Method and apparatus for making a tablet of powdered products for espresso beverage extraction

摘要

A method of making a tablet for hot espresso beverage extraction includes the steps of grinding a brewable product to obtain a powder having a substantially uniform particle size, dosing a predetermined amount of the ground product powder, moistening the powdered product dose, homogenizing the moistened mixture to obtain a powdered product with a substantially uniform moisture content, forming the powdered product dose to obtain a disk-shaped or prismatic tablet, and supplying an amount of energy to the tablet to obtain a substantially compact and integral item. The step of supplying energy is carried out by irradiating the tablet with an electromagnetic wave beam to overheat and partially bake and/or sinter the particles of the powdered product and impart a relatively compact and self-supporting construction to the finished tablet. The electromagnetic wave irradiation step is carried out at the end of the forming step while continuously compressing the dose.

主权项

1. A method of making a tablet for hot extraction of espresso beverages, comprising the steps of:
a) grinding one or more brewable products to obtain a powder having a substantially uniform particle size; b) dosing a predetermined amount of said ground product powder; c) moistening the powdered dose; d) homogenizing the moistened dose to a substantially uniform residual moisture; e) forming the moistened dose by compression to form a tablet (C) having a desired shape; and f) supplying an amount of energy to said tablet (C) to obtain a substantially compact and integral item; wherein said step f) of supplying energy is carried out remotely by irradiating g) the tablet (C) with an electromagnetic wave beam (F) to obtain overheating and partial baking or sinterization of the powdered product particles and to impart a substantially compact and self-supporting structure to the finished tablet (C) without any outer wrapping enclosure.