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A beverage device for making a beverage with a foam layer on top, comprising foaming means for generating foam from said beverage, said foaming means comprising at least one inlet opening (18) for receiving beverage under pressure and at least one outlet opening (38,39) for the beverage with the foa

A beverage device for making a beverage with a foam layer on top, comprising foaming means for generating foam from said beverage, said foaming means comprising at least one inlet opening (18) for receiving beverage under pressure and at least one outlet opening (38,39) for the beverage with the foam. To obtain a fine and stable foam layer on the beverage, the beverage device is characterized in that the foaming means comprises means for generating a spray (48) of beverage, and said foaming means further comprises a collision surface (34) which, in use, is hit by said spray (48) of beverage, thereby generating foam.

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The invention claimed is: 1. A beverage device for making a beverage with a foam layer on top, comprising: foaming means for generating foam from said beverage, said foaming means including (i) at least one inlet opening for receiving beverage under pressure and at least one outlet opening for the

The invention claimed is: 1. A beverage device for making a beverage with a foam layer on top, comprising: foaming means for generating foam from said beverage, said foaming means including (i) at least one inlet opening for receiving beverage under pressure and at least one outlet opening for the beverage with the foam, (ii) means for generating a spray of beverage, including a whirl chamber having inlet passages for receiving the beverage from the inlet passages so that the beverage rotates in the whirl chamber about the axis, the inlet passages extending in a tangential direction with respect to a central axis of the whirl chamber, and further including a central outlet opening for generating the beverage as a substantially-conical, rotating spray, and (iii) a collision surface which, in use, is hit by said conical spray, thereby generating the foam. 2. A beverage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the whirl chamber has a conical shape narrowing toward the central outlet opening, said central outlet opening being located at the lowest part of the whirl chamber. 3. A beverage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central outlet opening has a downstream end, such that a distance between the downstream end of the central outlet opening and the collision surface is in the range of 3 to 7 mm. 4. A beverage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said conical spray of beverage has a central axis, and the collision surface extends substantially perpendicularly to the central axis of the conical spray. 5. A beverage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said conical spray of beverage has a central axis, and the collision surface is formed substantially in parallel to the central axis of the conical spray. 6. A beverage device for making a beverage with a foam layer on top, comprising: foaming means for generating foam from said beverage, said foaming means including (i) at least one inlet opening for receiving beverage under pressure and at least one outlet opening for the beverage with the foam, (ii) means for generating a spray of beverage, including a whirl chamber having inlet passages for the beverage which extend in a tangential direction with respect to a central axis of the whirl chamber, and further including a central outlet opening for generating the beverage as a conical spray, and (iii) a collision surface which, in use, is hit by said spray, thereby generating the foam, wherein the foaming means is comprised by an apparatus for making coffee having an extraction chamber for filtering ground coffee by means of water under pressure for obtaining a coffee extract, said means for generating a spray of beverage providing for generating a spray of coffee extract and being situated downstream of the extraction chamber. 7. A beverage device for making a beverage with a foam layer on top, comprising: foaming means for generating foam from said beverage, said foaming means including (i) at least one inlet opening for receiving beverage under pressure and at least one outlet opening for the beverage with the foam, (ii) means for generating a spray of beverage, including a whirl chamber having inlet passages for the beverage which extend in a tangential direction with respect to a central axis of the whirl chamber, and further including a central outlet opening for generating the beverage as a conical spray, and (iii) a collision surface which, in use, is hit by said spray, thereby generating the foam, wherein the conical spray of beverage has a central axis, and the collision surface is formed by an inner cylindrical or tapering wall which extends substantially coaxially with a central axis of the conical spray. 8. A beverage device for making a beverage with foam, the foam being formed of the beverage, comprising: inlet passages, the inlet passages receiving the beverage; a whirl chamber, the whirl chamber having an axis and disposed to receive the beverage from the inlet passages so that the beverage rotates in the whirl chamber about the axis; an outlet passage disposed relative to the whirl chamber so as to discharge the rotating beverage from the whirl chamber as a substantially-conical, rotating spray; and a collision surface disposed proximate the outlet passage, such that, in use, the substantially-conical, rotating spray hits the collision surface, thereby generating foam. 9. A beverage device as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a twister branch, the twister branch being disposed between the inlet passages and the whirl chamber, said twister branch having an upstream portion and a downstream portion, the upstream portion branching from the inlet passages so as to enable beverage flow from the inlet passages, and the downstream portion communicating with the whirl chamber so as to issue beverage into the whirl chamber in directions having a tangential component with respect to the axis of the whirl chamber. 10. A beverage device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the upstream portion of said twister branch branches in a radial manner from the inlet passages. 11. A beverage device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the whirl chamber includes a central axis and the downstream portion communicates with the whirl chamber so as to issue beverage into the whirl chamber in a tangential-like direction with respect to the central axis of the whirl chamber. 12. A beverage device for making a beverage with a foam, the foam being formed of the beverage, comprising: an inlet passage, the inlet passage receiving the beverage; a whirl chamber, the whirl chamber having an axis and disposed to receive the beverage from the inlet passage so that the beverage rotates in the whirl chamber about the axis; an outlet passage disposed relative to the whirl chamber so as to discharge the rotating beverage from the whirl chamber as a substantially-conical, rotating spray; a collision surface disposed proximate the outlet passage, such that, in use, the substantially-conical, rotating spray hits the collision surface, thereby generating the foam; a twister branch, the twister branch being disposed between the inlet passage and the whirl chamber, said twister branch having an upstream portion and a downstream portion, the upstream portion branching from the inlet passage so as to enable beverage flow from the inlet passage, and the downstream portion communicating with the whirl chamber so as to issue beverage into the whirl chamber in directions having a tangential component with respect to the axis of the whirl chamber; and additional twister branches, so that at least plural twister branches have respective downstream portions communicating with the whirl chamber so as to issue beverage into the whirl chamber distributed over plural positions, each with a common sense of rotation. 13. A beverage device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the plural positions are evenly distributed circumferentially about the axis of the whirl chamber. 14. A beverage device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the whirl chamber includes a central axis and the outlet passage includes an upstream end, the upstream end being co-axial with the central axis. 15. A beverage device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the outlet passage includes an upstream end, and the whirl chamber has a wall portion facing the upstream end, the wall portion being disposed less than about 0.5 to about 1.0 mm from the upstream end. 16. A beverage device for making a beverage with a foam, the foam being formed of the beverage, comprising: an inlet passage, the inlet passage receiving the beverage; a whirl chamber, the whirl chamber having an axis and disposed to receive the beverage from the inlet passage so that the beverage rotates in the whirl chamber about the axis; an outlet passage disposed relative to the whirl chamber so as to discharge the rotating beverage from the whirl chamber as a substantially-conical, rotating spray; and a collision surface disposed proximate the outlet passage, such that, in use, the substantially-conical, rotating spray hits the collision surface, thereby generating the foam; wherein the outlet passage includes an upstream end, the outlet passage forming a nozzle having a most restricted section associated with the upstream end and widening in the downstream direction. 17. A beverage device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the nozzle's most restricted section has a cross-sectional area of less than 1 mm2. 18. A beverage device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the outlet passage has a central axis and the nozzle widens in the downstream direction at an average angle, relative to the central axis, from about 45 degrees to about 70 degrees. 19. A beverage device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the outlet passage has a downstream end facing the collision surface at a distance of from about 3 mm to about 7 mm.