Ground roast coffee tablet

Abstract

A ground roast coffee tablet which is capable of being brewed in a conventional automatic drip coffee maker, and which exhibits sufficient strength to withstand all aspects of manufacture, handling, packaging, transport without breakage but also readily disintegrates when contacted with hot water during brewing, is made by subjecting conventional ground, roasted coffee to a multi-step compaction process in which at least two compression steps are carried out in the same compaction die.

1 - 172 . (canceled) 
     
     
         173 . A free-standing coffee tablet for use in an automatic drip coffee maker (ADC), the coffee tablet comprising at least about 91% ground roast coffee, having a density of at least 0.90 g/cm 3 , and exhibiting a hardness of at least about 30 N (Newtons), a friability of no greater than about 10%, and readily disintegrates when contacted with hot water during brewing in the ADC. 
     
     
         174 . The coffee tablet of  claim 173 , which further comprises a binder. 
     
     
         175 . The coffee tablet of  claim 174 , wherein the binder comprises a liquid flavor carrier or propylene glycol. 
     
     
         176 . The coffee tablet of  claim 175 , wherein the liquid flavor carrier has a viscosity of ˜15 to ˜65 cP and a surface tension of ˜30 to ˜50 dynes/cm at 25° C. 
     
     
         177 . The coffee tablet of  claim 173 , which contains instant coffee in an amount of ≧˜0.5 wt. % and ≦˜15 wt. %, based on the total amount of coffee in the tablet. 
     
     
         178 . The coffee tablet of  claim 173 , which has a volume less than about 3.2 cm 3 . 
     
     
         179 . The coffee tablet of  claim 173 , which comprises at least about 96% coffee. 
     
     
         180 . The coffee tablet of  claim 173 , wherein the automatic drip coffee maker (ADC) has a water delivery rate of approximately 2.5-3.1 g/sec; ten (10) of the tablets, unbroken, are capable of brewing with 1420 ml of water in the ADC a consumable coffee beverage having an absorbance per gram of >0.07; and the coffee tablets exhibit a yield greater than 26% when brewed. 
     
     
         181 . A process for producing a coffee tablet comprising subjecting ground roast coffee to a multi-step compaction process including a pre-compression step and a subsequent main compression step, the pre-compression step being carried out at a lower compaction force but in the same compaction die as the main compression step so as to produce a coffee tablet exhibiting a hardness when dry of at least about 30 N (Newtons), a friability when dry of no greater than about 10%, and readily disintegrates when contacted with hot water during brewing in the ADC. 
     
     
         182 . The process of  claim 181 , wherein the tablet is made from ground roast coffee derived from coffee beans that have been dried to a moisture contents of ˜1% to ˜7 wt. % before roasting, grinding, and tabletting. 
     
     
         183 . The process of  claim 181 , wherein the pre-compression step is carried out at a pressure of >˜36.1 MPa and ≦˜106.1 MPa. 
     
     
         184 . The process of  claim 181 , wherein the main compression step is carried out at a pressure of >˜53.0 MPa and <˜169.7 MPa. 
     
     
         185 . The process of  claim 181 , wherein at least one of the compression steps has a compression dwell time<75 milliseconds. 
     
     
         186 . The process of  claim 181 , wherein the delay between the end of the pre-compression dwell time and the beginning of the main compression dwell time is about 80-900 milliseconds. 
     
     
         187 . The process of  claim 181 , wherein the total duration from the beginning of the pre-compression dwell time to the end of the main compression dwell time is approximately 0.1-1.0 seconds.