Disclosed are processes for making cold brew beverage compositions including concentrates and apparatus for preparing cold brew beverage compositions. The disclosed processes and apparatus allow for efficient, rapid, industrial scale production of cold brew beverage compositions having improved total solid content, improved flavor stability, longer shelf-life, and adaptability to use in small volume containers.

A method of controlling a hot beverage brewer (20) with an auto-directive brewer controller (22) that controls enabling and revealing of a plurality of hidden, or phantom, switches (39, 40, 42, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58 and 60). Signals from disabled switches are ignored by a microcomputer (24), and the operator is directed to only the hidden switches that are enabled by selectively revealing them with individually associated backlights (39, 40, 42, 48, 50, 54, 56, 58, and 60). When the backlights are energized the location of the hidden switches is revealed by the light passing through a dark, but semi-translucent, flexible, plastic control panel that overlies the hidden switches and their associated backlights. Different modes of normal operation may be preselected during a program mode (FIG. 12D) in which one or more of the brew start switches are relatively permanently disabled and remain relatively permanently hidden, while other ones of the start brew switches and other function selection switches are only temporarily disabled and temporarily hidden due to changing conditions or status of the brewer during normal operation.

The present invention is directed to a technique of producing an ultra-concentrated liquid coffee that is shelf-stable at ambient temperature without the need for refrigeration or freezing. This invention further relates to a process for manufacturing ultra-concentrated stabilized liquid coffee with enhanced freshness, aroma and flavor retention without acidity or bitterness.

The present invention is directed to a technique of producing an ultra-concentrated liquid coffee that is shelf-stable at ambient temperature without the need for refrigeration or freezing. This invention further relates to a process for manufacturing ultra-concentrated stabilized liquid coffee with enhanced freshness, aroma and flavor retention without acidity or bitterness.

A method of providing a comestible plant material taken orally by coating a micronized plant material with a first layer of polysaccharides or proteins, then a second layer of polysaccharides or proteins is disclosed. A bi-encapsulated plant material produced by this process is also disclosed.

A method of providing a comestible plant material taken orally by coating a micronized plant material with a first layer of polysaccharides or proteins, then a second layer of polysaccharides or proteins is disclosed. A bi-encapsulated plant material produced by this process is also disclosed.

Disclosed herein are beverage dispensing apparatuses for selectable gas-infused beverage dispensing. The apparatus may have a faucet assembly, a beverage storage unit, a gas storage unit, a liquid/gas infusion unit, and an infusion valve. The faucet assembly may have a housing, a nozzle, a supply valve, and a dispensing valve, configured to control a flow of beverage through the faucet assembly. The beverage dispensing apparatus may use the infusion valve to selectively infuse a selected level of gas within a dispensed beverage.

Disclosed herein are beverage dispensing apparatuses for selectable gas-infused beverage dispensing. The apparatus may have a faucet assembly, a beverage storage unit, a gas storage unit, a liquid/gas infusion unit, and an infusion valve. The faucet assembly may have a housing, a nozzle, a supply valve, and a dispensing valve, configured to control a flow of beverage through the faucet assembly. The beverage dispensing apparatus may use the infusion valve to selectively infuse a selected level of gas within a dispensed beverage.

A coffee bean shaving process is utilized herein to produce shaved coffee bean products, such as coffee flakes, coffee shavings, and coffee slices, which may comprise clean and smooth faces and rough edges. Due to the shaving process described herein, the shaved coffee bean products may be produced with larger and fewer surfaces, thereby yielding a coffee product with greater surface area to volume (SA/V) ratios, particularly when compared to coffee grounds produced by conventional burr grinders. Consequently, by optimizing these SA/V ratios, it has been observed that one can maximize the coffee making potential of a coffee bean and reduce the SA/V variances between particles, thereby creating more consistent results.

A novel sucrose fatty acid ester, and use thereof. Specifically, in the sucrose fatty acid ester at least a portion of the hydroxyl groups of sucrose are substituted with aliphatic hydrocarbon groups. An average degree of substitution of the hydroxyl groups is 2.23 to 2.47. Food such as a beverage and a soft candy containing the sucrose fatty acid ester are described.