| abstract |
A microwave oven is incorporated in a coffee bean roasting system and includes a rotatable microwave transparent tube or drum positioned within the same and at an angle to the horizontal, through which coffee beans are introduced at an upper end and flow in continuous agitation to the lower end while being subjected to microwave fields within the oven. At the lower end of the oven a separate section is preferably provided for subjecting the coffee beans to selective treatment during the final stages of the roasting process. In one form utilizing a unitary structure the separate section is provided by a conductive septum which separates the oven into sections in which the power level is different. In the last section the power level is adjusted to control the final critical phase of the roasting process. The oven terminates into a cooling and quenching chamber from which the beans are delivered through a microwave trap to a further cooling stage to rapidly reduce their temperature to well below roasting. n This is a division of application Ser. No. 968,012 filed Dec. 11, 1978, now abandoned. |