Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Infusors
Patent
1994-03-10
1996-02-13
Jenkins, Robert W.
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Infusors
99295, A47J 3100
Patent
active
054904480
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to beverage brewing machines
In such beverage brewing machines, water can be heated by an electric heating device and can discharge out of the supply reservoir through an outlet valve, which assumes its open position only upon attainment of a defined water temperature, into a brewing unit containing a product, preferably ground coffee or tea leaves, from where it is finally, after extraction of the product, conveyed as a brewed beverage into a storing tank. In addition, the beverage brewing machine includes a conduit through which brewing water can propagate from the supply reservoir into the storing tank also along a path other than through the upper surface of the product.
A beverage brewing machine of this type is known, for example, from DE-A-27 14 736, wherein a time-responsive switch is provided for the purpose of influencing the aroma or, respectively, the strength, when tea is prepared, which switch controls a valve time-responsively so that, in the event that a defined quantity of brewing water has flown into the sieve, this path will be closed, and brewing water is conveyed only along another path, that means in this case past the sieve, directly into the storing tank. By predetermining the quantity of the product and the quantity of water used, the desired strength of the brewed beverage can be adjusted, that means the brewing time at which the device is set is specific for a product used and has to be observed precisely, because if the brewing time is chosen to be too short, the beverage will not have the proper aroma, while it has a bitter taste if the brewing time was too long.
Further, EP-0 079 235 B1 discloses a coffee machine, wherein the brewing action is performed by cold water flowing from a supply reservoir into a continuous flow heater, where it is heated. The resulting brewing water is conveyed through a feed pipe to a brewing tip, from which it exits into a brewing unit containing a product, preferably ground coffee, out of which the so prepared brewed beverage finally discharges into a storing tank. In this coffee machine, too, a valve device is provided which is controllable either manually or by electronic components so that after a predeterminable brewing time, during which the brewing water is allowed to propagate only through the upper surface of the ground coffee into the storing tank, the brewing water discharges into the storing tank also along another path, a so-called bypass channel.
The reason for deviating the brewing water upon expiry of a determined brewing time is to take positive effect on the taste of the brewed beverage. Thus, it is known above all from the preparation of coffee that a too long contact time between brewing water and ground coffee will extract undesired essential oils, bitter substances, etc. from the ground coffee. Apart from impairing the taste, these mentioned substances are aggressive to the stomach and, further, are to be blamed that the coffee, when it cools in a cup or is kept on a warming plate for too long, will practically be `upset` in its taste, that means a chemical reaction is caused which even shows in the coffee becoming muddy. Because of the context between contact time and the extraction of undesirable substances from the ground coffee, the problems described will be increased even more, the more cups of the brewed beverage are prepared by the brewing water taking its course along the upper surface of the product. Both known beverage brewing machines counteract the described extraction of substances by having further brewing water propagate along another path into the storing tank after expiry of a defined brewing time which is equal to the contact time of brewing water and product. This way, substantially less undesirable substances are dissolved out of the product. Of course, the quantity of the product must be adjusted in relation to the mentioned quantity of brewing water by taking into consideration the personal taste of the user of the beverage brewing machine.
It is the shortcoming of both beve
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Birk Andreas
Driesen Georges
Herber Peter
Peter Andreas
Schafer Gerhard
Braun Aktiengesellschaft
Jenkins Robert W.
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