Beverage Brewing Product

Abstract

A beverage brewing product for brewing a sweetened beverage is disclosed which produces a sweetened beverage solution that can be mixed with a diluting liquid and which comprises at least one water permeable sieve and/or a dissolvable film packet wherein beverage material and granulated sweetener are contained. The beverage material and sweetener are brewed and dissolved during steeping in hot water to produce a sweetened beverage solution. The beverage solution, if concentrated, is then mixed with a proportioned amount of diluting liquid to make a consistently sweet beverage. This beverage brewing product may be used to produce a variety of consistently sweetened beverages, including tea, coffee, lemonade, and other sweetened beverages.

Claims

1. A beverage product for producing a sweetened beverage comprising: at least one water permeable sieve for placement in a container; beverage material and sugar disposed within said at least one sieve; and wherein said permeable sieve allows water to pass while retaining sugar as it dissolves to produce a sweetened beverage solution.

2. The beverage product set forth in claim 1, wherein said sugar and beverage material forms a composite product.

3. The beverage product set forth in claim 2, wherein at least a portion of said composite product has a structure selected from a group consisting of granules, chunks, tablets, briquettes, extrudates, pellets, bricks, and compacts.

4. The beverage product set forth in claim 1, wherein said sugar includes agglomerated sugar pieces with a structure selected from a group consisting of granules, chunks, tablets, briquettes, extrudates, pellets, bricks, and compacts.

5. The beverage product set forth in claim 1, wherein said sieve comprises multiple compartments containing one of said sugar and said beverage material.

6. The beverage product set forth in claim 1, wherein said sugar is contained in one sieve and said beverage material is contained in a separate sieve.

7. A beverage product for producing a sweetened beverage comprising: at least one dissolvable film packet for placement in a container; beverage material and sugar disposed within said at least one packet; and said packet being made of a food grade material which dissolves after contacting water in said container so that said beverage material and sugar contact said water and produce a sweetened beverage.

8. The beverage product set forth in claim 7, wherein said at least one packet is disposed within a water permeable sieve.

9. The beverage product set forth in claim 7, further comprising at least one water permeable sieve disposed within said at least one packet.

10. The beverage product set forth in claim 7, wherein said container comprises a brewing basket.

11. The beverage product set forth in claim 7, wherein said sugar includes agglomerated sugar pieces.

12. The beverage product set forth in claim 7, wherein said sugar and beverage material forms a composite product.

13. The beverage product set forth in claim 7, wherein said beverage material is disposed in a one packet and sugar is disposed within a separate packet.

14. A beverage product for producing a sweetened beverage comprising: a water permeable sieve for placement in a container, wherein said sieve has openings generally smaller than the size of contents therein; a dissolvable film packet for placement in said container; beverage material and sugar for placement in said container, wherein at least one of said beverage material and sugar is disposed within said sieve and at least one of said beverage material and sugar is disposed within said packet; and said packet being made from a food grade material that dissolves contacting water in said container so that said beverage material and sugar contact said water and produce a sweetened beverage in said container.

15. The beverage product set forth in claim 14, wherein said container comprises a brewing basket.

16. The beverage product set forth in claim 14, wherein said sugar includes agglomerated sugar pieces.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein:

[0032] FIG. 1A is a left front perspective view with parts removed illustrating a brewing machine having a brew basket for containing beverage brewing products according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0033] FIG. 1B is a left perspective view of a brewing machine with the brewing basket inserted and enclosed and with the basket holder and brewing basket cut away to show one embodiment of the beverage brewing product being steeped therein;

[0034] FIG. 1C is a perspective view of adding a concentrated beverage solution to a proportioned amount of diluting liquid to produce a consistent sweetened beverage.

