Bean Smelting: A Simple Datapack to Smelt Raw Ore Blocks
Minecraft’s Caves & Cliffs update introduced a game-changing storage solution: raw ore blocks. Instead of cluttering your inventory with dozens of raw copper, iron, or gold pieces, you can now compress them into neat 3×3 crafted blocks. But what if you want to turn those compact blocks directly into their smelted, shiny counterparts? That’s where the Bean Smelting datapack steps in, offering a straightforward quality-of-life tweak that feels like it should have been in vanilla all along.
What Is Bean Smelting?
Bean Smelting is a lightweight datapack that unlocks the ability to smelt raw ore blocks straight into their finished block forms. Normally, you’d have to break those raw blocks back into individual items, smelt each one in a furnace, and then recraft them into ingot blocks. With this datapack, you simply toss a block of raw copper, raw iron, or raw gold into a furnace, blast furnace, or smoker, and after the usual cooking time, you’ll receive the corresponding smelted block — a block of copper, iron, or gold. No intermediate steps, no wasted fuel, and no inventory gymnastics.
How the Smelting Process Works
The logic is elegantly simple. The datapack adds three new smelting recipes that mirror the vanilla smelting ratios exactly. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- 1 Block of Raw Copper smelts into 1 Block of Copper
- 1 Block of Raw Iron smelts into 1 Block of Iron
- 1 Block of Raw Gold smelts into 1 Block of Gold
Because nine raw items craft into one raw block, and nine ingots craft into one ingot block, the resource efficiency remains unchanged. You’re still smelting nine items’ worth of material, but now you can do it in a single furnace slot. This is a massive time-saver for bulk processing, especially if you’re running a large-scale mining operation or an automated super smelter.
Compatibility and Game Versions
Bean Smelting is built for Minecraft Java Edition 1.17 and above, right when raw ore blocks first appeared. It works seamlessly with all subsequent updates, including the latest 1.21 Tricky Trials mechanics. Because it’s a datapack rather than a mod, it doesn’t require any mod loaders like Fabric or Forge — just drop it into your world’s datapacks folder and you’re good to go. It’s also fully multiplayer-compatible, so everyone on a server benefits once the datapack is installed server-side.
Why You Need This Datapack
On the surface, smelting raw ore blocks might seem like a minor convenience, but it brings several tangible benefits to your gameplay:
- Inventory management: Keep your storage compact by never needing to uncraft raw blocks just to smelt them.
- Furnace efficiency: A single furnace can process an entire block in one go, freeing up other furnaces for additional tasks.
- Automation friendliness: Hopper-fed smelters can now handle raw blocks directly, simplifying redstone contraptions.
- Vanilla-plus feel: The recipes feel so natural you’ll forget they weren’t always part of the game.
If you’ve ever stared at a double chest full of raw copper blocks and dreaded the manual smelting grind, Bean Smelting is the answer.
Installation and Setup
Getting Bean Smelting running takes only a minute. First, download the datapack ZIP file from a trusted Minecraft community site. Then, open your world folder, navigate to the “datapacks” directory, and place the ZIP inside. If you’re on a server, upload it to the server’s world/datapacks folder and run the /reload command. After that, the new recipes are instantly active — no restarts needed. For players who prefer a more streamlined experience, this datapack can be easily installed via the foxygame.net launcher — a convenient, flexible, and modern Minecraft launcher where you can download mods right from the menu. Simply search for Bean Smelting, add it to your profile, and the launcher handles the rest, making it perfect for those who juggle multiple worlds and mods.
Tips for Efficient Smelting
To get the most out of Bean Smelting, pair it with a few smart furnace setups. Blast furnaces smelt ore blocks twice as fast as regular furnaces, so always use them for raw iron and gold blocks. For copper, a standard furnace works fine, but you can still speed things up with a blast furnace if you have the resources. Consider building a simple hopper chain that feeds raw blocks into the top of a furnace and pulls smelted blocks out from the bottom — you’ll have a hands-free processing line that turns mining hauls into building materials overnight. Since the datapack uses the standard smelting time per item (10 seconds per individual raw piece, or 90 seconds per block in a regular furnace), the timing aligns perfectly with vanilla automation clocks.
Conclusion
Bean Smelting is one of those tiny tweaks that makes a world of difference. It respects vanilla balance, stays out of the way until you need it, and removes a tedious middle step from the smelting loop. Whether you’re a builder hoarding copper for your next mega project, a redstone engineer optimizing a furnace array, or just a casual miner tired of extra clicks, this datapack deserves a spot in your world. Give it a try, and you’ll wonder why raw ore blocks ever required breaking down in the first place.