Method for treating coffee materials by utilizing pottery jar

Abstract

The invention discloses a method for processing coffee materials by utilizing a pottery jar, belongs to the technical field of coffee processing, realizes the application of the pottery jar in the field of coffee processing for the first time, and fills the global technical blank of processing coffee materials by utilizing the pottery jar. The method comprises the four core steps of pottery jar selection, filling of coffee materials into the pottery jar, aging treatment in the pottery jar and finished product obtaining, no limitation of pottery jar types, coffee materials and aging processes exists, and global enclosure of the whole subdivided track of'pottery jar treated coffee 'is achieved. The method is extremely high in process compatibility, parameters can be flexibly adjusted, flavor carriers can be added, and the method is suitable for families, small workshops and industrial production; coffee can be endowed with unique Chinese flavor by relying on the microporous structure of the pottery jar and adsorbed flavor substances and microbial communities, and is different from western-style wine barrel coffee, so that the flavor system of the coffee is enriched. A foundation is laid for a brand new pottery jar and coffee processing track, a basic technical scheme in the field is formed, meanwhile, modernized application of Chinese traditional pottery jars is promoted, and the cultural additional value of coffee products is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of coffee processing technology, specifically to the application of ceramic jars in the aging and flavor modification of coffee materials. It is applicable to the processing of various coffee materials and belongs to the field of food processing technology. Background Technology

[0002] Flavor enhancement is a core direction for increasing the added value of coffee products. Current mainstream flavor modification processes utilize barrel fermentation, employing Western-style wooden containers such as oak barrels, brandy barrels, and whiskey barrels. This relies on the absorbency of the wooden containers and the presence of residual alcohol to impart flavor to the coffee. Traditional Chinese earthenware jars, as classic food fermentation and aging containers, are widely used in food processing fields such as brewing, vinegar making, pickling, and sauce production. Their microporous clay structure creates a unique micro-oxygen environment, allowing the jar to absorb and retain flavor substances and microbial communities produced during fermentation, thus possessing natural advantages for food flavor modification. Currently, there are no technological solutions globally that apply earthenware jars to coffee material processing. The structural characteristics and flavor-imparting logic of earthenware jars differ fundamentally from Western wooden containers, making direct substitution impossible. Furthermore, existing coffee processing techniques have not explored the value of earthenware jars in coffee flavor modification, resulting in a technological gap characterized by a limited range of coffee flavor profiles and a lack of distinctive Chinese-style coffee processing techniques. This invention is the first to combine earthenware jars with coffee material processing, filling this technological gap and creating a new track in coffee processing technology. Summary of the Invention

[0003] (a) Purpose of the invention The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for processing coffee materials using earthenware jars, realizing the application of earthenware jars in the coffee processing field for the first time and filling the technological gap in earthenware jar processing of coffee materials; through the broadest range of technical protection, it covers all the core logic and derivative paths of earthenware jar processing of coffee materials, laying the foundation for the subsequent technological development in this field; at the same time, this method has strong process compatibility, and the processing parameters can be flexibly adjusted to achieve diversified flavor modification of coffee materials, creating Chinese-style specialty coffee products that are different from Western-style barrel coffee, providing a new direction for localized innovation in the coffee industry.

[0004] (II) Technical Solution A method for processing coffee materials using a ceramic jar includes the following steps: 1. Preparation of pottery jars: Select any type of pottery jar as the processing container. There are no restrictions on the material, usage status, age, or place of origin of the pottery jar. 2. Packing coffee materials into jars: The coffee materials are directly packed into the ceramic jars. There are no restrictions on the variety, shape, or pre-processing method of the coffee materials. 3. Aging in the jar: The coffee material is aged in any way in the ceramic jar, and there are no restrictions on the type of process, parameters, or environment of aging. 4. Obtaining the finished product: After aging, the coffee material is taken out of the earthenware jar to obtain the aged coffee material. Detailed Implementation

[0005] To verify the feasibility, implementability, and unique flavor effects of this invention, this section provides 10 embodiments with different parameter combinations, covering different dimensions such as ceramic jar type, coffee material, aging process, and flavor carrier. Two comparative examples are also provided for effect comparison. All embodiments are implemented based on the core technical solution of this invention, and can effectively process coffee material. The processed coffee material has a unique flavor that is significantly better than the comparative examples, proving that this invention has unexpected technical effects.

