Provided are a beverage brewing apparatus and a beverage machine having the beverage brewing apparatus. The beverage brewing apparatus comprises a barrel body for containing a beverage capsule and a cover body fitted with the barrel body. An inner bottom end of the barrel body and the cover body are respectively provided with a piercing needle for piercing the beverage capsule. When the cover body is closed, the piercing needle at the inner bottom end of the barrel body and the piercing needle on the cover body are disposed along different lines and the beverage capsule is pierced. The central part of the piercing needle on the cover body is hollow and forms a water inlet. The piercing needle on the cover body is sealed to the beverage capsule by virtue of a sealing unit. A beverage outlet is provided at a bottom end of the barrel body.

A capsule containing a substance for the preparation of a potable beverage. The capsule comprises an aluminum capsule body having a side wall and an outwardly extending flange and a sealing member at the outwardly extending flange for providing a fluid sealing contact with an enclosing member of a beverage preparation device. The beverage preparation device comprises an annular element having a free contact end which may be provided with a plurality of radially extending open grooves. The sealing member is integral with the outwardly extending flange and comprises at least one projection projecting from the outwardly extending flange. The projection comprising a projection top and is configured such that its projection top exerts a radial force on the free contact end of the annular element if the capsule is positioned in the enclosing member of the beverage preparation device and the enclosing member is closed by means of a closing member of the beverage preparation device.

A single-dose and single-use capsule for use in a machine for dispensing beverages in form of infusion is provided. The capsule has a main cup-shaped body that bears a concentrated product in granular form, and the main body is defined by a lateral coat substantially truncated cone shaped and by a circular bottom wall. The bottom wall has: a plurality of drilling regions, which, in use, are perforated by one or more perforating elements of the dispensing machine during an infusion cycle; and a plurality of reinforcing regions, arranged adjacently and alternately to the perforation regions and having enhanced thickness with respect to them, wherein, in use, the reinforcing regions avoid slots or cracks which extend from holes made onto the perforation regions to propagate.

A brewing module for a beverage-preparing machine includes a housing and first and second module parts. The housing has a capsule insertion opening through which the capsule can be inserted. The brewing module parts are movable relative to one another to form a brewing chamber in a first position. After movement from the first position to a second position a capsule located in the brewing chamber falls downward into a capsule container by the action of gravity while, in the second position, the brewing module parts cause a capsule inserted through the capsule insertion opening to be stopped vertically above a height of the brewing position at a capsule detection position. In a third position, a capsule at the capsule detection position can fall downward from the capsule detection position, substantially to the height of the brewing position. The second position is between the first position and the third position.

A capsule is designed for insertion in a centrifugal beverage production device for preparing a beverage from a substance contained in the capsule by introducing liquid in the capsule and passing the liquid through the substance using centrifugal forces. The capsule includes a body having a bottom end and an open end spaced apart in the axial direction, an upper wall for covering the body at the open end along a direction transverse to the axial direction, and an enclosure between the body and the upper wall containing a predetermined amount of beverage substance. The capsule further includes an annular pressure-setting ring configured for adjusting the backpressure in the beverage production device. The pressure-setting ring provides an improved coffee in-cup quality. A set of capsules can have pressure-setting rings of different dimensions for setting different backpressure when engaged in a centrifuging beverage production device.

The invention concerns a system of: - a beverage preparation apparatus, wherein said apparatus comprises a mainframe (1) supporting a diluent supply (4), at least two container areas (11) with identification means reader device (13), at least two dissolution chamber areas (12), with identification means reader (14), and a user interface (16), and - a multiplicity of containers (2), with identification means (23) identifying the nature of the soluble beverage ingredient the container is designed to store, and and - a multiplicity of dissolution chambers (3) with identification means (34) identifying the nature of the soluble beverage ingredient the dissolution chamber is designed to dissolve, wherein the apparatus comprises a control system (18) configured for comparing, for each pair of a container housed in a container area and a dissolution chamber housed in the chamber area positioned under the container area and receiving the soluble beverage ingredient from said container, the identification means (34) of the dissolution chamber and the identification means (23) of the container.

Brewing device for producing a beverage from capsules of two different sizes; wherein the brewing device has an inlet sized to allow the insertion of a larger capsule, arranged according to a given orientation; a clamping retaining device movable to and from a normal closed configuration, in which it defines a seat suitable to retain the capsule; a cover arranged to close the inlet and movable to and from an open position, in which the inlet is accessible from the outside for loading a capsule; and an adapter mounted to move, when the cover is in the open position, between an inlet disengagement position and an inlet engagement position, in which it reduces the inlet area to allow a smaller capsule to be fed to the retaining device according to a given orientation.

A capsule is designed for insertion in a centrifugal beverage production device for preparing a beverage from a substance contained in the capsule by introducing liquid in the capsule and passing the liquid through the substance using centrifugal forces. The capsule includes a body having a bottom end and an open end spaced apart in the axial direction, an upper wall for covering the body at the open end along a direction transverse to the axial direction, and an enclosure between the body and the upper wall containing a predetermined amount of beverage substance. The capsule further includes an annular pressure-setting ring configured for adjusting the backpressure in the beverage production device. The pressure-setting ring provides an improved coffee in-cup quality. A set of capsules can have pressure-setting rings of different dimensions for setting different backpressure when engaged in a centrifuging beverage production device.

An apparatus for high speed continuous thermoforming of pulp materials into pulp based products including a beverage dispensing capsule comprising a body having a side wall and a base formed entirely of moulded pulp fibres, said apparatus comprising a holding tank for water and pulp fibres in suspension, a continuous feed belt of articulated mesh toolsets contoured to the preform shape of said products, said belt being inclined to allow partial immersion and partial withdrawal from said suspension by continuous rotation of said belt, vacuum means applied to said mesh toolsets to draw said pulp fibres onto said mesh toolsets immersed in said suspension to form a preform pulp mat of said product.

The invention relates to a disposable cartridge filled with a single serve portion of a liquid ingredient to be combined with a base liquid for the preparation of a liquid product, e.g. a beverage concentrate to be combined with water, e.g. carbonated water, for the preparation of a beverage suitable for human consumption. The cartridge comprises a vertically extending channel that extends to a dispensing aperture in the bottom of the cartridge and one or more dispensing passages extending between a reservoir and the outside of the cartridge. The dispensing passages are provided with outlet openings located adjacent the aperture such that the base liquid and the liquid ingredient are dispensed in parallel flows, the liquid ingredient subsequently coating the exterior of the stream of base liquid, such that actual mixing of the liquid ingredient and base liquid only takes place after both have been dispensed.