EMMERICH, Germany – A Probat shop roaster Probatone 25 is the showpiece of the new Roastery in the refurbished Roastery and Bake Hall within the historic Food Halls of Harrods department store in London.
Harrods is the first choice for Londoners and visitors when it comes to purchasing the highest quality products from all over the world. Recently the company started redesigning one of its departments, the historic Food Halls by unveiling its new Roastery and Bake Hall, complete with a bespoke Probatone 25 in the Roastery.
The Probatone 25, which is a focal point of the hall, was specifically designed in brass for this unique location. Under the lead of Harrods’ new head roaster Bartosz Ciepaj and his skilled team, coffee beans will be roasted, ground and packaged in full view of customers. From here, each blend will be distributed to the in-store cafés and restaurants, as well as packaged to enjoy at home.
„I’m excited that Harrods showcases our machine in the famous Harrods Food Hall and I’m looking forward to seeing the roaster running on my next trip to London,” says Wim Abbing, CEO of Probat.
The new Roastery and Bake Hall marks the completion of the first phase of a major update of Harrods’ Food Hall and was officially opened on November 14. Next to freshly roasted coffee customers can purchase 15 varieties of bread baked in front of customers by Master Baker, Lance Gardner as well as pastries, cakes and biscuits.
Alex Dower, Harrods’ Director of Food & Restaurants, explains the company’s decision to team up with Germany-based Probat: „In selecting all the equipment for The Roastery and Bake Hall, we wanted to work with the best suppliers to respect and preserve the Food Halls’ history. For the Roastery, Probat was the obvious choice. Like Harrods, Probat has a rich history in the industry and combines highly developed technology with stunning aesthetics.
The bespoke black and aged-brass design seamlessly complements the art deco-style of the room and provides the perfect environment for our Master Roaster to create bespoke blends, such as our signature Knightsbridge roast.
The Probatone 25 provides the coffee for all the restaurants in Harrods, at our take-away concept store ‘Roast and Bake’ and is also packaged for customers to take home, making it a central element not only to The Roastery and Bake Hall, but the entire store.”
There are three different Probatone roaster models available with batch sizes between five and 25 kilograms and a roasting capacity between 17 and 85 kilograms per hour. The Probatone 25 has a batch size of 25 kg and an hourly output of up to 85 kg. Specially designed shovel blades move the beans in the drum of the Probatone roasters.
This guarantees the best possible mixing for a predefined rotational speed. The beans follow a precisely defined path: Using the principle of convection a controlled stream of hot air roasts the beans with minimum contact to the drum, resulting in a highly even roasting process with uniform bean pattern.
Special advantages of all Probatone roasters include the simultaneous roasting and cooling of coffee whilst separately extracting cooling and roasting air.
The infinitely variable control of gas and the latest burner technology provide a high degree of flexibility. The touch panel allows for convenient operation. Individual enhancement options, for example, semi-automatic controls, can also be selected.