[0006] Example 1: Processing fresh Caturra coffee cherries in 5-year-old Shaoxing rice wine jars 1. Earthenware jar: An unglazed clay Shaoxing rice wine jar that is 5 years old. It was once used to store Shaoxing rice wine, and its inner wall has absorbed flavor substances and natural microbial communities from the rice wine. 2. Coffee materials: Fresh Caturra coffee cherries, after impurities are removed and the skins are peeled, retaining the coffee beans with parchment paper attached, and draining the surface moisture; 3. Packing: Pack the coffee beans into a ceramic jar, filling it to 85% of its volume, and add purified water to submerge the coffee beans; 4. Aging treatment: The mouth of the jar is covered with breathable gauze to create a micro-oxygen environment, and aerobic fermentation is carried out at room temperature of 22℃ for 48 hours, without subsequent sealing and aging; 5. Obtaining the finished product: Take out the coffee beans, wash them with pure water until the water is clear, and let them air dry naturally until the moisture content is 10% to obtain the processed green coffee beans; 6. Flavor profile: Sensory evaluation and GC-MS testing show that the coffee beans have distinct aromas of rice wine, lychee, and longan, with a mild acidity, smooth mouthfeel, and an ester content that is more than 35% higher than that of traditional processing methods. Example 2: Processing Typica coffee beans in a brand new Yixing purple clay pot 1. Pottery jar: Brand new Yixing purple clay jar, made of coarse pottery, with a microporous breathable structure. Soak in clean water for 7 days to remove impurities before use; 2. Coffee materials: Typica green coffee beans, after impurity removal, washing, and draining, with a moisture content controlled at 11%; 3. Packing: Pack the green coffee beans into earthenware jars, filling them to 70% of their volume, without adding any liquid or additives; 4. Aging treatment: Seal the jar and age it directly at a constant temperature of 20℃ for 90 days. During this period, open the jar and stir it once a month to ensure uniform flavor. 5. Finished product: Take out the green coffee beans directly, do not wash, and let them air dry naturally until the moisture content reaches 9%; 6. Flavor profile: The coffee beans have a subtle earthy aroma reminiscent of purple clay pottery jars, along with nutty notes. They are full-bodied with a long finish and mild bitterness, making them suitable for Italian coffee making. Example 3: Processing fresh Catuai coffee cherries (with flavor carrier) in 3-year-old rice wine jars 1. Pottery jar: A three-year-old semi-glazed red pottery rice wine jar that once contained glutinous rice wine; 2. Coffee ingredients: Fresh Catuai coffee cherries, used whole after removing impurities, no need to peel; 3. Packing: Pack the whole fresh coffee fruit into a ceramic jar, filling it to 80% capacity. Add rice wine lees as a flavor carrier (fresh coffee fruit: rice wine lees = 100:5), and add purified water to moisten the material (do not submerge it). 4. Aging treatment: Cover the jar with a breathable lid, ferment at 25℃ for 36 hours, then seal and age for 45 days; 5. Finished Product Acquisition: Remove the fresh coffee cherries, peel them, wash the coffee beans, and dry them at a low temperature of 40℃ until the moisture content is 8%; 6. Flavor profile: The coffee beans have a combination of rice wine aroma, the sweet and glutinous taste of rice wine lees, and mango fruit aroma, with a rich flavor profile and a prominent sweetness. Example 4: Processing New World green coffee beans in a 10-year-old vinegar jar 1. Earthenware jar: A clay vinegar jar that is 10 years old. It was once used to store aged vinegar, and the inner wall has absorbed a slight vinegar aroma and microorganisms. 2. Coffee ingredients: New World green coffee beans, used directly after removing impurities; 3. Packing: Fill to 75% capacity, add oak chips as a flavor carrier (green coffee beans: oak chips = 100:3); 4. Aging treatment: aerobic fermentation at 28℃ for 60 hours, followed by sealed aging at 22℃ for 30 days; 5. Finished product: Remove the raw beans, clean off the oak chips, and air dry naturally until the moisture content reaches 10%; 6. Flavor profile: The coffee beans have a combination of oaky aroma, a hint of vinegar, and a caramel sweetness, with a bright acidity and a refreshing taste. Example 5: Processing Bourbon peeled coffee cherries in brand new black ceramic jars (segmented fermentation) 1. Pottery jar: Newly built water-black pottery jar with a microporous breathable structure; 2. Coffee ingredients: Fresh bourbon coffee cherries, peeled, cleaned, washed, and drained; 3. Packing: Fill to 80% capacity, add purified water to submerge the materials, and do not add flavor carriers; 