Freeze-Dried Coffee Mousse for Rapid Dissolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional freeze-dried coffee tablets are prone to damage during transit, have low solubility, and require a spoon for stirring, which affects their usability and consumer appeal, while existing methods for forming coffee articles often rely on molds that can lead to product damage and limited shape flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the formation of a shapeable coffee mousse by foaming and cooling a liquid coffee extract, followed by freeze-drying, which allows for the creation of coffee articles with a smooth or porous surface, rapid dissolution, and complex shapes without the need for grinding or molds, using finely ground roasted coffee to enhance stability and foaming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If coffee tablets are highly compressed to prevent damage during transit, then durability is improved, but solubility deteriorates requiring spoon stirring
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of coffee from compressed solid tablets to freeze-dried mousse structures. This parameter change allows the coffee to maintain structural integrity for handling while creating a porous network that enables rapid dissolution in water without requiring mechanical stirring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes porous materials by creating a freeze-dried mousse structure with interconnected pores. This porous structure provides mechanical strength for handling while simultaneously enabling rapid water penetration and dissolution, resolving the contradiction between durability and solubility.
2Shape
If conventional molds are used to form coffee tablets, then shaping is achieved, but product damage and limited shape flexibility occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical molding system with a freeze-drying process. Instead of forcing coffee into rigid molds that cause damage upon removal, the coffee mousse is frozen and then freeze-dried to create free-standing structures that can be handled without mechanical stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates composite structures by combining coffee extract with foaming agents to form a mousse matrix. This composite material provides structural integrity and shape stability without requiring rigid molds, allowing flexible shaping while preventing product damage.
3Stability of the object's composition
If coffee extract is cooled to form a shapeable mousse, then shape retention is improved, but processing temperature decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes phase transitions by cooling the coffee extract to form a shapeable mousse and then freeze-drying it. The controlled phase change from liquid to semi-solid mousse state enables shaping, while the subsequent freeze-drying preserves the shape while removing water through sublimation.
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 method produces coffee articles that are robust, easy to handle, and provide a fast dissolution rate, offering improved taste and flexibility in shape and size, eliminating the need for a spoon and reducing waste, while maintaining the crispness and authenticity of freeze-dried coffee.
Implementation Method 1
cooling a liquid coffee extract to a temperature of from -8 to -12°C to obtain a self-supporting shapeable coffee mousse
Implementation Method 2
shaping and freeze-drying the mousse to obtain a coffee article
Implementation Method 3
The article will have an expanded structure including pores that result from the foaming step during manufacture. Since the article is freeze-dried, the article will have an open porosity that aids rapid dissolution.
Implementation Method 4
foaming and cooling the liquid coffee-extract to obtain a shape-retaining coffee-extract mousse
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C
AI summary
The invention relates to method for forming a coffee article for preparing a coffee beverage, the method comprising: providing a liquid coffee-extract; foaming and cooling the liquid coffee-extract to obtain a shape-retaining coffee-extract mousse, and shaping and freeze-drying the mousse to obtain a coffee article.