US 7,419,692 B1Granted

Methods and systems for forming concentrated consumable extracts

AssigneeXCafe LLC

InventorPaul A. Kalenian

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Abstract

Typical known methods for producing large quantities of concentrated extracts from solid raw materials such as ground, roasted coffee are not ideally suited to producing high quality coffee extracts that are rich in flavor and fragrance, and which maintain the varietal characteristics of the roasted coffee from which they are produced. The current invention provides filtration methods for producing such high quality concentrated extracts from more dilute extracts via solvent removal. The invention provides methods that have sufficient flexibility and scalability to be used for a wide variety of applications, including for producing industrial-scale quantities of extracts for the food and beverage industry. The invention provides methods and apparatus that can produce highly concentrated, “gourmet quality” extracts for use as flavoring agents, beverage concentrates, and fragrances.

Claims31

Dependent claims

A method for forming a concentrated coffee extract from a quantity of solid raw material consisting essentially of unground roasted coffee, said concentrated coffee extract having a flavor and fragrance of roasted coffee and suitable for reconstitution with water to form a coffee beverage, the method comprising acts of:

providing a quantity of a solid raw material consisting essentially of unground roasted coffee in a first state of fragmentation;
supplying a volume of a consumable liquid solvent to the quantity of solid raw material consisting essentially of unground roasted coffee;
extracting coffee solids from the solid raw material consisting essentially of unground roasted coffee by exposing the quantity of solid raw material consisting essentially of unground roasted coffee in said first state of fragmentation to the consumable liquid solvent at a temperature not exceeding the boiling point of water at atmospheric pressure, thereby forming a consumable coffee extract having the flavor and fragrance of roasted coffee comprising the consumable liquid solvent and dissolved coffee solids, wherein the dissolved coffee solids component of the coffee extract has been extracted from the quantity of solid raw material consisting essentially of unground roasted coffee while in said first state of fragmentation;
supplying a feed liquid consisting essentially of the coffee extract produced in the extracting act to a retentate side of a filter;
passing at least a portion of a consumable liquid solvent component of the coffee extract through a filtration medium to form a permeate comprising the portion of the consumable liquid solvent component on a permeate side of the filter while retaining at least a portion of the coffee solids on the retentate side of the filter, thereby forming on the retentate side of the filter said concentrated coffee extract having the flavor and fragrance of roasted coffee, said concentrated coffee extract being more concentrated in the coffee solids than said feed liquid, on the retentate side of the filter;
and
collecting said concentrated coffee extract having the flavor and fragrance of roasted coffee wherein said concentrated coffee extract having a flavor and fragrance of roasted coffee is suitable for reconstitution with water to form a coffee beverage.

4 more elements

A method for forming a concentrated consumable extract of a solid raw material, said concentrated consumable extract having a flavor and fragrance indicative of the solid raw material and suitable for reconstitution with water to form a beverage having a flavor and fragrance indicative of the solid raw material, comprising acts of:

providing a solid raw material;
supplying a volume of a consumable liquid solvent to the solid raw material;
pressurizing the consumable liquid solvent and solid raw material to a selected and controllable pressure level;
maintaining the selected and controllable pressure level for a desired period of time under non-flow conditions;
establishing a flow of a consumable extract having a flavor and fragrance indicative of the solid raw material from the solid raw material;
supplying the consumable extract having a flavor and fragrance indicative of the solid raw material to a retentate side of a filter;
passing at least a portion of a consumable liquid solvent component of the extract through a filtration medium to form a permeate comprising the portion of the consumable liquid solvent component on a permeate side of the filter while retaining at least a portion of a consumable material of the extract on the retentate side of the filter, thereby forming on the retentate side of the filter said concentrated consumable extract having a flavor and fragrance indicative of the solid raw material, concentrated consumable extract being more concentrated in the consumable material than the consumable extract supplied in the supplying act, on the retentate side of the filter;
and
collecting said concentrated consumable extract having a flavor and fragrance indicative of the solid raw material, wherein said concentrated consumable extract having a flavor and fragrance indicative of the solid raw material is suitable for reconstitution with water to form a beverage having a flavor and fragrance indicative of the solid raw material.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.