Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago

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*NOTE: This video is sponsored by SOVDA.
In this video, I'm diving into the SOVDA Pearl Mini color sorter at Black & White Coffee Roasters. The Pearl mini uses dual high-speed cameras to analyze coffee's external color and remove quakers, defects, burnt beans, and other beans (and debris) that fall "out of spec.”
Color sorting has become more widely adopted in recent years by specialty coffee roasters as “clean” coffees are in demand, experimental processing methods have expanded, and coffee prices continue to increase. I talk about why color sorting matters for some roasters, applications for utilizing a color sorter, and I put my palate where my... mouth is? and taste a coffee pre- and post-sorting, PLUS some quakers for good measure.

Time stamps below:
0:00 Setting the Stage
0:12 Intro of SOVDA Pearl Mini
1:15 Workflow and Demo
2:40 Why Color Sorting Matters
3:25 Looking at Defects (quakers, burnt beans, insect damage, etc)
6:23 Applications for Specialty Coffee Roasters
8:34 Drawbacks
9:37 Who Should/Shouldn't Use This
10:36 Tasting Pre-Sorted, Post-Sorted, and Quakers
15:55 The Guesses
16:18 The Reveal

Check out Sovda: sovdacoffee.com

Questions? Comments? Would you use this in your roastery? Let me know, and…
Happy Roasting