Instant drink powders can be stored well when dry, but dissolve or swell quickly when they come into contact with a suitable liquid. Ideally, the resulting soft drink is immediately homogeneously mixed and ready to drink.
A wide variety of instant drinks
Effervescent drinks in sachets, effervescent tablets in tubes, medicines in granules that dissolve directly on the tongue, iced tea powder in wide-mouth jars, cappuccino in sachets, cold-brew tea bags or energy drinks for sports - even if we are often not aware of it: We encounter instant drinks in a wide variety of forms every day. The powder is stirred into the drinking water and a drink is ready to drink, whether at home, in space, in a submarine or when traveling.
Challenging production
Instant drinks are in demand worldwide. Although instant powder looks like an ordinary, sweet mass product at first glance, its production is not trivial. Important properties must be fulfilled:
- Fast resolution,
- Bioavailability
- Mouthfeel and
- Combining taste and enjoyment.
Ideal homogeneity with minimal energy input
Thanks to the SinConvex / SinConcave mixing tool, amixon conical mixers achieve ideal mixing qualities that can no longer be improved in practice. Standard bulk containers are used for loading and emptying. This means that the weighing, feeding, mixing and filling operations are decoupled. The system has a particularly ergonomic design and meets the highest hygiene requirements. It is also used for medicinal premixes, for example. Cleaning can be carried out dry or wet. Free-flowing products are emptied completely.
Instant coffee and cappuccino
Today there are all kinds of instant coffee drinks. Many hot drinks can even be prepared in vending machines. The example of a cappuccino mix drink illustrates the complexity of production: Sugar is finely ground and agglomerated in a fluidized bed. Cream powder and milk powder are obtained by spray drying and agglomerated. Instant coffee is produced by spray-drying or freeze-drying. Flavors and lecithins are available in powder form. All these sensitive components are mixed and the requirement is: The existing agglomerations must not be destroyed. No dust must be produced. The mixing quality must be exact.
Gentle mixing
amixon solves these mixing tasks excellently and offers three mixing systems for this purpose. All amixon mixers guarantee an extremely gentle mixing process:
- KoneSlid mixer ”KS” for batches up to 2.5 m³.
- High-performance twin-shaft mixer ”HM” up to 12 m³.
- Cone mixer ”AMK for continuous mixing processes.
The mixing processes can even be optimized, for example, if a special foam formation is required.
End of the Line Mixing
The spray tower continuously produces dry powder. This is agglomerated and cooled in the fluidized bed. Other nutrient supplements are weighed in at the same level. Two KoneSlid® mixers mix alternately in batches. Optimum mixing quality is achieved after 20 to 60 seconds of mixing time. Complete emptying also only takes a few seconds. The filling machine works continuously.
Double-shaft mixer HM for large batches up to 12 m³
Instant beverage powders consist of agglomerated individual components, some of which are in encapsulated form. They are also sensitive to abrasion. The dust produced by the friction and rounding of the mixed particles not only changes the taste. The fines collect at the bottom of the packaging and give the impression of a low-quality residue. In addition, the dust tends to float on the liquid and makes it difficult for it to sink. In the worst case, the dust fraction is trapped by the liquid. Lumps form which are difficult to dissolve. The problem can only be solved if the mixer quickly achieves ideal mixing qualities. Short mixing times and slowly rotating mixing tools mean minimal energy input.
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