US 6,405,637 · Granted 2002-06-18

Fluid delivery system for generating pressure pulses to make beverages

Apparatus includes a water reservoir, a container for containing flavor-containing materials and a fluid delivery system for generating a plurality of pressure pulses, each including a water pulse and a steam pulse, and for delivering the pressure pulses through the flavor-containing materials. This extracts the useful compounds out of the flavor-containing materials under the pressure of the pressure pulses. The fluid delivery system includes a chamber, a heater in heat conducting relation with the chamber, a valve disposed between the reservoir and the chamber which opens to permit water to flow from the reservoir to the chamber when pressure in the chamber drops below a predetermined pressure. Method for making flavor-containing liquid with a plurality of pressure pulses includes generating and delivering a first pressure pulse in the form of a pressurized hot water pulse and a pulse of pressurized steam to and through the flavor-containing materials in a container. The flavor-containing materials is extracted by the pulse of pressurized hot water under the pressure of the first pressure pulse and are dried or potentially re-roasted by the pulse of pressurized hot steam. The next step is to generate and deliver a second similar pressure pulse, again, to and through the flavor-containing materials. The steps of generating and delivering pressure pulses to and through the flavor-containing materials can be repeated until a desired amount of flavor-containing liquid has been prepared.

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