Method for aromatizing soluble coffee

Claim 1

A method for producing an aromatized soluble coffee product comprising the steps of: (a) condensing, as a frost, coffee grinder gas; (b) placing the grinder gas frost in a pressure vessel; (c) supplying heat to the contents of the vessel and allowing the frost to equilibrate at a pressure in excess of 506.2 psia and at a temperature of greater than 32° F., to form three phases: (1) gaseous carbon dioxide plus aromatics, (2) liquid carbon dioxide plus aromatics, and (3 ) liquid water containing aromatics; (d) removing the water phase which contains aromatics from the vessel; (e) contacting a glyceride with the water phase of step (d) for a period of time effective to transfer aromatics from said water phase to the glyceride; (f) introducing the glyceride, which contains aromatics transferred from the water phase, into the pressure vessel of step (b); (g) supplying heat to the contents of the vessel in order to raise the temperature to between 80° to 85° F., and thereby increase the pressure to about 750 to 850 psia, to form three phases: (1) gaseous carbon dioxide plus aromatics, (2) liquid carbon dioxide plus aromatics, and (3) liquid glyceride which contains water phase aromatics; (h) refluxing, in a packed column, liquid carbon dioxide and gaseous carbon dioxide phases, while slowly venting thereby removing "lean" carbon dioxide from the vessel and concentrating aromatics in the glyceride, until the pressure drops to about 650 to 700 psia; (i) depressurizing the vessel; (j) obtaining an aromatized glyceride; and (k) combining the aromatized glyceride with soluble coffee powder.

Claim 2

A method for producing an aromatized soluble coffee product comprising the steps of: (a) condensing, as a frost, coffee grinder gas; (b) placing the grinder gas frost in a pressure vessel; (c) supplying heat to the contents of the vessel and allowing the frost to equilibrate at a pressure in excess of 506.2 psia and at a temperature of greater than 32° F., to form three phases: (1) gaseous carbon dioxide plus aromatics, (2) liquid carbon dioxide plus aromatics, and (3 ) liquid water containing aromatics; (d) removing the water phase which contains aromatics from the vessel; (e) contacting a glyceride with the water phase of step (d) for a period of time effective to transfer aromatics from said water phase to the glyceride; (f) introducing the glyceride, which contains aromatics transferred from the water phase, into the pressure vessel of step (b); (g) supplying heat to the contents of the vessel in order to raise the temperature to between 80° to 85° F., and thereby increase the pressure to about 750 to 850 psia, to form three phases: (1) gaseous carbon dioxide plus aromatics, (2) liquid carbon dioxide plus aromatics, and (3) liquid glyceride which contains water phase aromatics; (h) refluxing, in a packed column, liquid carbon dioxide and gaseous carbon dioxide phases, while slowly venting thereby removing "lean" carbon dioxide from the vessel and concentrating aromatics in the glyceride, until the pressure drops to about 650 to 700 psia; (i) depressurizing the vessel; (j) obtaining an aromatized glyceride; and (k) combining the aromatized glyceride with soluble coffee powder.