Apparatus and method for preparing an ice-containing tea or coffee beverage. The apparatus (300) comprising a beverage concentrate reservoir (360), a water pre-chiller (312) and a mixer for mixing beverage concentrate from the beverage concentrate reservoir with water from the water pre-chiller to form a beverage liquor. Further, an ice-generating cooling circuit and a pre-chiller cooling circuit are provided. A single cooling unit (310) provides coolant for both the ice-generating cooling circuit and the pre-chiller cooling circuit.

Portage storage containers including controlled evaporative cooling systems are described herein. In some embodiments, a portable container including an integral controlled evaporative cooling system includes: a storage region, an evaporative region adjacent to the storage region, a desiccant region adjacent to the outside of the container, and an insulation region positioned between the evaporative region and the desiccant region. A vapor conduit with an attached vapor control unit has a first end within the evaporative region and a second end within the desiccant region. In some embodiments, the controlled evaporative cooling systems are positioned in a radial configuration within the portable container.

Systems and methods have demonstrated the capability of rapidly cooling the contents of pods containing the ingredients for food and drinks.

A cooling coaster includes a coaster body and an internal reservoir. The coaster body has an upper face, a lower face, a plurality of side faces between the upper and lower faces and a stabilizing structure. There is a lip at the upper face. A port communicates between the internal reservoir and one of the faces. A plug is configured to selective seal the port. A cooling substance is provided to the internal reservoir. A method for cooling a beverage includes providing a coaster body having an upper face, a lower face, and a plurality of side faces between the upper and lower faces, through a port, supplying a cooling substance to an internal reservoir in the coaster body and placing a plug in the port to seal the internal reservoir.

Disclosed is a refrigerating device that includes: a refrigeration mechanism; and a cooling chamber. The cooling chamber is operatively coupled to the refrigeration mechanism using any or a combination of a latching mechanism and a screwing mechanism, and is configured to hold a load to be cooled. The refrigeration mechanism can be a thermo-electric assembly (TEA) and the device can include a proportional integral derivative (PID) controller to set and regulate temperature inside the cooling chamber. The cooling chamber can be a vacuum flask, open end of the vacuum flask configured to be thermally sealed with the TEA. The vacuum flask provides thermal insulation between the load and ambient environment. In an exemplary embodiment, the vacuum flask can be thermally sealed with the TEA by configuring the TEA in a collar of thermal insulation, the collar configured to hold the vacuum flask by means of threads configured on the collar and the vacuum flask.

A beverage dispensing machine (e.g., coffee maker) has a cooling unit. The cooling unit includes a thermal mass. The cooling unit is operable to freeze at least a portion of the thermal mass to provide a cold storage reservoir. The cooling unit also includes a passageway within which a brewed beverage flows, the passageway being in thermal communication with the thermal mass that cools the brewed beverage as it flows within the passageway to chill the brewed beverage before it is dispensed.

A food preparation table includes a housing at least in part defining multiple food pan receiving locations and a cooling air flow path internal of the housing below the food pan receiving locations. A first food pan is positioned within a first one of the food pan receiving locations such that side walls and a bottom wall of the first food pan are within the cooling air flow path, a first one of the side walls of the first food pan includes a plurality of openings therein to permit some cooling air to enter the first food pan and flow in contact with food items therein.

Systems and methods have demonstrated the capability of rapidly cooling the contents of pods containing the ingredients for food and drinks.

A food pan cooling system includes a housing with a food item holding arrangement including a recessed well area defining at least a first food pan receiving location and a second food pan receiving location. The first food pan receiving location includes a first cooled wall structure in the recessed well area to at least in part define the first food pan receiving location, the first cooled wall structure having a first surface facing the first food pan receiving location. A first thermal shim is connected to the first cooled wall structure, the first thermal shim having a first shim surface and a second shim surface, the first shim surface at least partly in contact with the first surface of the first cooled wall structure, and the second shim surface facing the first food pan receiving location.

The disclosure features various embodiments and aspects of a chest for quenching beverages. The chest can include a tank for holding a chilled mixture of ice and water, an ice maker adapted for making ice having an output for ejecting ice into a conduit in fluid communication with the tank, and a plurality of quench trays disposed above the tank for holding containers of beverages located in first and second positions. The trays can be filled with cold water by way of a conduit in fluid communication with the tank. The quench trays can include a compartment defined by a bottom and a plurality of walls, and defining therein a plurality of rows for aligning and containing a plurality of beverage containers. The drawers can further include at least one drain orifice configured to guide water out of the quench tray.