Coffee is one of the most popular drinks around the world. Dark-colored drinks appeared in our minds when we were thinking of coffee. Do you know we are harvesting coffee beans from the farms, they have a greenish hue? At that time, beans were full of potassium, water, sugar. It also has lipids, caffeine, and many other substances.

If you buy your roast coffee from a pretty good quality store, you might have noticed the round valve in your coffee bag. Do you wonder about their utilities? In this article, let’s learn more information about degassing valves.

What is That Hole on your Coffee Bag?

When people take a coffee bag, they will squeeze the bag to smell what is inside. Believe it or not, it’s not a “smelling hole.” It is a degassing valve. The valve is significant for the long shelf life of coffee and the bag’s preservation.

5 Reasons Degassing Valves Are Important to Coffee Packaging

1. Roasted Coffee Releases Carbon Dioxide

We released carbon dioxide during the roasting process. But many are left in coffee beans after being roasted. The beans slowly remove the remaining gas. The releasing process is usually for about two weeks. If we don’t have a valve in our bag to let this process occur, the beans will still release carbon dioxide, and our bags will swell with gas.

2. The air inside harms coffee.

The valves on our bag are one way to prevent air from getting to the roasted coffee. Both oxygen and moisture in the air can harm coffee. It also shortens the shelf life and reduces its quality. It is vital to let carbon dioxide out without allowing air inside. 

Freeing carbon dioxide also releases a lot of the aroma of the coffee. It is why squeezing the air from coffee bags releases a good smell. When buying a roasted coffee, try to squeeze the sealed fresh coffee bag. Observe if you can distinguish the coffee smell in the gas that is released. When doing it, you will also free carbon dioxide. It also releases aromatics that make coffee so flavorful. Don’t worry; freeing air is suitable for the quality of the coffee.

3. Oxidation For Roast Coffee

Oxidation means a chemical reaction where the material loses electrons. It occurs when the material combines with oxygen. While oxygen allows us to breathe and live, it is also a corrosive factor. Think of an apple that has been cut and then starts brown. This is the result of the oxidation that occurs.

What does oxidation mean for roast coffee? This is the main factor in causing coffee to be stale and reducing shelf life. It can show differences in the shelf life of high-quality roast coffee. Ten days or four months are the differences. Ground coffee is more receptive to this rather than whole beans.

4. Work In Process (WIP) Inventory

We can pack roast coffee when using degassing valves. It can be true if you use the bin degassing method than gas flushing and packaging with a one-way degassing valve. It has a negative effect when you immediately packed without the main valve component. It can cause inflation and the risk of leaking bags. As mentioned, carbon dioxide is released from coffee as soon as it is roast. The carbon dioxide was released immediately with the ground coffee. In the next 40 minutes, it releases extra gas. The delay in packaging coffee means that the product cannot go to the market. Thus it is held in a WIP inventory.

5. Temperature

A temperature of 10 ° C will double the level of degassing. In this process, the new powder will absorb moisture in the air. It gains weight and reduces the effectiveness of extracting coffee materials. The internal molecular pressure will make coffee more complicated. During the roasting process, it produces carbon dioxide in coffee beans. Thus, it reduces its aroma.

Why use it?

Like wine, when the roasted coffee is exposed to oxygen for a long time, it negatively affects the flavor. Degassing valves allow gases to escape from the bag during storage. It causes more flexibility with the package. It also maintains the appearance of the package. Besides, it prevents messy cleaning because the bag explodes.

How does it work?

When sealed coffee beans produce carbon dioxide in a bag, it reaches absolute pressure. The gas can push the outside’s degassing valve to release excess gas. The bag’s pressure should be reduced to an insufficient level to open the valve. Then, the valve closed automatically. It will only unlock when the pressure inside the bag is higher than the pressure outside the bag. If not, it will not open to prevent the external air from entering the bag. The release of massive carbon dioxide can damage coffee bean packaging. In this case, the one-way degassing valve can avoid this situation.

When is it needed?

This valve was designed for the coffee industry. It is because roasted coffee beans naturally produced large amounts of gas. The gas is known as carbon dioxide. While the amount of Carbon dioxide had varies based on the type of coffee, the dark roasted can produce more than 5 liters of gas per pound! Imagine, it is a vast gas. Extraction of carbon dioxide cannot be done at the expense of oxidation. Coffee naturally contains various oils, acids, and other chemical compounds. It is referred to as coffee chemicals. It is susceptible to oxygen attacks into the package. Like iron rust in the air, oxygen molecules can react with tiny coffee solutions to surpass its aromatic taste. The steps to prevent oxidation include ensuring enough barrier characteristics of packages. Then, the oxygen transmission level is acceptable. A degassing valve will prevent excessive pressure from the package without reducing the bag’s quality.

Other Uses of Degassing Valve

We often talk about the one-way degassing valve, which is also called a coffee valve. But this degassing valve can not only be used for the coffee industry. We can use it in other industries. For example, we can use it for the feed and fermented food industry. Isn’t it amazing? The degassing valve is very flexible to use.

How Are One-way Coffee Valves Applied?

The one-way valve can be applied in advance to coffee bags. It can also be added inline during the packaging process by a coffee valve applicator. When attached to the packaging process, the valve must be in the right way to work correctly. So how did you succeed in locating tens of thousands of valves per shift? With a vibration bowl feeder. This equipment gently shook the valve around the conveyor channel, where we want to apply it. When the valve works outside of the bowl, they feed into the conveyor out. The conveyor then goes directly to the valve applicator. The vibration feeder is smoothly integrated with our vertical shape coffee packaging machine.

PackagingBest Valve Applicator for Coffee

Coffee is one of our main markets. So, we have invested in creating a one-way degassing valve applicator. 

Here’s how it operates:

• The valve applicator takes the valve in the correct position below the film web.
• On the Web, the foundation is heated with a pin pressing and applying valves to the bag
• The pin pokes a small hole in a bag that covers the valve.
• Heat permanently adheres to the valve into the film and makes it a part of the bag. The measure of heat, pressure, and time needed to apply varied depends on the type of valve, bag material, and engine speed.

Several types of degassing valves are used in coffee packaging. It includes rubber seals, filters, and sensitive-pressure valves. PackagingBest is equipped to produce one-way degassing valve pouches and bags. 

PackagingBest is at Your Service

We can assist you in maximizing the shelf life and stability of your food products. We are very innovative, and we use wise packaging for your product. If you need a unique valve placement on your pouch or bag, we would like to help. We offer full adjustments to your packaging. You can add degassing valves to almost all the packaging products we offer. Take advantage of these pouches and bag flexibility. It has many benefits. It includes lower shipping costs and fewer storage space requirements for your business.

Around of applause for this tiny coffee valve for what they do to make our coffee taste good. This simple mechanism allows the buildup of gas to be released from a closed container while preventing oxygen into the bag. It provides freshness and better quality. It increases the packaging process’s efficiency, providing a pleasant and positive experience.