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

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

A capsule containing a beverage powder is particularly useful for preparing a beverage, such as preparing coffee from ground coffee by introducing water into the capsule. In one example, the capsule includes a capsule body composed of at least one polysaccharide and the capsule body is filled with a powder containing polysaccharide. The capsule body is encased all around by at least one coating layer that contains at least one polyvinyl alcohol and/or a polyvinyl alcohol copolymer.

A first aspect of the invention provides an infusion product for making a beverage by soaking the infusion product in a liquid, the infusion product comprising: a pouch formed from one or more permeable sheets of a first plant material, at least two portions of the pouch being joined together at a seam portion by an adhesive; a second plant material within the pouch, the second plant material being configured such that an extract from the second plant material infuses into the first liquid when the infusion product is soaked in the liquid to make the beverage; wherein the adhesive comprises corn zein.

A method for forming a dissolvable freeze dried coffee is disclosed. The method may comprise the steps of freezing a liquid coffee concentrate and freeze drying the frozen liquid coffee concentrate until a hard outer crust is formed which may have a hardness greater than or equal to an interior portion of the freeze dried coffee.

A composition that includes plant derived wax having a melting point of at least 70° C. can be used to waterproof cellulose based materials like paper and board. Suitable waxes include sugarcane wax and rice-bran wax. A surfactant such as stearic acid improves the adhesion of the composition to the underlying material. The resulting waterproof laminate can be economically recycled. Hot beverage cups made from the laminate are waterproof and recyclable without first being separated into components. Coffee pods and drinking straws that are waterproof and recyclable are manufactured with the waterproof laminate.

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

A beverage system having a pod and a brewer, the brewer including a closure movable between an open position and a closed position. A chamber included in the closure that is defined by a set of walls including a pair of sidewalls. The pod includes a holder and a wrapper fully enclosing the holder. An exterior of the pod is defined by the wrapper and when the pod is received in the brewer the exterior is punctured.

A capsule for preparing a beverage comprises a housing with an outlet, and a cavity for containing a powder, an inner membrane between the cavity and the outlet, an agitator, comprising a central shaft, and at least one blade attached to the central shaft. The at least one blade comprises at least one blade element for one or more of piercing and cutting the inner membrane. Further aspects of the invention are an apparatus and a method for preparing a beverage.

The invention concerns a manufacturing process for producing hermetic single-use food containers, including: forming a container body (30) having an peripheral rim (31), placing the container body in a sealing head having a first die (2) and a second die (8) having cooperating annular sealing surfaces (4, 10) facing the rim (31), sealing a closing lid (34) placed over the container body with the rim (31) by applying the first die (2) and the second die (8) one against the other. According to the invention, the first die (2) is provided with a continuous annular rib (6) in its sealing surface (4), the rib having a height (h) which is at least equal to a maximum depth of wrinkles that might appear on the rim upon forming the container body, whereby a sealing groove (12) is formed by the rib (6) in a side of the rim during the sealing.