils and berries, can’t be crushed or pulverised,” explained Andi Biron. “The mixer gently tumbles and turns a delicate – and sometimes sticky – tea mix into a uniform blend without pulverising or powdering.” The blending action prevents segregation of materials, regardless of size, shape or bulk density. Andi Biron, added: “Chamomile and ginger can be especially difficult to mix but the mixer does the job, which is essential for uniform flavour.” The mixer’s internal flights also serve to elevate and direct blended material through a discharge gate, with no residual or product waste. In fact, according to Andi Biron, the mixer can be cleaned rapidly between blends. Also, because certain tea mixes incorporate natural flavours, oils and other ingredients that cling, selecting a mixer with a large drum access door for interior access was important. ORGANIC AND BIO-CERTIFIED PACKAGING SUPPORTS SUSTAINABILITY Biron Teas produces both traditional and unique artisanal tea blends. The organic certification of each ingredient and lot numbers are tracked and managed. After blending, each special tea mix is scooped into a tea bagging machine, yielding about 20,000 bags per batch. Biron tea bags are pyramid-shaped sachets made of Soilon ® woven mesh fibre made from corn starch that is certified as biodegradable. Biron Teas also selected recyclable biodegradable packaging for its hospitality product lines FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA OCTOBER / NOVEMBER <strong>2021</strong>
PROCESSING AND PACKAGING 51 “Our teas are organic and the overwraps are made from compostable biomaterial certified as bio-preferred by the US Department of Agriculture,” said Andi Biron. “We’re concerned about the planet and so are our customers.” In addition, the company’s online products are packaged in decorative tins. “They have a greater lifecycle than paper since they can be recycled and reused over and over,” she said. MINI MIXER AIDS IN BUSINESS EXPANSION Thanks to booming sales and newfound mixing capacity, Biron Teas has expanded into copacking and mixing for other tea purveyors. “When you are blending 32 to 36kg of tea, there is no way that can be done in a commercial kitchen with stainless steel mixing bowls,” said Andi Biron. “I love the idea that we can help other artisan tea makers grow, too.” FBA The mixer’s tumble-turn-cut-fold action achieves uniformity in three minutes with no product degradation Blends are evacuated with no residual or segregation of ingredients regardless of size, shape or bulk density FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA OCTOBER / NOVEMBER <strong>2021</strong>
Page 1 and 2: OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2021 www.foodbev
Page 3 and 4: Sustainable ingredients for better-
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTS 3 52 39 PROCESSING AND PAC
Page 7 and 8: Complete Prepared Food Solutions de
Page 9 and 10: NEWS 7 Roquette opens a plant prote
Page 11 and 12: NEWS 9 New IFAD report suggests agr
Page 13 and 14: NEWS 11 Climate Action 100+ sets ne
Page 15 and 16: MARKET INSIGHTS 13 Food production
Page 17 and 18: MARKET INSIGHTS 15 Asia, with exper
Page 19 and 20: MARKET INSIGHTS 17 solutions at the
Page 21 and 22: BITING ISSUES 19 Cargill Euromonito
Page 23 and 24: BITING ISSUES 21 Loryma combines in
Page 25 and 26: INGREDIENTS 23 Fig. 1: Average mont
Page 27 and 28: INGREDIENTS 25 Maltodextrins and dr
Page 29 and 30: INGREDIENTS 27 Stepping up the gut
Page 31 and 32: INGREDIENTS 29 Incorporating chicor
Page 33 and 34: INGREDIENTS 31 increasingly explori
Page 35 and 36: INGREDIENTS 33 powdered sachets, da
Page 37 and 38: ON THE TABLE 35 "In order to do thi
Page 39 and 40: INGREDIENTS 37 and a modelling appr
Page 41 and 42: ON THE TABLE 39 An alternative kind
Page 43 and 44: ON THE TABLE 41 Digitalising the fo
Page 45 and 46: ON THE TABLE 43 Serac’s ESL Combo
Page 47 and 48: ON THE TABLE 45 Protein and beyond:
Page 49 and 50: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING 47 How pro
Page 51: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING 49 combina
Page 55 and 56: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING 53 The BSI
Page 57 and 58: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING 55 the mea
Page 59 and 60: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING 57 Cogener
Page 61 and 62: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING 59 role in
Page 63 and 64: FIRST LOOKS 61 Competek provides St
Page 65 and 66: FIRST LOOKS 63 Eagle enables leaner
Page 67: SHOW PREVIEW 65 APAC Agri-Food Inno
Page 70: 68 ADVERTISERS’ INDEX COMPANY PAG

Food & Beverage Asia October/November 2021

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