[0035] FIG. 2 is a top plan view illustrating one embodiment of a product for use in brewing a beverage containing a blend of beverage material and granulated sweetener retained in specified blend ratios contained in a water permeable mesh pouch;

[0036] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of one embodiment of a beverage brewing product placed inside a brewing basket according to such embodiment the present invention;

[0037] FIG. 4 is a top plan view illustrating another embodiment of a beverage brewing product wherein a mesh pouch has two compartments for retaining the beverage material and granulated sweetener;

[0038] FIG. 5 is a side cut away illustrating one embodiment of beverage brewing product including a pouch which is folded so that the compartment containing the beverage material rests on top of the compartment containing the sweetener when placed in a brewing basket;

[0039] FIG. 6 is a side cut away illustrating one embodiment of beverage brewing product including a pouch which is folded so that the compartment containing the sweetener rests on top of the compartment containing the beverage material when placed in a brewing basket;

[0040] FIG. 7 is a top plan view illustrating another embodiment of a beverage brewing product including two separate pouches, the first pouch containing beverage material and the second pouch containing a sweetener:

[0041] FIG. 8 is a top plan view illustrating another embodiment of a beverage brewing product including an open filter which contains a blend of beverage material and sweetener;

[0042] FIG. 9 is a side cut away illustrating one embodiment of a beverage brewing product including an open filter with a seal along the bottom edge containing a blend of beverage material and sweetener;

[0043] FIG. 10 is a side cut away illustrating one embodiment of a beverage brewing product including an open filter containing a blend of beverage material and sweetener placed in a brewing basket;

[0044] FIG. 11 is a side cut away illustrating one embodiment of a beverage brewing product including an open filter containing beverage material and pouch containing sweetener placed in a brewing basket so that the pouch sits atop the open filter during brewing;

[0045] FIG. 12 is a side cut away illustrating one embodiment of a beverage brewing product including an open filter containing sweetener and pouch containing beverage material placed in a brewing basket so that the open filter sits atop the pouch during brewing;

[0046] FIG. 13 is a top plan view illustrating one embodiment of a beverage brewing product including a dissolvable film packet;

[0047] FIG. 14A illustrates a beverage material and sweetener blending apparatus for apportioning and blending a beverage material and sweetener, and packaging the blend in a water permeable pouch;

[0048] FIG. 14B is a top plan view of a blending/dispensing funnel according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] FIG. 15 is a side elevation illustrating a filling, sealing and cutting section for dispensing a blend of beverage material and granulated sweetener into a mesh pouch, and sealing and cutting the top end after the pouch is filled; and

[0050] FIG. 16 is a front elevation view of a brewing machine with a multiple compartment brewing basket inserted and enclosed and with the basket holder and brewing basket cut away to show how beverage material and sweetener can be inserted and steep therein and be expelled to mix in a container.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0051] Referring now to the drawings, the invention will be described in more detail.

[0052] As can best be seen in FIG. 1, a brewing machine 10 is illustrated having a container 12, such as a pitcher, pot, urn, cup, etc., with a lid 14. A brewing basket 16 includes a basket outlet 18 through which a hot, sweetened beverage solution 26 flows during brewing. That beverage solution 26 may be concentrated or non-concentrated. A concentrated beverage solution 26 is one that requires dilution with a diluting liquid, such as water, as in FIG. 1C. The diluting liquid may be initially frozen, such as ice, and melt to liquid form. Brewing basket 16 is carried in a basket holder 20, in a conventional manner and a lid 22 covers the basket holder. The brewing basket 16 may be removable or integrally formed with the basket holder 20. Additionally, the basket holder 20 may also be removable or integrally formed with the brewing machine 10. Also, the brewing basket 16 may comprise a standard single compartment type, a brewing basket with multiple compartments (as in FIG. 16), or multiple separate single compartment funnels/baskets combined to form a single brewing basket. Each of these types of brewing baskets 16 include at least one basket outlet 18 through which a liquid solution, containing one or both beverage material 32 and sweetener 34, may flow.

[0053] Above the brewing basket is a hot water dispenser 28 for delivering hot water into the basket. Lid 14 includes an inlet opening 24 through which the concentrated beverage solution enters into the container 12. A main aspect of the invention is a beverage brewing product, designated generally as A, which is placed in the brewing basket 16 before brewing. The brewing basket 16 may be a circular cup basket, square, or a funnel basket and may comprise more than one piece designed to contain one or more portions of the beverage brewing product A. Further, the brewing basket 16 may be open or closed. In an additional embodiment, the beverage brewing product A, may be sealed into the brewing basket 16 before brewing. It should be understood that while the preferred method of brewing sweet tea beverages, or dissolving concentrated powders to produce sweetened beverages, includes using hot water, these processes may also use water of any temperature, including cold, ambient, or lukewarm water.

