A method and apparatus for the preparation of a beverage
AssigneeKoninklijke Douwe Egberts B.V.
InventorsFabien Guilmineau, Willem Plantinga, Alexandr Kachko, Hendrik Joan Dees
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Abstract
This disclosure provides a method of determining the brewing parameters for preparing a coffee beverage with a coffee brewing apparatus, comprising: receiving, at a sensing arrangement, a coffee product for brewing a coffee beverage; obtaining, with the sensing arrangement, a characteristic of the coffee product; using the characteristic to determine one or more brewing parameter for the coffee product and brewing a coffee beverage using the one or more brewing parameter.
Claims26
A method of determining the brewing parameters for preparing a coffee beverage with a coffee brewing apparatus, comprising:
- receiving, at a sensing arrangement, a coffee product for brewing a coffee beverage;
- obtaining, with the sensing arrangement, a characteristic of the coffee product;
- and,
- using the characteristic to determine one or more brewing parameter for the coffee product.
The method of any preceding claim, wherein the sensing arrangement is configured to obtain spectral data from the coffee product, optionally near infrared spectral data.
The method of any preceding claim, wherein the brewing parameters comprise one or more of water temperature, grain size of the ground coffee product, the brew volume, the water flow rate, particle size distribution, type of grinder, compaction amount, volume of coffee dispensed to the coffee brewer and brewing time.
The method of any preceding claim, wherein the coffee product is stored within a hopper of the coffee brewing apparatus and the sensing arrangement senses the coffee product whilst in the hopper.
The method of any preceding claim, wherein the coffee product comprises a moisture value between 3% and 5% w/w, and the coating comprises between 0.5% and 1.5% w/w solids.
The method of any preceding claim, wherein the coffee beverage comprises a solids content of the coating of less than 3% of the nutritional recommended value per 100 ml for the solid.
The method of any preceding claim, further comprising:
- preparing coffee beans for use in a coffee beverage apparatus, comprising:
- roasting green coffee beans in a roaster to provide roasted coffee beans;
- and,
- applying a marker to the roasted coffee beans;
- and,
- providing the coffee beans to a coffee beverage apparatus.
The method of any preceding claim, wherein the prepared coffee comprises a solids content of the coating of less than 3% of the nutritional recommended value per 100 ml for the solid.
A coffee brewing apparatus comprising:
- a hopper for containing a coffee product;
- a sensing arrangement configured to obtain a characteristic of the coffee product;
- and,
- a controller configured to receive an input from the sensing arrangement, the input relating to the characteristic of the coffee product, wherein the controller is configured to determine one or more brewing parameters using the characteristic and control the coffee brewing apparatus to brew a coffee beverage using the one or more brewing parameters.
A coffee product for use in a coffee brewing apparatus, the coffee product comprising roasted whole beans and an instant coffee.
A method of determining brewing parameters of a coffee product, wherein the coffee product comprises coffee beans and a marker, the method comprising:
- obtaining spectroscopic data of the coffee beans and marker;
- comparing the spectroscopic data to known spectroscopic data, the known spectroscopic data having associated predetermined brewing parameters;
- and,
- using the predetermined brewing parameters as the brewing parameters for the coffee product when the obtained spectroscopic data and the known spectroscopic data correspond to one another.
A method of preparing a coffee product for use in a coffee brewing apparatus, comprising:
- roasting the green coffee beans in a roaster to provide roasted coffee beans;
- and,
- applying a quenching agent to the roasted coffee beans to reduce the temperature of the coffee beans;
- applying a marker to the coffee beans;
- and,
- providing the coffee beans for a coffee beverage apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.