Method of brewing different types of beverages with a single brewer

Abstract

A method of brewing a fresh, hot beverage in a beverage brewer ( 10 ) having a brew basket ( 18 ) for holding ingredient to be brewed and a dispensing spray head ( 12 ) for passing water onto a top surface of a layer of ingredient supported within the brew basket ( 18 ) during a dispense period of a brew cycle uses a temperature selectable dispense system having an on-demand hot water heating chamber assembly ( 30 ) with a hot water chamber ( 86 ) having a volume substantially less than the volume of beverage brewed during a single brew cycle. An electrical heating element ( 98 ) of sufficient power quickly and substantially alters the temperature of the water in the chamber during a single brew cycle and a microprocessor controller ( 38 ) for controlling the heating element in response to temperature sensors ( 40, 42 ) to control the heating element ( 98 ) to selectively change the temperature of the hot water dispensed to the brew basket ( 18 ) during a single brew cycle. The controller ( 38 ) selectively controls the brewer ( 10 ) to brew different types of beverages, such as green tea, black tea, an different types of coffee, with dispense water at different preselected temperatures in response to a manually actuatable switch ( 72, 74, 76 and 78 ). The temperature of the dispense water may also be changed from a hotter temperature at the beginning of a brew cycle and a lower temperature during an end portion of the same brew cycle.

1 . For use in a beverage brewer having a brew basket assembly for holding ingredient to be brewed and a dispense head for passing water onto a top surface of a layer of ingredient supported within the brew basket assembly during a dispense period of a brew cycle, a method of brewing different beverages, comprising the steps of:
 placing a first ingredient within the brew basket;   brewing a first beverage by passing a first preselected amount of hot dispense water at a first selected temperature associated with the first beverage ingredient into the brew basket during a first brew cycle;   removing the first ingredient from the brew basket after the end of the first brew cycle;   placing a second ingredient within the brew basket; and   brewing a second beverage different from the first beverage ingredient by passing a second preselected amount of hot dispense water at a second different selected temperature associated with the second beverage into the brew basket during a second brew cycle.   
   
   
       2 . The brewing method of  claim 1  including the step of selecting with a selection switch one of the first ingredient and the second ingredient prior to the start of one of the first brew cycle and the second brew cycle. 
   
   
       3 . The brewing method of  claim 1  including the step of storing in a memory the first temperature and the second temperature in association with the first ingredient and the second ingredient, respectively. 
   
   
       4 . The brewing method of  claim 1  including the step of automatically controlling an on-demand dispense system to dispense hot water into the brew basket at one of the first temperature and the second temperature associated with the selected one of the first ingredient and the second ingredient. 
   
   
       5 . The brewing method of  claim 2  in which the step of automatically controlling includes the steps of
 maintaining the temperature in a heating chamber at the one of the first temperature and the second temperature that is the lowest temperature prior to both the first brew cycle and the second brew cycle;   raising the temperature of the hot water to another of the first temperature and the second temperature that is not the lowest temperature during a brew cycle if the ingredient associated with the other one of the first temperature and the second temperature has been selected.   
   
   
       6 . The brewing method of  claim 5  including the step of allowing the temperature of the hot water in the heating chamber to return to the one of the first temperature and the second temperature that is the lowest temperature at the end of a brew cycle during which the temperature of the water had been raised to the one of the first temperature and the second temperature that is not the highest temperature. 
   
   
       7 . The brewing method of  claim 6  in which the temperature of the hot water is lowered to the lowest temperature at the end of a dispense period of the brew cycle during which the temperature had been raised above the lowest one of the first temperature and the second temperature. 
   
   
       8 . The brewing method of  claim 1  in which the hot water being passed to the brew basket is passed through an on-demand hot water heating chamber and including the step of heating the water to a selected temperature as it passes through the heating chamber during a brew cycle. 
   
   
       9 . The brewing method of  claim 8  including the step of sensing the temperature of the water in the heating chamber and comparing the sensed temperature with a selected one of the first temperature and the second temperature to control means for heating water in the heating chamber. 
   
