Tea Capsule Pasteurization Process for Safe Cold and Iced Beverages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current machines preparing tea from tea leaves capsules face challenges in ensuring pasteurization, particularly for cold or iced tea and tea latte, due to inadequate temperature and time for killing bacteria, which poses a health risk.
Innovation Solution
A process and machine configuration that includes a pasteurization step within the capsule before dispensing brewed tea, involving submersion of tea leaves in hot water for a specified temperature and time to ensure bacterial kill, and a separate frothing step for milk to maintain optimal temperature and manufacturing cost-effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If tea leaves are simply dried and filled in capsules without roasting, then the preparation process is simpler and cost-effective, but bacteria are not killed and harmful substances may remain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by introducing hot water into the capsule to pasteurize the tea leaves before brewing. This pre-treatment step kills bacteria and activates the tea leaves, ensuring food safety while maintaining the simple capsule-based preparation method. The hot water is introduced, held for a specified time, then removed before final brewing.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If hot water is introduced to pasteurize tea leaves inside the capsule, then bacterial safety is improved, but water must be removed before dispensing to avoid dilution and maintain brewing quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the water treatment process into distinct phases: (1) introducing hot water for pasteurization, (2) holding the water to maintain temperature and kill bacteria, (3) removing the pasteurization water, and (4) introducing fresh water for brewing. This segmentation ensures both food safety and brewing quality without compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
The pasteurization step is performed as a preliminary action before the actual brewing process. Hot water is introduced, held for a specified time to kill bacteria, then removed. Only after this pre-treatment is complete is the final brewing water introduced, ensuring both safety and quality.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If tea is brewed at high temperature for sufficient time to pasteurize, then bacterial safety is guaranteed, but the final beverage temperature may be too high for cold or iced tea preparations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs pasteurization as a preliminary action inside the capsule using hot water that is subsequently removed. This separates the pasteurization function from the brewing function, allowing the final beverage to be prepared at any desired temperature (hot, warm, or cold) without compromising bacterial safety that was already achieved in the pre-treatment step.
Solution Approach 2:
The process segments pasteurization and brewing into separate steps with different temperature requirements. The pasteurization step uses high temperature briefly, then the water is removed. The brewing step uses water at the desired final beverage temperature, enabling flexible beverage preparation while maintaining safety.
4Ease of manufacture
If the same hot water source is used for both frothing milk and preparing tea, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but water temperature may not be sufficient for effective pasteurization of tea
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs pasteurization as a preliminary action that requires brief exposure to hot water at sufficient temperature, followed by removal of the water. This preliminary treatment ensures bacterial safety is achieved even when the same hot water source is shared with milk frothing, maintaining both cost-effectiveness and food safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically controls the timing and duration of hot water introduction to the capsule, ensuring sufficient temperature and time for pasteurization before water removal. This dynamic control allows effective pasteurization even with a shared hot water source used for both tea preparation and milk frothing.
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
Guarantees safe pasteurization of tea beverages regardless of the final temperature in the receptacle, allowing for the preparation of cold or iced tea and tea latte with guaranteed food safety and efficient milk frothing, while maintaining low manufacturing costs.
Implementation Method 1
a step of pasteurization of tea leaves inside the capsule before dispensing brewed tea from the capsule inside the drinking receptacle, wherein said pasteurization step comprises the sub-steps of: p1) introducing hot water in the capsule until all the tea leaves are submerged by hot water inside the capsule and stopping water introduction before tea is dispensed therefrom in the drinking receptacle, then p2) keeping all the tea leaves submerged in hot water during a period of time
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention concerns a process for preparing a tea in a drinking receptacle with a tea brewing machine, said machine being configured : - to brew tea from a capsule, said capsule comprising tea leaves, by introducing hot water in said capsule and dispensing brewed tea from the capsule in the drinking receptacle, and - to pump and heat water and dispense hot water to the capsule, wherein said process comprises a step of pasteurization of tea leaves inside the capsule before dispensing brewed tea from the capsule inside the drinking receptacle, wherein said pasteurization step comprises the sub-steps of : p1) - introducing hot water in the capsule until all the tea leaves are submerged by hot water inside the capsule and stopping water introduction before tea is dispensed therefrom in the drinking receptacle, then p2) keeping all the tea leaves submerged in hot water during a period of time, wherein the temperature of hot water introduced in sub-step p1) and the sum of the periods of time of sub-steps p1) and p2) before dispensing tea from the capsule are set to pasteurize the tea leaves comprised in the capsule.