Coffee vendor

A vendor for brewing and vending coffee comprising a brewer adapted to be opened for reception of a charge of coffee and closed for brewing a cup of coffee therein, said brewer being operable through a vend cycle in which it is open at the start of the cycle without a charge of coffee therein, and subsequently closed with a charge therein, hot water is delivered to the brewer for brewing a cup of coffee, and compressed air is delivered to the brewer for forcing brewed coffee out of the brewer, said brewer then being adapted to be opened for dumping the spent charge of coffee, the brewer having a relatively small-mesh screen therein dividing the brewer into upper and lower chambers, a hot-water inlet above the screen, and an outlet below the screen, said vendor further comprising means for delivering hot water to the upper chamber of the brewer through the hot-water inlet, a delivery line for delivering filtered brewed coffee from the brewer through said outlet, means for delivering compressed air to the upper chamber of the brewer for forcing brewed coffee down through the screen out of the brewer and through said delivery line, and a sanitizing system comprising programming means for closing the brewer without a charge of coffee therein, for operation of the vendor with the brewer closed through a sanitizing cycle, and for opening the of the vendor through a sanitizing cycle comprising a series of at least two successive hot-water rinse cycles, said programming means being operable during each rinse cycle for delivering hot water to the upper chamber of the brewer, for allowing the hot water to remain in the upper chamber for a first time interval during which it seeps down through said screen into the lower chamber of the brewer and thence into and through the delivery line for rinsing and cleansing both the brewer and delivery line, and for delivering compressed air to the upper chamber of the brewer for a second time interval following said first time interval for forcing hot water remaining in the brewer out of the brewer and through the delivery line, another of said successive hot-water rinse cycles beginning automatically after termination of said second time interval, and means for initiating operation of said programming means to begin said sanitizing cycle to sanitize said brewer and delivery line.