   
       10 . The brewing method of  claim 9  in which the heating means is a heating element located generally centrally between an inlet and an outlet and including the step of passing the water through the heating chamber while surrounding the heating element to uniformly receive outwardly radiating heat from the heating element. 
   
   
       11 . The brewing method of  claim 9  in which the brewer has a selecting means for selecting one of the first temperature and the second temperature and including the step of responding to the selecting means and to the temperature sensor to control the heating means as needed to maintain water being passed from the outlet at a selected one of the at least two different temperatures during the course of a brew cycle. 
   
   
       12 . The beverage brewer of  claim 1  in which the hot water is heated while passing through a heating chamber having a maximum holding capacity substantially less than the first preselected amount and the second preselected amount of hot dispense water passed to the brew basket during a brew cycle. 
   
   
       13 . The beverage brewer of  claim 1  including the step of selecting first ingredient and the second ingredient from a group of ingredients including black tea, green tea, and different types of coffee. 
   
   
       14 . The beverage brewer of  claim 13  including the steps of heating the dispense water to approximately 165-degrees Fahrenheit degrees when green tea is the selected one of the ingredients, heating the dispense water to approximately 210-Fahrenheit degrees when black tea has been selected, heating the dispense water to approximately 205-Fahrenheit degrees when one type of coffee is selected and heating the dispense water to a different temperature when another type of coffee is selected. 
   
   
       15 . The brewing method of  claim 1  including the steps of
 heating the hot water being passed to the brew basket by first passing cold water from a pressurized source into a heating chamber,   heating the water within the heating chamber,   passing heated water out of the heating chamber to the brew basket,   measuring the quantity of water being passed from the pressurized source to the heating chamber,   controlling a valve connected in series relationship between the pressurized cold water source and the heating chamber in response to the measuring means to control the amount of water being passed from the heating chamber to the brew basket.   
   
   
       16 . For use in a beverage brewer, a method for brewing different types of beverages, comprising the steps of:
 selectively holding different beverage ingredients in a brew basket assembly;   selectively starting different brew cycles associated with different beverage ingredients with a manual selection switch;   dispensing hot water onto the ingredient within the brew basket assembly with a temperature controlled dispense system:   controlling the temperature controlled dispense system to dispense hot water during a brew cycle at different optimal temperatures associated with the different beverage ingredients in response to the manual selection switch.   
   
   
       17 . The brewing method of  claim 16  including the step of automatically lowering the temperature of the heated water to the lowest temperature associated with one of the different ingredients at least by the end of a prior brew cycle in which a beverage ingredient having an associated optimal temperature that is higher than the lowest temperature was used to make the beverage. 
   
   
       18 . The brewing method of  claim 16  including the step of automatically lowering the temperature to the lowest temperature associated with one of the different ingredients at least by the end of a dispense period of a prior brew cycle in which a beverage ingredient having an associated optimal temperature that is higher than the lowest temperature was used to make the beverage. 
   
   
       19 . The brewing method of  claim 16  including the steps of
 passing water through a heating chamber to heat the water before being passed to the brew basket assembly, and in which   the amount of water that is passed to the brew basket assembly during a dispense period of a brew cycle is substantially more than the maximum quantity that can be held by the heating chamber.   
   
   
       20 . A method of brewing different freshly brewed beverages with a single brewer, comprising the steps of:
 brewing a batch quantity of one type of beverage at one optimum brewing temperature for the one type of beverage;   at the completion of brewing the batch quantity of the one type of beverage immediately brewing another batch quantity of another type of beverage at another optimum brewing temperature that is different from the one optimum temperature by changing the temperature of an on-demand hot water source of size smaller than the batch quantity.   
   
   
       21 . The brewing method of  claim 20  in which the one temperature is higher than the other temperature and including the step of reducing the actual temperature to the other temperature at the completion of brewing the batch quantity of the one type of beverage. 
   
   
       22 . The brewing method of  claim 21  in which the one beverage is coffee and the other beverage is tea. 
   
   
       23 . The brewing method of  claim 20  in which the one batch quantity and the other batch quantity are the same size.