4. Aging treatment: First, ferment at 18℃ with aerobic environment for 24 hours, then seal and age at 15℃ for 90 days; 5. Finished product acquisition: Remove the coffee beans, wash them, and dry them at a low temperature of 45℃ until the moisture content is 9%; 6. Flavor profile: The coffee beans have a refreshing citrus aroma, a subtle earthy aroma, a mild acidity, and a smooth mouthfeel. Example 6: Treatment of Robusta green coffee beans in 2-year-old liquor jars 1. Earthenware jar: A coarse earthenware jar for baijiu (Chinese liquor) that is 2 years old and was once used to store sorghum liquor; 2. Coffee ingredients: Robusta green coffee beans, after impurities have been removed; 3. Filling the jars: Fill to 90% capacity, then add purified water to submerge the contents; 4. Aging treatment: Aerobic fermentation at 30℃ for 36 hours; 5. Finished product: After washing, air dry naturally until the moisture content reaches 12%; 6. Flavor profile: The coffee beans have a prominent aroma of white wine, high sweetness, mild bitterness, and moderate caffeine content, making them suitable for making instant coffee. Example 7: Processing fresh Mondonovo coffee cherries in 15-year-old wine jars 1. Earthenware jar: A fine earthenware wine jar, 15 years old, which once contained red wine; 2. Coffee ingredients: fresh Mondonovo coffee cherries, peeled but with parchment paper still attached; 3. Filling: Fill to 85% capacity, add wine lees (green coffee beans: lees = 100:4); 4. Aging treatment: aerobic fermentation at 24℃ for 48 hours, followed by sealed aging for 60 days; 5. Finished product: After cleaning, dry at a low temperature of 50℃ until the moisture content is 8%; 6. Flavor profile: The coffee beans have aromas of wine, cherry, and honey, with a rich flavor. Example 8: Processing Catimor coffee beans in brand new Rongchang ceramic jars (with added fruit flavor carrier) 1. Pottery Jar: Brand new Rongchang coarse pottery jar, baked at high temperature to remove impurities before use; 2. Coffee ingredients: Catimor green coffee beans, cleaned and purified; 3. Packing: Fill to 70% capacity, add diced mango as a flavor carrier (green coffee beans: diced mango = 100: 6); 4. Aging treatment: Aerobic fermentation at 26℃ for 72 hours, followed by sealed aging for 30 days; 5. Finished product: Remove the raw beans, clean off the mango pieces, and air dry naturally until the moisture content reaches 10%; 6. Flavor profile: The coffee beans have a prominent mango aroma, combined with a smooth, glutinous texture reminiscent of earthenware pots, and a long-lasting sweetness. Example 9: Treatment of Caturra coffee semi-roasted beans in a new rice wine jar aged for 6 months 1. Earthenware jar: A new clay jar for Shaoxing wine that is 6 months old. It was sealed for Shaoxing wine for only 6 months and has slightly absorbed the flavor of Shaoxing wine. 2. Coffee ingredients: Caturra coffee beans (30% roast); 3. Filling: 80% full, without adding any liquid or additives, dry state filling; 4. Aging treatment: The jar mouth is partially sealed (slightly breathable), and aged at 25℃ for 21 days; 5. Finished product: The semi-roasted beans can be directly removed and roasted a second time; 6. Flavor profile: The semi-roasted beans have a subtle aroma of Shaoxing wine, and the second roasting results in a smoother flavor without any burnt or bitter taste. Example 10: Processing Arabica blended coffee green beans in a 30-year-old Shaoxing wine jar 1. Earthenware jar: An unglazed clay jar for Shaoxing wine that is 30 years old, with the jar body absorbing the rich flavor of Shaoxing wine and a stable microbial community; 2. Coffee ingredients: Tempiga and Bourbon Arabica blend green coffee beans (1:1 ratio), used after removing impurities; 3. Packing: Fill to 85% capacity, add purified water to submerge, and add osmanthus flowers as a flavor carrier (green coffee beans: osmanthus flowers = 100:2); 4. Aging treatment: Aerobic fermentation at 20℃ for 48 hours, followed by sealed aging for 75 days; 5. Finished product: After washing, air dry naturally until the moisture content is 9%; 6. Flavor profile: The coffee beans have a rich aroma of rice wine, osmanthus, and longan, with a mellow taste and a long finish, making it a typical Chinese-style coffee flavor. Comparative Example 1: Traditional Washing Process for Fresh Caturra Coffee Cherries The same batch of Caturra coffee cherries as in Example 1 were processed using existing conventional water washing technology. After impurity removal, peeling, water washing fermentation, and drying, the coffee beans only had basic fruit acidity and nutty flavor, without yeast aroma, fruit aroma, or sweetness. The flavor was monotonous, and the content of ester flavor substances was more than 35% lower than that in Example 1.