[0054] As can best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, a beverage brewing product A is illustrated which contains a prescribed blend 31 of beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener particles 34 blended according to the present invention. Product A includes a pouch 30 in which a blend of beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener particles 34 are contained. The beverage material 32 preferably includes tea particles. However, the beverage material 32 may also include coffee grounds or a flavored concentrate. A flavored concentrate is a compound of one or more flavoring agents. Flavored concentrate may be granular, powdered, liquid, or gelatinous. A flavored concentrate may also be natural or artificial. Further, examples of concentrate flavors may include, but are not limited to, lemonade, pink lemonade, limeade, cherryade, orangeade, peach, mango, raspberry, cranberry, blackberry, fruit punch, vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, amaretto, cream, apple, cinnamon, chocolate, milk, tea, coffee, or any other desired flavor or combination thereof. Additionally, the beverage material 32 may also include a mix of coffee or tea and a flavored concentrate, where the concentrate flavor is selected to accentuate the coffee or tea as desired. The granulated sweetener 34 may include granules of sugar or sweetener formed from agave, coconut, honey, maple syrup, molasses, stevia, sugar alcohols, or other like element. Particles of granulated sweetener may comprise a single sugar granule or multiple agglomerated granules.

[0055] Pouch 30 is preferably made from a mesh polymer material having a predetermined mesh size to retain the blend while allowing the flavoring from the beverage material to be extracted and the granulated sweetener particles to dissolve in the brewing basket. However, pouch 30 may also be made of any food grade sieve material, including cotton, cellulose, or even metal. It is important to note that in previous brewing methods, such as brewing tea, sugar is added to the beverage solution after it is brewed and has been cooled. Thus, the sweetener utilized to sweeten the beverage is dissolved in a cool beverage solution, reducing its ability to be dissolved.

[0056] FIG. 2 shows mesh pouch 30 cut away to show the beverage material and sweetener blend 31 (beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener particles 34) contained in the pouch. FIG. 3 shows the beverage brewing pouch A placed in brewing basket 16 of the brewing machine. As the hot water fills the filter basket, pouch 30 generally becomes submerged in hot water 29 as in FIG. 1B. The steeping of the beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener 34 extracts the flavor from the beverage material 32 and dissolves the particles of sweetener 34 producing a sweetened beverage solution 26 dispensed through the basket outlet 18 into container 12 through container lid opening 24. Because the sweetener 34, such as sugar, is steeped in hot water, more of the sweetener 34 is dissolved quickly than when sweetener is added to the beverage solution after brewing in the urn. Beverage brewing product A may also be steeped in 2 cups of water in a container to make a concentrated or non-concentrated beverage solution. If concentrated, a proportioned amount of diluting liquid, such as two cups of water or equivalent amount of ice, are added to the solution to create the beverage solution. Either way, the Brix of the solution is consistent since the same blend of beverage materials and granulated sweetener is known.

[0057] Pouch 30 is preferably constructed from any suitable FDA approved polymeric material such as nylon, polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene, or cellulose in a woven or nonwoven material, and preferably is 44 to 66 in size. However, pouch 30 may also be made of any food grade sieve material, even metal. In some applications, it may also be possible to utilize a cotton nonwoven or woven fabric. The term mesh is meant to include a fabric or material having defined regular openings such as in a woven material, screen, etc., or random openings such as found in a non-woven material like a thin web of fibrous materials, scrim, etc. which may provide the same permeability. For example, a non-woven fibrous web with a polyester/polypropylene blend may be used.

[0058] With regard to sugar as a granulated sweetener, sugar refiners run sugar through a series of sieves rated with a US mesh number. The granules of a certain size get caught or retained in the sieve with smaller holes than the size of the granule. This is done in order to provide uniform size granules to the market. Typically, the sugar found in grocery stores and restaurants are of a small granule particle size and are retained in a mesh sieve the size of 45-120. The smaller the mesh number, the larger the granules of sugar are, and the larger the mesh number, the smaller the granules of sugar are. For example, a sugar granule of mesh sieve size 3 would be larger in size than a sugar granule of mesh sieve size 35. This sizing standard is relevant to all granulated sweeteners. It has been found, according to the present invention, that an advantageous size of particles of sweetener, particularly sugar, is that retained by US sieve numbers 3-35, although granule sizes larger than 3 will work as well. Therefore, a typical sweetener, like sugar granules, found in stores and restaurants, at a mesh sieve size of 45-120, is smaller than the size preferable for use in the present invention.

