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AssigneeKoninklijke Douwe Egberts B.V.
InventorsJoe Christopher Welsh, Tamsin Mikeala Jackson, Jonathan Patrick Mulvany, Jack Rees, Woncheal Kang
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The present invention provides a method for the manufacture of a freeze-dried coffee powder, the method comprising: providing a coffee extract having from 40 wt % to 55 wt % solids; adding gas to the coffee extract in an amount of from 1 NL/kg to 5 NL/kg of coffee extract, to provide a gas-containing coffee extract at above atmospheric pressure; depressurising the gas-containing coffee extract to form a foamed coffee extract; cooling the foamed coffee extract to below −40° C. without shear, or with low shear, to form a frozen coffee extract, grinding the frozen coffee extract to a powder; and drying the powder, wherein the step of cooling the foamed coffee extract to below −40° C. comprises: (i) cooling the foamed coffee extract to a first temperature; (ii) cooling the foamed coffee extract from the first temperature to a second temperature lower than the first temperature; and (iii) cooling the foamed coffee extract from the second temperature to below −40° C., wherein the first temperature is 1° C. above a freezing point of the foamed coffee extract and wherein the second temperature is 3° C. below the freezing point, wherein step (ii) has a duration of from 5 to 90 minutes, preferably 10 to 60 minutes.
A freeze-dried coffee powder for providing a coffee beverage with a crema of at least 0.25 ml/g on reconstitution in water, the coffee powder comprising particles having open gas bubbles and ice-crystal voids and having a closed porosity of less than 15%, wherein the open gas bubbles and ice-crystal voids have low interconnectivity such that less than 92% intrusion is achieved under a pressure of 90 psia Hg when measured by Hg porosimetry where intrusion into the particles is considered to start at 2 psia.
A freeze-dried coffee powder for providing a coffee beverage with a crema of at least 0.25 ml/g on reconstitution in water, the coffee powder comprising particles having open gas bubbles and ice-crystal voids and having a closed porosity of less than 15%, wherein the open gas bubbles and ice-crystal voids have low interconnectivity such that less than 80% intrusion is achieved under a pressure of 40 psia Hg.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.