US 2,002,048,621 · Filed 2001-10-05

The Smart Coffee Packet That Tells Your Machine How to Brew

Imagine a coffee packet that's not just a bag of grounds—it's got a tiny digital code printed on it that your coffee maker can read. The machine scans the code, learns exactly what kind of brew is inside, and automatically adjusts the water temperature, pressure, and timing to make the perfect cup every time.

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The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a brewing packet (like a tea or coffee bag) that contains both a physical brewing ingredient and an encoded data feature—such as a barcode or machine-readable mark—that a beverage machine can scan and interpret. What's protected here is the combination of the packet itself plus the encoded instruction set that directs a brewing device to perform specific operations tailored to that particular packet's contents, whether for hot or cold beverages and whether for single or multiple servings.

Why it matters

This patent bridges the gap between consumer coffee/tea products and smart appliances. By encoding brewing instructions directly into the packet, manufacturers can ensure consistent quality and take the guesswork out of home brewing. It also opens the door for connected kitchen devices to automatically optimize every brew without manual adjustment—a foundational idea for the smart-appliance market that has since exploded into capsule-based systems like Keurig and Nespresso machines.

Real-world use

When you drop a specialty coffee packet into a smart brewer, the machine reads the packet's code and knows whether to brew it as espresso, drip, or cold brew, then adjusts itself automatically for the best flavor.

Original USPTO abstract

A brewing packet is provided for use in the preparation of hot or cold beverages. The brewing packet envelops a brewing ingredient chosen according to the tastes of a beverage drinker. The packet includes a machine interpretable feature that contains encoded data capable of being read by a beverage producing device. Furthermore, the data on the packet is capable of directing the beverage producing device to employ a specific brewing operation suited for the particular brewing packet. This allows for producing the optimal beverage from the brewing ingredient. The packet may be utilized with a variety of brewing ingredients to produce a variety of beverages. Similarly, the packet may be configured to produce single or multiple servings of a beverage.

Patent details

Publication number: US 2,002,048,621
Filing date: 2001-10-05
Grant date: Application — not yet granted
Assignee: Boyd David D. / Johnson Michael W.
Inventor(s): BOYD DAVID D., JOHNSON MICHAEL W.
CPC class: A47J31/3623

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