Method for treating coffee materials using critical-state gas treatment
AssigneeSoCal Technical Enterprises, LLC
InventorRobert Falken
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method is disclosed for treating a coffee material by placing the coffee material in a pressure vessel, exposing the coffee material to a critical-state gas, and maintaining the coffee material under conditions of pressure and temperature sufficient to alter the relative concentration of one or more roast-derived phenolic compounds associated with bitterness. In certain embodiments, the critical-state gas comprises carbon dioxide under supercritical conditions and ethanol is present as a co-solvent. The treated coffee material may exhibit a modified chromatographic profile of bitterness-associated phenolic compounds while substantially preserving caffeine content.
Claims24
A method for treating a coffee material, comprising:
- placing the coffee material in a pressure vessel;
- exposing the coffee material to a critical-state gas;
- and
- maintaining the coffee material under conditions of pressure and temperature sufficient to alter the relative concentration of one or more roast-derived phenolic compounds associated with bitterness.
A method for treating roasted coffee beans, comprising:
- placing the roasted coffee beans in a pressure vessel;
- exposing the roasted coffee beans to carbon dioxide under supercritical conditions in the presence of ethanol as a co-solvent;
- and
- maintaining the roasted coffee beans under conditions of pressure and temperature sufficient to alter the relative concentration of one or more roast-derived phenolic compounds associated with bitterness.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.