Method of roasting

Claim 1

PROCESS FOR CONTINUOUSLY ROASTING ORGANIC MATERIAL IN THE FORM OF GRANULES TAKEN FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF COFFEE BEANS, COCOA BEANS, PEANUTS AND CEREALS IN LAYER FORMATION COMPRISING SIMULTANEOUSLY ROASTING GRANULES AT A PLURALITY OF SEPARATE ROASTING LEVELS IN VERTICAL ARRANGEMENT WITH THE GRANULES RETAINED IN THE LAYER FORMATION AT A RESPECTIVE LEVEL WITH THE UPPERMOST LEVEL HAVING THE LEAST ROASTED BATCH AND THE LOWERMOST LEVEL HAVING THE MOST HIGHLY ROASTED BATCH, INTERMITTENTLY DISCHARGING THE FULLY ROASTED BATCH FROM THE LOWERMOST LEVEL AND SEQUENTIALLY LOWERING THE GRANULES ON A RESPECTIVE LEVEL TO THE NEXT LOWER LEVEL, INTERMITTENTLY FEEDING GRANULES TO THE EMPTY UPPERMOST LEVEL, SUPPLYING HOT GASES BELOW THE LOWEST LEVEL AND SUCCESSIVELY PASSING HOT GAS THROUGH THE LEVELS REDUCING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE GASES THROUGH EACH SUCCESSIVE LAYER, AGITATING AND CIRCULATING THE GRANULES IN GRANULE CONTACTING LAYER FORMATION AT EACH LEVEL WHILE RETAINING THE SPACE ABOVE THE LAYER SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF GRANULES TO PASS THE HOT GASES AROUND THE INDIVIDUAL GRANULES TO STRIP THE BOUNDARY LAYER OF GASES AND RAPIDLY AND UNIFORMLY TRANSFER HEAT TO THE INDIVIDUAL GRANULES FOR EXTRACTING MOISTURE AND VOLATILES THEREFROM AND UNIFORMLY ROASTING THE GRANULES.