DESC:PROCESS FOR COFFEE MICRONIZATION AND PRODUCTION OF COFFEE CUBES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved process for coffee micronization and manufacturing of coffee cubes obtained by a novel process, said coffee cubes having improved traits.
The present complete specification is filed pursuant to the provisional specification filed in connection with patent application number 202031019706 dated 9th May 2020.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Process of coffee micronization is already known. It is also known that process of coffee micronization need improvement in respect of getting rid of traits like stickiness or forming aggregates, when used as an ingredient for preparing instant coffee products.
It is also known that coffee cubes can act as substitute for instant coffee products/filter coffee.
Having regard to the above known aspects the present invention aims at improving the micronization of coffee process using air jet mill and also using the improved micronized product to produce enhanced coffee cubes, which can act as a better substitute for filter coffee/instant coffee products.
In that view of the matter, the present invention provides a formulation that can replicate in a better way, the taste of filter coffee sensorial/instant coffee products, using only natural ingredients and also run the same continuously on a commercial scale in a sugar cube forming machine. It was found that the formulation also has good shelf life.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The principal object of the present invention is to provide improved coffee cubes, which can replicate in a better way, the taste of filter coffee/instant coffee products.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for manufacturing coffee cubes on a commercial scale in a sugar cube forming machine, which can replicate in a better way, the taste of filter coffee/instant coffee products.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for micronizing coffee in air jet mill and using micronized coffee as one of the ingredients of coffee cubes, thereby enabling a formulation that can replicate the taste of filter coffee sensorial/instant coffee products in a better way, using only natural ingredients and also enables running the same continuously on a commercial scale, in a sugar cube forming machine.
How the foregoing objects are achieved, shall be clear from the description hereinafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides coffee cubes with enhanced traits comprising the following ingredients by weight:
a) sugar of 50% to 95%,
b) instant coffee of 5% to 25%,
c) micronized coffee with instant chicory of 5% to 40%,
d) liquid flavour of 1% to 5%,
said liquid flavour comprises of polypropylene glycol as solvent which also acts as a binder.
The present invention also provides a kit having a coffee cube comprising the following ingredients by weight:
a) sugar of 50% to 95%,
b) instant coffee of 5% to 25%,
c) micronized coffee with instant chicory of 5% to 40%,
d) liquid flavour of 1% to 5%,
said liquid flavour comprises of polypropylene glycol as solvent which also acts as a binder.

The present invention also provides a method for preparing coffee cubes with improved traits comprising:
- individually weighing Sugar, Instant coffee, micronized coffee in accordance with the desired recipe,
-blending Instant coffee, micronized coffee with instant chicory together to make a concentrate kit,
-loading sugar into a container means and slowly dosing the ingredients in concentrate kit into the container means,
-spraying liquid flavour that also acts as a binder onto the resultant mixture and homogenously blending the resultant mixture and,
-feeding the homogenous mixture into a cube forming machine to obtain the desired coffee cubes, such that the coffee cubes have the following ingredients by weight,
a) sugar of 50% to 95%,
b) instant coffee of 5% to 25%,
c) micronized coffee with instant chicory of 5% to 40%,
d) liquid flavour of 1% to 5%,
said liquid flavour comprises of polypropylene glycol as solvent which also acts as a binder.