[0059] Referring now to FIG. 4, an alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated for a beverage brewing product B wherein the beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener particles 34, are contained in separate compartments 36 and 38 of pouch 30. Each compartment is formed from a mesh material as disclosed for product A, shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. In addition, the two compartment pouch includes a seal 40 around the pouch and a seal 41 dividing the pouch into compartments 36 and 38 and providing a fold line. Thereby, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, one compartment of the product B may be folded over onto the other compartment during brewing in a brewing basket 16.

[0060] FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the invention C wherein the beverage material 32 is contained in one pouch 42 having a seam 44 around its edges, and the granulated sweetener particles 34 are contained in a separate pouch 46 also having a seam 48 around its edges. Compartments 42 and 46 are sealed in any suitable way, including the four-sided seal of FIG. 4. In 30, one compartment may be placed on top of the other during brewing in much the same manner as with the folded tea sweetening brewing product B, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In addition, the brewing basket 16 may be constructed so that each of the pouches 42, 46 are contained in a separate space therein and water passes through each in serial order. For example, the brewing basket 16 may have a first piece through which water may pass that contains one pouch and which is stackable upon a second piece through which water may pass that contains the other separate pouch.

[0061] Referring now to FIGS. 8-10, an alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated for a beverage brewing product D wherein the sieve is an open filter 50 having a seam 52. Alternatively, the open filter 50 may also be formed without a seam. The filter 50 in FIGS. 8-10 is a funnel shape, however it may be any shape. For instance filter 50 may be a cup or bowl shape. The filter 50 is formed from a mesh material disclosed for product A. The blend 31 of beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener particles 34 is added to the filter. As seen in FIG. 10, the filter 50 containing the blend 31 of product D may be placed within a brewing basket 16 to be utilized for an open filter brewing process.

[0062] Referring now to FIG. 11, an alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated for a beverage brewing product E wherein the sieve comprises an open filter 54 containing the beverage material 32 and a pouch 58 containing the granulated sweetener separately. The filter 54, similar to that of product D, also has one seam 56, although it may have no seams or more than one. Alternatively, the filter 54 may contain the granulated sweetener particles 34, while the pouch 58 contains the beverage material 32, as in FIG. 12. The pouch 58 may be disposed either on top of the filter 54 in the brewing basket 16, as in FIG. 11, underneath the filter 54, as in FIG. 12, or aside the filter 54. The filter 54 and pouch 58 of product E are formed from a mesh material disclosed for product A. In certain embodiments, the filter 54 and the pouch 58 may also be integrally formed or affixed together.

[0063] Referring now to FIG. 13, an alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated for a beverage brewing product F wherein a pouch 30 contains a granulated sweetener 34 and a dissolvable film packet 60 with a beverage material 32 therein. The dissolvable film packet 60 is formed from a food grade material which dissolves upon contact with water, such as by steeping. An example of one such film that could be utilized includes that identified as Vivos Films produced by MonoSol, LLC. Once the packet 60 dissolves due to contact with water, the beverage material 32 is released to flavor water in the brewing basket 16. Alternatively, the beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener 34 may be disposed in an opposite fashion to that shown in FIG. 13 or both may be disposed within the packet 60 inside of the pouch 30. In addition, when packet 60 is disposed within pouch 30, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the product F may be utilized in a container directly, such as a pitcher, pot, urn, or cup. Furthermore, packet 60 may be placed into an open filterlike 50 and 54 of products D and Einstead of being contained within a pouch 30. For example, packet 60 may replace pouch 58 in FIG. 11. In an additional embodiment, the packet 60 may be placed in the brewing basket 16 separate from a sieve30, 50, and 54instead of being located within. For example, the packet 60 may replace pouch 58 in FIG. 12. Use of a packet 60 has the benefit of allowing use of liquid and gelatinous beverage materials, such as liquid tea, coffee, or citrus flavored concentrates, which might not otherwise be useful in the present invention. Further, use of a packet 60 has the benefit of preventing air from reaching one or both of the beverage material and granulated sweetener, lowering the likelihood of spoliation thereof.

