초록 ▼

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

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.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. 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 co

What is claimed is: 1. 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. 2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising after the passing act: collecting the permeate from the permeate side of the filter. 3. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising: forming a secondary extract with the collected permeate by flowing the collected permeate through a quantity of solid raw material. 4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the providing act further comprises acts of: establishing a bed of the solid raw material consisting essentially of unground roasted coffee; and wherein the extracting act further comprises acts of: pressurizing the consumable liquid solvent and bed to a selected and controllable pressure level; maintaining the selected and controllable pressure level for a desired period of time under non-flow conditions; and establishing a flow of the consumable coffee extract from the bed. 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the filtration medium comprises at least one polymeric filtration membrane. 6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the filtration membrane comprises a reverse osmosis membrane. 7. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the filtration membrane comprises a nanofiltration membrane. 8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least during a portion of the passing act, an upstream pressure applied to the retentate side of the filter is maintained at a higher pressure than a downstream pressure applied to the permeate side of the filter. 9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the upstream pressure is created by pressurizing the feed liquid supplied to the retentate side of the filter in the supplying act. 10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the feed liquid is pressurized by pumping the feed liquid with a pump. 11. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the feed liquid is pressurized with a compressed gas. 12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the gas is an inert gas. 13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein during the passing act at least about 50% of the consumable liquid solvent component of the feed liquid supplied to the retentate side of the filter in the supplying act is passed to the permeate side of the filter. 14. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising after the collecting act, an act of: back-flushing the filtration medium with a consumable liquid back-flush solvent by supplying a quantity of the consumable liquid back-flush solvent to the permeate side of the filter; passing the consumable liquid back-flush solvent through the filtration medium to the retentate side of the filter, thereby dislodging at least a portion of any coffee solids forming a layer on a retentate side of the filter medium; and collecting the consumable liquid back-flush solvent together with any dislodged coffee solids from the retentate side of the filter. 15. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the consumable liquid solvent comprises water. 16. 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. 17. The method as in claim 1, wherein the unground roasted coffee comprises whole bean coffee. 18. The method as in claim 1, further comprising an act of establishing a flow of the consumable coffee extract from the quantity of solid raw material consisting essentially of unground roasted coffee. 19. The method as in claim 4, wherein the pressure level maintained in the maintaining act is at least about 50 psig (344.7 kPa). 20. The method as in claim 19, wherein the pressure level maintained in the maintaining act is at least about 100 psig (689.4 kPa). 21. The method as in claim 16, wherein the pressure level maintained in the maintaining act is at least about 50 psig (344.7 kPa). 22. The method as in claim 21, wherein the pressure level maintained in the maintaining act is at least about 100 psig (689.4 kPa). 23. The method as in claim 16, wherein the solid raw material comprises roasted coffee. 24. The method as in claim 23, wherein the solid raw material comprises unground roasted coffee. 25. The method as in claim 24, wherein the solid raw material consists essentially of unground roasted coffee. 26. The method as in claim 24, wherein the unground roasted coffee comprises whole bean coffee. 27. The method as in claim 23, wherein in the providing act, the roasted coffee is provided in a surrounding gaseous environment at essentially atmospheric pressure; wherein in the supplying a volume of a consumable liquid solvent act, the volume of the consumable liquid solvent is supplied to the roasted coffee in the surrounding gaseous environment at essentially atmospheric pressure, so as to at least partially replace the gaseous environment surrounding the roasted coffee with the consumable liquid solvent, thereby forming a combination of the consumable liquid solvent and the roasted coffee; and wherein in the pressurizing act, the combination of the consumable liquid solvent and roasted coffee is pressurized to the selected and controllable pressure level. 28. The method as in claim 23, wherein in the providing act, the solid raw material is added to an enclosed container; wherein in the supplying a volume of a consumable liquid solvent act, the volume of the consumable liquid solvent is supplied to the enclosed container; wherein in the pressurizing act, the enclosed container is pressurized to the selected and controllable pressure level; and wherein the establishing act comprises depressurizing the enclosed container from the pressure level by opening an outlet valve on an outlet line of the enclosed container and establishing a flow of the consumable extract from the solid raw material through the outlet line, which flow is driven, at least in part, by the pressure within the enclosed container. 29. The method as in claim 23, wherein in the providing act, the roasted coffee is provided in a surrounding gaseous environment at a first pressure; and wherein in the supplying a volume of a consumable liquid solvent act, the volume of the consumable liquid solvent is supplied at a pressure substantially different than the first pressure to the roasted coffee. 30. The method as in claim 15, further comprising, after the collecting act, and act of: diluting the concentrated coffee extract with water to form a coffee beverage. 31. The method as in claim 1, wherein the temperature of the consumable liquid solvent during extraction is between 90 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit.