by Glenn A. John
International Editor

Turkish coffee might not sound very appealing to today's specialty gourmands drinking a frozen high octane cafe latte. Yet clearly, this type of coffee appeals to a wide segment of the world's coffee drinking population. Some say it's the earliest way of drinking coffee.

For this type of coffee, the ultra fine grind is boiled with water, and is served very hot and often highly sweetened. The fine particles clump in a "mud" at the bottom of the cup. (No, you don't drink it.) This high caffeine coffee is enjoyed around the globe, but mainly in the Middle East, Turkey, much of Central and Eastern Europe, central Asia, and northern Africa, with spotted markets around the globe.

"We estimate our total potential market at 700 million people, 20% of the population," said George Najjar, director of Cafe Najjar. He took over his father's business, then a vending services company in 1973, and has slowly built Cafe Najjar into recognized name. Today, Cafe Najjar is the leading coffee brand in Lebanon, with major inroads into surrounding areas, especially Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The problem for Turkish coffee drinkers is that it isn't easy to find a good cup of Turkish coffee. Najjar wanted to improve the quality of his product, and expand further. But the difficulties inherent in the grinding of Turkish coffee severely limited him. The Najjar family, with a long history in the coffee business, were well aware of the problems. They knew what they needed, but did not know where to get it.

Najjar's product-an ultra fine ground coffee-is surprisingly hard to produce. In a standard French press, coarse grind, one coffee bean grinds into 100-300 particles; for a regular drip filter grind, one bean becomes 600-1,000 particles; and in a filter fine grind for vending, on bean equals 1,000-3,000 particles. In a Turkish grind, one bean pulverizes into approximately 45,000 particles!

"Producing such grinds takes a lot of energy, and energy equals heat," said Daniel Ephraim, president of Modern Process Equipment, a leading supplier of grinding equipment, Since the earliest days, stone and plates were used to produce the "controlled explosion" necessary to produce 45,000 particles per bean takes several stages.

A typical Turkish grinder passes beans through several chambers, each chamber grinding the bean particles further into the desired density. As this happens, the tremendous energy heats the stones and plates rapidly. In one hour, temperatures reach 60-80 degr. C, by two hours the temperature is 100 degr. C.

The problem with heat is just about everything. "even at 40 degr. C, important volatiles begin to burn off," said Najjar. The "volatiles," that is, flavor and aroma, burn off quicker as the temperature rises, until at 100 degr. C, virtually all are lost. In two hours, the grinders must shut down for a "cooling off" period of up to three hours. the heat generated by this process also turns the grinder into a sort of"surrogate" roaster, darkening the coffee.

"Of course the place to roast coffee is in the roaster, not the grinder," said Ephraim. Turkish coffee is typically very dark, and often that is not by design.

Another disadvantage is the general inefficiency of stones, burrs, and plates in producing an even grind. Particle size diverges widely from the manufacturer's requirements. This becomes apparent when the stones or plates begin to wear, which doesn't take very long.

The typical stone or plate lasts only one to two weeks. Therefore, grinders must be serviced often, and worn parts replaced. Due to the downtime from heat and wear, typical roasters designed for a Turkish grind only operate at 10% of their actual capacities.

The interrelated problems of heat, varying particle size, and wear, with the resultant downtime, loss of flavor and aroma, and darkening of the roast, had to be addressed. Najjar knew there had to be a better way. He began searching in the late 1970's for an answer.

It wasn't until 1989, when he approached Modern Process Equipment, that he found a company willing to take the challenge.

Modern Process, more acquainted with tradition grinding machines, supplies 95% of the industrial grinders to the American market. Ephraim began examining all existing methods ultra fine grinding. He soon realized what Najjar already knew-there was nothing on the market currently addresses these problems.

Modern process began to search for a suitable material to apply to a roller technology method, therefore replacing the easily worn stones and plates. His company searched for materials, but none worked ideally to address the problems of heat and wear. Then Ephraim decided to look at newer, less known materials, and he struck gold.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) developed a material which is five times harder than chrome for use in coating the outside of space capsules. This diamond-hard, heat resistant material protected the capsule upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Modern Process tested the material, and quickly obtained the licensing.

Ephraim applied the material to a roller mill to produce the FT Ultrafine Grinder. The new material gives the Model FT extremely high durability. This proprietary process is also heat-resistant. Temperatures remain around 22-25 degr. C, well below the burn-off level of important volatiles. Flavor and aroma remain intact. With control over temperatures, there is no need for "cooling off". The Model FT operates 24 hours a day.

The fully computerized Model FT controls the water cooling of the rollers, and the automatic feed rate of beans into the grinder. Ephraim points out that Model FT's integrated feeding system is also key: "Feeding systems are not included with most grinders, and this can be a significant expense."

The control of heat levels ensure that the grinder acts like a grinder, not a roaster. Blends come out the same color and temperature as they go in.

This ultrafine uniform process also produces a greater bulk density. "Customers can expect to get 20-25% more coffee per weight than regular Turkish grinds," said Ephraim.

One of the most crucial elements of Model FT is its resistance to wear. The model installed two years ago in Najjar's Beirut factory, even though operating 24 hours a day, reportedly shows no signs of wear. This is a considerable benefit remembering that the stones and plates had to be replaced every one to two weeks.

Najjar said he runs the FT 24 hours a day, and likes to run it at 600 kilos per hour. "Originally we ran it at 450 kilos, and we've had it up to a maximum of 800 an hours," said Najjar.

According to Ephraim, Modern Process developed this project as if it were a lunar mission. Beirut was 7,000 miles away, and apparently no one at the company was too keen on spending much time with a civil war in progress. Najjar's factory was the scene of at least one battle during the war. "When we sent the product out, it had to work.... it couldn't come back," said Ephraim.

When the Najjar's-George, and his father Michel, founder of the company-visited Chicago in 1992 to see the small test model produced by Modern Process, they were stunned. "[Michael] said he never thought he live to see such a product in his lifetime," said George.

In 1992, Najjar needed 70 grinders to produce enough coffee for his customers. One Model FT, installed in 1993, replaced all of them. (Another Model FT was delivered in 1994.)

"We've been operating up to 24 hours a day for almost one year now without difficulty," said Najjar at an interview last September at the Tea and Coffee Exhibition and Symposium in Vienna, Austria. "And we've had major success in the marketplace. Those that enjoy turkish coffee, fully 20% of the coffee drinking world, had to suffice with varying tastes, and lack of aroma.

Cafe Najjar is now able to deliver to the marketplace a superior coffee product, better than was ever available before. In the first year we increased our business 9%," said Najjar. Ephraim reported in January that Cafe Najjar has since picked up a total 12-13% market share in the last few years.

"Our top priority is to keep a customer after you get them," said Najjar. "Customers become loyal to a brand-if you find a brand you like, why change?"

Cafe Najjar's plant in Beirut is sort of a show place for the new grinder. Coffee manufacturers in the region, from Greece to Turkey to Indonesia visit the factory to see Model FT in operation.

Ephraim said that Modern Process has since sold and installed the grinder "at the oldest and biggest coffee company in Turkey for a brand called Kurukahveci;" and at Santo Jaya Abadi in Surabaya, Indonesia, also the biggest coffee manufacturer there, according to Ephraim.

After producing at the same facility for many years, Cafe Najjar is moving to a new and larger plant and will install a third Model FT. "Now that the war is over, we can plan for the future," said Najjar.

"Looking back on it, the project seems easy," said Ephraim. "But back then, finding the material was a longshot. We were just about ready to throw our arms up in the air. But the Najjars' were very encouraging, they felt that we could do it."