Mars, Incorporated

Mars Gb Ltd.

Kevin C Pope

Adrian Barclay Caroen

John Charles Cooke

Jon W Shaw

Barry Seward

Martin Eric Colston

Christopher J Gee

Evgeny I Rivin

Victor R Fey

An apparatus for the brewing of a beverage by transmission of an aqueous fluid through a sachet containing a beverage brewing ingredient. The apparatus includes one or more injectors to inject the aqueous fluid into the sachet during the brewing and a clamp for the sachet. The clamp has one or more members that are movable to open and close the clamp, the members having inner surfaces which in a closed position of the clamp define a cavity adapted to substantially enclose and support the sachet during the brewing. The members further define a beverage exit pathway in a lower part of the cavity wherein the inner surface of at least one clamp member includes at least one deformable region mounted on a support that is movable while the clamp is in the closed position. The shape of the cavity or of the exit pathway can be changed while the clamp is in the closed position to provide a desired brewing configuration of the sachet. The invention also provides methods of brewing beverages in such an apparatus and systems made up of the apparatus in combination with beverage sachets for use in methods of the invention.

Methods and apparatus for brewing beverages

A sealed beverage sachet containing a web material 8 supporting a beverage-providing product 14 and having a nozzle 16 to locate an aqueous medium injector into the sachet. The base seam of the sachet may be a heat- or pressure-sensitive seal 6. The web material 8 has a upwardly-directed seam 12 which everts when the sachet is used. The web material may be a filter for ground coffee or leaf tea, or a coarse mesh for dispersible products such as powdered chocolate or soups, or an impermeable web which is provided with means for releasing the sachet contents in use.

Beverage making cartridge

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Hampshire, United Kingdom

Kevin C Pope