Preferably, micronized coffee is derived from air jet milling of roast and ground coffee and instant chicory powder.
More preferably, 70% by weight of roast and ground coffee and 30% by weight of chicory powder are subjected to air jet milling.
Even more preferably, 53% by weight of roast and ground coffee and 47% by weight of ground chicory powder are subjected to air jet milling.
Most preferably said liquid flavour comprising of polypropylene glycol as solvent which also acts as a binder for holding the matrix of ingredients together upon compaction in a sugar cube forming machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a view of agglomeration of micronized coffee particles resulting in lump formation.
Figure 2 is a view of choking of inlet and outlet of Air jet mill.
Figure 3 is a view of significantly lower agglomeration of micronized coffee particles.
Figure 4 is a view of relatively lower material build up at inlet and outlet of Air Jet Mill.
Figure 5 is a view of significantly lower agglomeration of micronized coffee particles.
Figure 6 is a view of significantly lower material build up at inlet and outlet of Air jet mill.
Figure 7 is a view of the coffee cubes according the invention and the cube farming machine.
Figure 8 is a further view of coffee cubes according the invention and the cube farming machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides ‘Coffee Cubes’ that offers delicious taste of coffee matching sensorial of filter coffee, instantly without having to undergo tedious process of decoction preparation. This also provides portability in a unitized format.
Though spray dried /freeze dried instant coffee can deliver an acceptable taste of coffee, they have several lacunae on taste &/or pricing as compared to normal filter coffee prepared from Roast and Ground coffee. Given these challenges, coffee cubes act as a good alternative for instant coffee, where in cubes can dissolve instantly in hot water or milk and offer a great tasting cup of coffee matching sensorial of authentic filter coffee at an affordable price.
The general ingredients used in the formulations are a blend of granular sugar (as a carrier) with instant coffee, micronized coffee with chicory and flavour.
The instant invention provides a formulation that can replicate the taste of filter coffee sensorial using only natural ingredients and also run the same continuously on a commercial scale in a sugar cube forming machine. The formulation also satisfies the requirement of being shelf stable. In that view of the matter, in accordance with the present invention, improvements have been made as detailed hereinafter.
Instant coffee and instant chicory, the key ingredients used in any coffee formulation are highly hygroscopic and they tend to form lumps in presence of slightest moisture. Commercial sugar cube forming machine use water as a binding agent and given the hygroscopic nature of the formulation, it would be hard to run the same on commercial sugar cube machines.
The challenge was overcome by (i) partly replacing the sticky/hygroscopic ingredients with technology components (Micronized coffee) which not only enabled to deliver sensorial matching that of filter coffee but also run the formulation smoothly on a commercial cube forming machine and (ii) usage of liquid flavour (with propylene glycol as solvent) as a binding agent in place of water that significantly reduced stickiness of formulation.
The uniqueness of the formulation according to the invention lies in the choice of ingredients, the process of blending and coating of ingredients and the technology deployed to manufacture Coffee cubes with micronized coffee. All these aspects are further elaborated hereinafter.
Majority of coffeeness in coffee cube is contributed by instant coffee, which is a spray dried product of water soluble extracts from coffee. This however, is very hygroscopic and the taste of instant coffee is very different from that of filter coffee.
Micronized coffee, derived from Roast and Ground coffee, is an ingredient that can contribute to the flavour and after taste, matching that of filter coffee, without contributing any stickiness.
Moreover, since micronized coffee is rich in fibres, it can even function as a lubricant and thus facilitate running of formulation on a commercial cube forming machine.
Coffee micronization using air jet mill is a challenge considering the oil content in Roast and ground coffee(R&G Coffee). Conventional air jet milling of R&G coffee poses several challenges like;
a) Agglomeration of micronized coffee particles resulting in lump formation as shown in figure 1.
b) Chocking of inlet and outlet of Air jet mill as shown in figure 2.
c) Reduced throughput of micronizer: Loss of ?20% of input
d) Reduced efficiency of micronizer: Particle size of output was more than that of input (Because of agglomeration).
The above listed technical problems were overcome according to the instant invention by coupling adjuncts with R&G coffee powder. Several trials were undertaken with adjuncts like Instant Chicory powder and Chicory with various dosages which resulted in significant improvement on yields, efficiency and throughput in air jet mill.
Trial-1: 70% R&G Coffee+30% Instant Chicory powder:
Results obtained:
a) Significantly lower agglomeration of micronized coffee particles as shown in figure 3.
b) Relatively lower material build up at inlet and outlet of Air jet mill as shown in figure 4.
c) Higher throughput of micronizer: Recovery of close to 90% of input.
d) Higher efficiency of micronizer: Six-fold reduction in particle size after 3 passes through air jet mill.
Trial-2: 53% R&G Coffee+47% ground Chicory powder:
Results obtained:
a) Significantly lower agglomeration of micronized coffee particles as shown in figure 5.
b) Significantly lower material build up at inlet and outlet of Air jet mill as shown in figure 6.
c) Higher throughput of micronizer: Recovery of > 95% of input.
d) Higher efficiency of micronizer: Twenty five-fold reduction in particle size after 3 passes through air jet mill.
The process of micronization of coffee according to the invention involves air jet milling of roast and ground coffee and instant/ground chicory powder as above. The process involves feeding the material into the vortex of the jet mill (not shown). The vortex is located along a tangent circle when the material accelerates.
Strong velocity gradients generated near the jet cause the suspended particles of the material to collide with each other and reduce themselves by attrition and collision. Size reduction is the result of high-velocity collisions between particles of the processed material. The jet fluid exists bottom and draws the micronized particles with it to cyclone collection system. Heavier oversized particles are held in the grinding chamber by centrifugal force, until micronized to a desired size.
Comparison between regular coffee and micronized coffee is provided in the table 1 below:

