Systems, methods and apparatus for brewing coffee are provided. The apparatus may include a first film and a second film. A filter may be disposed between the first film and the second film. The filter may retain an amount of material. The first and second film may be flexible. The first film may be pierced by a brewing needle. The second film may be pierced by a drain needle. The second film may be sealed to the first film along a perimeter defined by the first film. The first film may have a flat configuration. The second film may have a concave surface that faces the first film. The filter may define an annular material holding region. The filter may define a drainage region that is coaxial with the filter. The filter may form a layer parallel to and supported by the first film in an area of the first film that overlies the drainage region.

A capsule containing a substance for the preparation of a beverage has an aluminum capsule body and a cover sheet hermetically closing off the capsule. The capsule body has a flange with a deformable sealing ring portion with an inner wall portion extending from and contiguous with an inner base portion of the flange, an outer wall portion extending from and contiguous with an outer base portion of the flange and a bridge portion interconnecting the inner wall portion and the outer wall portion. The bridge portion is located axially spaced from the base portions of the flange. In radial cross-sectional view, a top of the bridge portion axially most remote from the base portions of the flange is flat or has a center plane curved with a radius of curvature larger than two times a wall thickness of the top of the bridge portion.

A dispenser (1) of pods (2) for the production of brewed beverages; the dispenser (1) is equipped with a magazine (4) for holding pods (2) arranged in random order, a belt conveyor (9) designed to extract the pods (2) one by one from the storage compartment (4) to feed then to an outlet (16) in a feed direction (15), and an agitator device (10), which cooperates with the conveyor (9) to move pods (2) away from the conveyor (9) and is defined by a rotor having a hub (24), which is rotationally mounted about an axis (25) transversal to the feed direction (15) to rotate in the opposite direction to the belt conveyor (9), and blades (26), which, during rotation, define with the belt conveyor (9) and upstream of the outlet (16), a gap (28) designed to allow pods (2) lying flat on the belt (11) of the conveyor (9) to reach the outlet (16).

A portion packaging for producing a beverage, in particular coffee, includes a container made of a filter material in which an extraction material is arranged and a support body which is connected to the filter material. The support body has multiple pivotal arms which can be pivoted from a position which closes the container and into a position which opens the container. The pivotal arms of the support body are arranged one above the other on at least two planes when the portion packaging is closed.

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

A beverage pod is provided. The beverage pod includes an outer shell, a filter, and a shelf. The outer shell has a bottom layer, a lid opposite the bottom layer, and side walls between the bottom layer and the lid. The bottom layer is operable to be breached by a brewing pin from a beverage brewing machine. The filter forms a chamber operable to contain a beverage material. The beverage material is operable to mix with a liquid to form a beverage. The shelf supports a shape of at least a portion of the filter. The shelf forms a receiving portion operable to receive the brewing pin. The receiving portion has substantially a toroidal shape.

A capsule for preparing beverages, in particular coffee, is described, comprising a containing body having a first portion, the containing body defining an internal volume adapted to contain a substance to be infused, the first portion being composed of: a first perimeter edge; a first central portion onto which at least one external pressing force is applied; a first crown portion collapsible towards inside the containing body under the action of the pressing force exerted at least on the first central portion and/or on the first crown portion, the first crown portion being interposed between the first perimeter edge and the first central portion, the first crown portion being connected on its perimeter to the first perimeter edge by interposing a first bending line and being connected to the first central portion by interposing a second bending line.

A soluble coffee container to be inserted in a beverage brewing device, including a main body to store at least one soluble item therein and dissolve in response to receiving a liquid thereon from the beverage brewing device, and a lid removably disposed on at least a portion of the main body to at least partially cover the main body and dissolve in response to receiving the liquid thereon from the beverage brewing device, such that a drinkable solution is created.

The present disclosure is directed to single use beverage dispensing containers or pods that are used to make beverages from materials that may have limited solubility. Beverage pods of the present disclosure may be made to break open along a bottom surface of the pod when the pod is placed into a beverage making machine. When the beverage pod capsule comes into contact with a piercing element of a beverage making machine, thinner or embossed parts of the beverage pod may be stressed and crack open forming a breakaway opening that exceeds the diameter of a hole in the beverage machine's piercing element. A flow of liquid provided to a top of the beverage pod would mix with a beverage making material and the liquid and the material could escape the pod through the breakaway opening in the beverage pod.

The invention relates to a pad for use in a coffee-maker, provided with an envelope with an inner space which is filled with a beverage preparation product, wherein the envelope is formed by a first disc-shaped sheet and a second disc-shaped sheet, wherein the interconnected parts of the first sheet and the second sheet form a sealing seam and wherein the first sheet and the second sheet each form a filter which can pass a fluid and which forms a barrier to the beverage preparation product, wherein, in use, with the coffee-maker a fluid such as water is supplied, under pressure, via the first sheet to the pad so that the fluid is pressed through the pad for obtaining the beverage which thereupon leaves the pad, wherein each sheet comprises at least one layer, and wherein at least one of the first sheet and the second sheet is of form-retaining design, made of at least one base compound comprising meltable polymers and preferably fibers and/or filaments of the same, and at least one enforcement compound comprising at least meltable polymers of the group of abaca, banana plant, flax, hemp, lyocell, tencel, kenaf, nettles, ramie, bamboo, bowstring, indian hemp, jute, cotton, coir, sisal, agave and preferably fibers and/or filaments.