Coffee brewer

Abstract

Systems and techniques to brew coffee are described. In general, in one implementation, the technique includes: releasing water from at least one water inlet onto ground coffee in a stationary coffee filter. The ground coffee is automatically agitated while the water is being released using an agitator that is connected to an agitator motor to aid flavor-enhancement during the brewing process by helping to assure that the coffee grounds are uniformly mixed, saturated and blended with hot water and to substantially maintain an evenness of depth of the ground coffee. The water, now containing extracted coffee chemicals, is collected in a coffee vessel.

1 . A method comprising: 
 releasing water from at least one water inlet onto ground coffee in a stationary coffee filter to extract coffee chemicals from the ground coffee;    automatically agitating the ground coffee while the water is being released using an agitator positioned above the ground coffee and having downwardly projecting protrusions which extend into the ground coffee, the agitator being connected to an agitator motor so as to substantially maintain an evenness of depth of the ground coffee; and    collecting the coffee chemicals-containing water.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the rate of release of water so as to form a slurry of the ground coffee while the water is being released.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the water is heated to a predetermined temperature before being released.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the temperature of the water is between about 82 and about 96 degrees Celsius.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the temperature is approximately 93 degrees Celsius.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising automatically stopping the release of water after a predetermined amount of water has been released.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising stopping the agitator a predetermined amount of time after the water has stopped being released.  
   
   
       8 . An apparatus comprising: 
 at least one water inlet to provide water to be released onto ground coffee;    a retention vessel to receive an aqueous liquid;    a stationary ground coffee holder positioned between the at least one water inlet and the retention vessel and having a bottom effective to retain the ground coffee and permit passage of aqueous liquid;    an agitator motor; and    a coffee agitator positioned above the ground coffee and having downwardly projecting protrusions which are of a length to extend into the ground coffee when in operation, the agitator being connected to the agitator motor effective to agitate and substantially to maintain the evenness of the depth of the ground coffee in the coffee holder when the agitator motor is operating.    
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein when the water is released a slurry of the ground coffee is formed.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising a heating element in heating communication with the retention vessel.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the heating element is arranged to heat water that is subsequently provided to the at least one water inlet.  
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the retention vessel includes a discharge spout operable to dispense the aqueous liquid from the retention vessel.  
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising control elements to control at least one of (a) the amount of water released, (b) the temperature of the released water or (c) the operation of the agitator motor.  
   
   
       14 . (canceled)  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the protrusions have a circular cross-sectional shape.  
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the protrusions have an elliptical cross-sectional shape.  
   
   
       17 . The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the protrusions have a circular cross-sectional shape that is flared on a free end.  
   
   
       18 . The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the protrusions have varying lengths so as to generally follow a shape of the coffee holder.  
   
   
       19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the protrusions are positioned at an angle with respect to an x-axis of an x-y axis of a plane of rotation of the coffee agitator.  
   
   
       20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the angle is approximately 15 degrees.  
   
   
       21 . An apparatus comprising: 
 at least one water inlet to provide water to be released onto ground coffee;    a retention vessel having a discharge spout to dispense aqueous liquid;    a stationary ground coffee holder positioned between the at least one water inlet and the retention vessel and having a bottom effective to retain the ground coffee and permit passage of aqueous liquid;    an agitator motor mounted on the coffee retention vessel;    an agitator drive shaft coupled to the agitator motor;    a coffee agitator positioned above the ground coffee and having downwardly projecting protrusions which are of a length to extend into the ground coffee when in operation, the agitator being connected to the agitator drive shaft effective to agitate and substantially to maintain the evenness of the depth of the ground coffee when the agitator motor is operating; and    a heating element in heating communication with the coffee retention vessel.