[0064] Regarding products A, B, C, D, E, and F, product A is considered advantageous because larger particles of sweetener, such as sugar, are mixed in with the smaller particles of beverage materials, such as tea, making the sweetener dissolve faster and more fully. In addition, the beverage flavor is extracted more fully in the blend because the granules reduce the compacting of the beverage materials. Larger granule sweetener particles allow hot water to flow around and contact the particles at the same time as the flavor is being extracted out of the beverage materials. Thereby, two steps have been reduced to one. In the prior method, the sugar goes in after the tea has cooled in a two-step process.

[0065] In accordance with the invention, a method for brewing a sweetened beverage is disclosed comprising the steps of providing a brewing machine having a container 12, a brewing basket 16 carried above the container 12, and a hot water dispenser 28 for delivering hot water into the brewing basket 16. Next, the method includes placing a mesh pouch 30, 58; open filter 50, 54; and/or a dissolvable film packet 60 containing beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener 34 into the brewing basket 16, and dispensing hot water into the brewing basket 16 to steep the beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener 34 and produce a flow of sweetened beverage solution 26 out of the basket 16 into the container 12. In an alternative embodiment involving beverage material 32 which dissolves in water, a dissolvable film packet 60 containing both beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener 34 can be placed into a container 12such as a pitcher, pot, urn, or cupbefore or after water is added thereto to produce a sweetened beverage solution 26 in the container 12.

[0066] If concentrated, the beverage solution 26 is added to a proportioned amount of diluting liquid, like water, at a time after the sweetener 34 has been more completely and consistently dissolvedas in FIG. 1cin contrast to the sweetener 34 being dissolved in the beverage solution after brewing. When performing an open brew process, it is preferable to store any loose tea/coffee and sugar mixture in storage bags or pouches constructed from metallized polypropylene or metallized polyethylene, whereby the loose tea or coffee grounds and sugar mixture may be poured from the metallized bag into an open filter 50.

[0067] Referring now to FIGS. 14A, 14B and 15, a system and method for producing the beverage brewing product A in pouch 30 will now be disclosed in more detail, along with the process for blending the beverage material and sweetener, and packaging. As can best be seen in FIG. 14A, a blending apparatus, generally designated G, for feeding and blending beverage material 32 and sweetener 34 is illustrated. Apparatus G includes a feeding section H having a separate beverage material bin 66, and a separate sweetener bin 64 which separately deliver beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener 34 through conduits 68 and 70 through separate infeed ducts 72, 74, respectively. From the infeed ducts, beverage material 32 is delivered to a hopper 76 and sweetener 34 is delivered to a separate hopper 78 of blending section I. A feed auger 80 is located in hopper 76, and a feed auger 82 is located in hopper 78. The augers meter or control the amounts of the beverage material and granulated sweetener being delivered by controlling the auger speeds, and hence the blend ratio. The preferred beverage material/sweetener blend depends upon the chosen beverage material and sweetener. For flavored concentrate and sugar, the ratio is within about 1:3 to 1:80. For tea particles and sugar, the ratio is within about 1:3 to 1:35, and preferably within 1:5 to 1:25, depending on the customer, with 1:12 being typical. Additionally, the size of the tea particles varies with the customer's tea blend. Tea is widely available, for example, Henry P. Thomson Tea Company in Peapack, N.J., is a source and the specifications are for black, oolong, and green (including white tea). Generally, for most tea blends, 98% of the tea particles will be retained by a U.S. mesh sieve size of 80.

