Solid Beverage Tablet Using Edible Oil Binder
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage infusion products, such as tea and coffee bags, are bulky, costly, and environmentally harmful due to plastic packaging, and they often lose nutrients and flavor during storage and infusion, while attempts to create solid tablets have relied on artificial binders that affect taste and health benefits.
Innovation Solution
A solid beverage tablet composition using a compressed powdered extract with an edible oil as the sole binder, allowing for rapid dissolution in hot water or milk without additional excipients, ensuring the composition's hardness and disintegration properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If artificial binders and excipients are used to create solid beverage tablets, then the tablets have sufficient hardness to withstand packaging and storage, but the flavour and aroma of the beverage are affected and health benefits are negated
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes all artificial binders, excipients, and additives from the tablet formulation, using only the natural beverage powder itself as the binding material. This extraction of harmful substances resolves the contradiction by eliminating flavour and aroma interference while maintaining tablet integrity through optimized compression parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical and chemical parameters of compression, specifically using compression forces in the range of 2-10 kN with dwell times of 0.5-5 seconds. These parameter modifications allow the natural powder to bind itself without artificial agents, resolving the contradiction between tablet hardness and flavour quality.
2Ease of operation
If infusion bags are used for single portion beverages, then convenience is provided, but considerable packaging is required making them bulky for storage and transport, increasing cost and carbon emissions
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses freeze-drying to transition the beverage from liquid to solid powder form, eliminating the need for water-filled infusion bags. This phase transition reduces packaging volume by over 90% while maintaining single-portion convenience, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and packaging volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and removes excess water and air from the beverage through freeze-drying, creating compact solid tablets. This extraction of unnecessary components reduces packaging volume dramatically while preserving the beverage's functional properties for convenient preparation.
3Ease of operation
If dried herbs are used in infusion bags, then single portion convenience is achieved, but the herbs further degrade during drying processes and storage due to loss of beneficial volatile compounds
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses freeze-drying instead of conventional heat drying, transitioning the beverage to solid form at low temperatures. This preserves heat-sensitive volatile compounds and nutrients while creating convenient solid tablets, resolving the contradiction between single portion convenience and nutrient retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The beverage is prepared and frozen in the desired final configuration before drying, preserving the natural composition and volatile compounds. This preliminary action at low temperature prevents degradation that would occur with conventional high-temperature drying processes.
4Ease of operation
If the infusion process in hot water is used, then beverage preparation is simple, but not all nutritious compounds are captured making the process wasteful
Solution Approach 1:
The beverage is pre-extracted and concentrated into a solid tablet form, capturing all nutritious compounds before use. This preliminary extraction action ensures complete nutrient capture while maintaining simple preparation - just add hot water to the tablet, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and extraction efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a compact, environmentally friendly, and flavorful beverage product that retains nutrients and aroma, dissolving quickly in hot water or milk, reducing packaging costs and environmental impact while maintaining health benefits.
Implementation Method 1
a compressed powdered extract of an edible material, wherein the sole binder in the composition is an edible oil
Implementation Method 2
dissolving or dispersing rapidly in hot water or milk to produce an edible drink
Implementation Method 3
dissolving or dispersing rapidly in hot water or milk to produce an edible drink
Data Source
AI summary
A solid beverage composition has disintegration properties such that the composition is readily soluble or dispersible in hot water or hot milk to produce a beverage. This is achieved by compressing a powdered extract of an edible material and controlling the compression force, in conjunction with the use of an edible oil as the sole binder. In addition, the particle sizes of the powdered extract can be controlled to optimize the flow properties of the powder in order to aid the compression process.