Hybrid beverage mixing and dispensing system

Claim 1

A hybrid, postmix system for mixing and dispensing a carbonated soft drink beverage at any account premises into cups for direct delivery to consumers, comprising: a. a source of concentrated syrup at the account premises; b. a water carbonator at the account premises connected to a source of water and a source of carbon dioxide for producing carbonated water; c. a ratio proportioning pump, coupled to the source of concentrated syrup and the carbonated water produced by the water carbonator, for delivering a precise brix ratio of syrup to carbonated water; d. a mixing means for mixing the delivered precise ratio of syrup and carbonated water to form a finished soft drink beverage; e. a finished soft drink beverage stabilizing tank for the mixed beverage, to stabilize the finished soft drink beverage and minimize problems with foaming thereof during dispensing; f. the account premises including a beverage product delivery station located by a counter for serving consumers, and a simple two way dispensing valve at said beverage product delivery station, coupled to said beverage stabilizing tank by a beverage delivery line, to control dispensing of the delivered finished soft drink beverage into cups for direct delivery to consumers; and g. the account premises further including a backroom area, nonaccessible to consumers, at which is located said source of concentrated syrup, said water carbonator, said ratio proportioning pump, said mixing means and said beverage stabilizing tank, and said beverage delivery line being a single noncooled line extending from said beverage stabilizing tank to said product delivery station, wherein the beverage is delivered noncooled through said beverage delivery line, and said product delivery station includes a heat exchanger for cooling the dispensing beverage at the product delivery station.