[0068] The portions of beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener 34 are fed into a blending and dispensing funnel 84 where the beverage materials and granulated sweetener are blended and dispensed through a nozzle 86. As can best be seen in FIG. 14B, the blending and dispensing funnel 84 may include any arrangement or device for spreading and blending the beverage material and granulated sweetener. In the illustrated embodiment, funnel 84 includes a plurality of layers of wire grates 86 and 88 angularly oriented at angles with each other to provide irregular grate openings 90 for the blend delivered through the funnel. Funnel 84 includes a bottom opening through which the blend 31 is delivered to a conduit or nozzle 92. Packaging section J includes a tubular roll of mesh material 94 being fed downwardly, which may be either tubular or flat mesh material delivering from roll 96 to be seamed tubular. As the stock mesh material is drawn downwardly over nozzle 92, by roller conveyors 93, a side heating bar 106 seals the edges of the mesh material together. As in a typical vertical form, fill and seal machine, a pair of moveable heating and cutting units 102, 104 are provided. Each unit includes heated sealing bars 118 above and below the respective knife blade 112 and knife slot 116. Sealing and cutting unit 104 includes knife blade 112, and sealing and cutting unit 102 includes knife slot 116 which receives the knife blade when the heat bars of the units are pressed together for sealing and the seam is then cut. Knife 112 extends into knife slot 116 of unit 104 to cut midway through the seam forming a top seam 100 for the pouch below and a bottom seam 98 for the pouch above.

[0069] As can best be seen in FIG. 15, tubular mesh material is initially sealed across the lower bottom end at 98 by the previous seal and cut operation, leaving the mouth open whereupon the blend 31 goes down through nozzle 92 into pouch 30. The pouch is dropped into a bin 99 and conveyed away. The next material is delivered to the sealing/cutting station 120 and its lower end sealed at 98 by the previous seal and cut operation and with its mouth open. The next pouch at sealing/cutting station 120 is then filled and sealed across the top whereupon the next bottom seal 98 is formed at the same time. Horizontal form, fill, and seal machines can equally be used to produce product A, B, C, D, and E.

[0070] Thus, it can be seen that an advantageous product and process can be had according to the present invention for brewing a beverage and dissolving a sweetener together in a brewing basket. A sweetened beverage solution flows out of the brewing basket into the urn which, if concentrated is mixed with a diluting liquid, like water, for consistently brewing a beverage. Preferably, at least one pouch, in the form of a fine polymeric mesh pouch, retains the beverage material and sweetener during brewing. The sweetener dissolves rapidly and more fully in the present invention when the granular size of the sweetener is generally U.S. Mesh sieve 35 or larger (i.e. lower mesh numbers) as opposed to when the granular size of the sweetener is generally smaller than U.S. Mesh sieve 35 (i.e. mesh sieve numbers above 35). The beverage material and the sweetener blended in the mesh pouch brew and sweeten the tea at the same time. The hot water entering the brew basket brews the beverage, dissolves the sweetener, and sweetens the beverage. The temperature of the water is one of the key factors in brewing. Although any temperature water may be used, utilizing hot water in the brewing basket helps dissolve more of the sweetener quickly. Larger granulated sweetener allows the water to flow around and make contact with the sweetener at the same time it is extracting flavor from the beverage material in the blend. The steps of brewing a beverage in a pot or urn, and then adding sugar to the beverage is replaced by one step, brewing the beverage and sweetening at the same time before they reach the urn.

[0071] In one embodiment of the present invention, it is contemplated that granulated sugar in the range of U.S. mesh sieve nos. 3 to 35 may be manufactured, as it is currently difficult to find sugar in this size range that is commercially available in the United States in large quantities. One preferred method for manufacturing sugar granules (or agglomerations) in this size range includes agglomerating sugar that is commercially available (i.e. smaller in granule size) into larger agglomerated piecessuch as pellets or cubesand then breaking the pieces into smaller formationssuch as granules or chunkswithin the specified size range.

[0072] For example, commercial pellet mills are commonly used to form pellets from materials made from smaller granules, including feed mill pellets, wood pellets, and the like. These pellet mills may also be used to manufacture sugar pellets from sugar that is already processed into smaller granules. For instance, California Pellet Mill manufactures and sells a number of different commercial pellet mills that may be used in the instant process. In such a process, small granulated sugar is fed into the pellet mill, and formed into larger pellets. These pellets may be used in the beverage producing processes described herein, either as produced in pellet form, or the pellets may be broken up into smaller chunks (but still larger chunks than the original granulated sugar that is fed into the mill), in order to generate sugar granules or chunks that fall within the desired sugar size range as described herein. A similar process and machinery may be utilized to generate other agglomerated sugar pieces, such as sugar cubes.