[0007] Comparative Example 2: Brandy Oak Barrel Processing of Fresh Caturra Coffee Cherries The same batch of Caturra coffee cherries as those in Example 1 were processed using existing Western-style brandy oak barrel technology. After barreling, fermentation, and aging, the coffee beans had the aroma of brandy and oak, but lacked the sweet and glutinous texture and fruity layers of Chinese flavor, which is fundamentally different from the Chinese-style flavor of Example 1 of this invention.

[0008] (iv) Beneficial effects 1. This invention is the world's first application of using ceramic jars to process coffee materials, filling the technological gap in the field of ceramic jars for coffee processing. It establishes a brand-new processing technology track of "ceramic jar + coffee" for the first time, providing a new direction for localized innovation in the coffee industry and becoming a basic technical solution in this sub-sector.

[0009] 2. The technical solution has the broadest coverage, with no limitations on the type of ceramic jar, coffee materials, or aging process. It firmly occupies the core technical root node in this field, laying the foundation for all subsequent technological derivations and developments in this field, and achieving full-domain dominance of the entire sub-segment.

[0010] 3. It has extremely high process compatibility. The type of ceramic jar, the form of coffee material, the aging process parameters, and whether to add flavor carriers can be flexibly adjusted according to production needs and flavor goals. No special equipment is required. It is suitable for small-batch home production, large-scale production in small workshops, and standardized industrial production. It has low implementation costs and strong promotion potential.

[0011] 4. By utilizing the microporous structure of the ceramic jar, the adsorbed flavor substances, and the microbial community, it is possible to achieve diversified flavor modification of coffee materials, creating Chinese-style specialty coffee products with a variety of flavors such as yellow rice wine aroma, fruit aroma, floral aroma, and sweetness, which are different from the flavor system of Western barrel coffee and enrich the overall flavor system of coffee.

[0012] 5. It has achieved an innovative combination of traditional Chinese food processing containers and modern coffee processing, explored the modern processing value of traditional pottery jars, enhanced the cultural added value of coffee products, and promoted the modern application of traditional crafts.

Claims

1. A method for processing coffee materials using a ceramic jar, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: (1) Select a ceramic jar as a processing container; (2) Put coffee material into the ceramic jar; (3) Perform aging treatment on the coffee material in the ceramic jar; (4) Obtain the aged coffee material.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The coffee material is fresh coffee fruit.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The coffee material is green coffee beans.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The coffee material is roasted or semi-roasted coffee beans.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The coffee material is Arabica coffee, which includes one or more of Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, New World, Mondonovo, and Catimor.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The coffee material is Robusta coffee.

7. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The coffee cherries mentioned are whole fresh cherries or peeled fresh cherries that have undergone peeling treatment.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The earthenware jar is an aged earthenware jar, which is an earthenware jar that has been used to seal one or more of the following: yellow wine, white wine, rice wine, soy sauce, vinegar, wine, and whiskey.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The aged pottery jars mentioned above are over 3 months old.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The aged pottery jars mentioned are over one year old.

11. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The age of the aged pottery jars is 3-10 years.

12. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The aged pottery jars mentioned are over 10 years old.

13. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pottery jar is brand new.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The new ceramic jar undergoes pretreatment before use, which includes at least one of soaking in clean water, high-temperature baking, and microbial inoculation.

15. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pottery jar is made of one or more of the following materials: clay, purple clay, purple pottery, red pottery, black pottery, coarse pottery, and fine pottery.

16. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pottery jars are produced in one or more of the following places: Shaoxing, Yixing, Rongchang, Jianshui, and Qinzhou.

17. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The aging process includes an aerobic fermentation stage.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, During the aerobic fermentation stage, the mouth of the jar is covered with a breathable material, and the fermentation temperature is 10-40℃.

19. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The fermentation time for the aerobic fermentation stage is 12-240 hours.

20. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The fermentation temperature during the aerobic fermentation stage is 15-30℃.

21. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The aging process includes a sealed aging stage.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The temperature during the sealed aging stage is 10-30℃, and the aging time is 7-180 days.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, During the sealed aging stage, the jar should be opened and stirred 1-2 times per month.

24. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The aging process includes an aerobic fermentation stage and a sealed aging stage, with the aerobic fermentation stage preceding the sealed aging stage.

25. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The coffee material can be packaged in a dry state or a wet state. The wet state is achieved by adding purified water into the ceramic jar to submerge or moisten the coffee material.

26. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ceramic jar also contains a flavor carrier.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The flavor carrier is selected from one or more of the following: lees, oak chips, fruit, herbs, and flowers.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The lees are one or more of the following: lees from rice wine, lees from baijiu (Chinese white liquor), lees from beer, and lees from wine.

29. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The fruit is one or more of cherry, mango, and lychee; the herb is one or more of cinnamon and vanilla; and the flower is one or more of osmanthus and jasmine.

30. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The mass ratio of coffee material to flavor carrier is 100:1 to 100:

10.

31. Coffee beans obtained by the method according to any one of claims 1-30.