[0073] The pieces may then be fed into a lump breaking machine (or lump breaker) to reduce the size of the pieces, as desired. Lump breaker machines are commercially available, such as the Model RDC 1515-SS from Munson Machinery, and are commonly used for the deagglomeration of free or non-free flowing bulk materials such as salt, sugar, spices and resins. After the agglomerated sugar pieces have been fed through the lump breaker, the resulting sugar granules, or chunks, may then be used to sweeten various beverages in the processes described herein. In one embodiment, it is contemplated that the sugar pieces 34 may be utilized to produce a beverage solution 26 by being placed directly into a brew basket 16 with beverage material 32, such as tea. It is further foreseen that one of both of the sugar pieces 34 and beverage material 32 may also be contained within a water permeable sieve (such as 30, 50, 54, and 58) or dissolvable film packet 60 when placed into the brew basket 16 or container 12.

[0074] In one embodiment of the present invention, it is contemplated that the blend 31 of beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener particles 34 used herein may be agglomerated to form one or more composite productscontaining both beverage material 32 and granulated sweetener particles 34that provide more desirable physical properties and may be used in the processes described herein. These composite products, like the agglomerated sugar pieces, may include formations such as granules, chunks, tablets, briquettes, extrudates, pellets, bricks, compacts, or the like. Further these composite products may be formed with granulated sweetener 34 of any size to form composite products in the range of U.S. mesh sieve no. 35 or lower, whether formed of single granules or from manufactured chunks, cubes, or pellets thereof. Although there are several ways recognized to create composite products, one preferred method for use in the instant method includes tumble/growth agglomeration.

[0075] Tumble/growth agglomeration, sometimes referred to as wet agglomeration, involves the introduction of a liquid binding agent or water into a volume of initial particles, such as the blend 31, to create liquid bridges between such particles which leave solid bridges after drying, forming larger composite product formations, such as granules or chunks.

[0076] In tumble/growth agglomeration, the introduction of the liquid into the volume of initial particles may be performed in a variety of ways which impact properties of the agglomerated product. However, a preferred method of introducing liquid involves the use of a mixer to ensure even distribution of the liquid in the volume of initial particles. Mixer Agglomerators are commercially available, such as the Flex-O-Mix, Turbulizer, and FlexTurbulizer from Bepex International LLC, and are commonly used for wet agglomeration processes. Thereby, liquid, such as water, may be added to the blend 31 in a mixer to evenly distribute the moisture amongst the blend 31. However, several other methods exist which may also be utilized in tumble/growth agglomeration, including spraying a fluidized bed of initial particles or utilizing a wet granulator apparatus.

[0077] Further, once the prescribed amount of moisture has been added and distributed in tumble/growth agglomeration, the product is then dried to evaporate the liquid, leaving composite product formations with solid bridges between particles thereof. While there are many methods for drying composite products, it is preferred that the product be dried either in the mixer or in a separate fluidized bed or dryer to ensure sufficient removal of the liquid therefrom. Thereby, the blend 31 used in the present inventionsuch as in a sieve (like 30, 50, 54, 58), dissolvable film packet 60, or brewing basket 16 directlymay be composite granules including both beverage material 32 and sweetener particles 34. It is also foreseen that composite products may be utilized in any of the processes described herein.

[0078] Furthermore, in addition to tumble/growth agglomeration, it is also foreseen that composite product may also be formed by mixing beverage material 32 with sweetener 34, such as mixing lemonade or flavored concentrate with sugar, and this mix is then fed into a pellet mill to form pellets or other machinery to form cubes or other formations which can be placed in a brew basket 16, dissolvable film packet 60, or sieve (like 30, 50, 54, and 58). Thereby, these composite products may be utilized in any of the processes described herein.

[0079] In an additional embodiment, it is foreseen that the brewing basket 16 utilized in the described processes may comprise multiple brewing baskets or a brewing basket with multiple compartments, as in FIG. 16. Thereby, sugar and beverage material may be placed into separate compartments of said brewing basket 16 or into separate brewing baskets to steep separately and be dispensed into and combine within a container, such as an urn.

[0080] While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.