Characteristic Regular R&G Coffee with Chicory and Micronized Coffee with chicory
TABLE I
Characteristic R&G Coffee with Chicory Micronized Coffee with chicory
Particle size 350µ-500µ 35µ-60µ
Colour of granule/powder Brown to blackish Light brown
Color of brew Clear solution Brown in color Hazy and Muddy in Appearance Light-dark brown in color
The advantages of micronized coffee over regular coffee are as follows:
a) It is smooth, non-gritty mouthfeel below particle size of less than 50 microns.
b) Enhanced coffee aroma and characteristic coffee taste
c) Reduced particle size leading to enhanced diffusion and increased soluble solids.

Coffee Cube manufacturing:
Ingredients are individually weighed as per formulation below;
o Sugar: 50-95%
o Instant Coffee: 5-25%
o Micronized Coffee: 5-40%%
o Liquid Flavour: 1-5%

• Sugar, Instant coffee, micronized coffee with instant chicory was individually weighed as per the recipe.
• Instant coffee, micronized coffee with instant chicory was then blended together using suitable blender to make a concentrate kit.
• Required quantity of sugar is loaded into a coating pan (pl refer to pictures below). Other ingredients in concentrate kit are then slowly dosed in to coating pan. Predetermined quantity (1-3%) of binder (water or liquid flavour) is then sprayed on to this mixture using a spray nozzle. Once the whole mixture is homogenously blended and moistened, it is then fed in to cube forming machine.

It is also within the scope of the present invention to provide a kit having a coffee cube comprising the following ingredients by weight:
a) sugar of 50% to 95%,
b) instant coffee of 5% to 25%,
c) micronized coffee with instant chicory of 5% to 40%,
d) liquid flavour of 1% to 5%,
said liquid flavour comprising of polypropylene glycol as solvent which also acts as a binder for holding the matrix of ingredients together upon compaction in a sugar cube forming machine.
The liquid flavour also acts as a carrier for flavouring ingredients.
Cube forming process needs some binder to bind together all ingredients of the formulation. Two different solvents were evaluated during coffee cube manufacturing process- Water and Liquid flavour with Propylene Glycol as solvent.
Water as a binder was very detrimental to the formulation considering the sticky nature of the ingredients. Trials with water as a binder encountered several problems like;
-Hard lump formation affecting the flowability of the formulation and hence cube formation.
-Low operational feasibility of the formulation on cubing machine.
-Significant drop in output owing to frequent machine stoppages- Machine had to be cleaned after every 20kgs.

The above issues were overcome by using liquid flavour (with propylene glycol as solvent) which not only improved the flavour profile but also acted as a binding agent without contributing to stickiness. Using liquid flavour as a solvent resulted in several benefits like;
• Free flowability of the formulation resulting in minimal/no lumps- Pl refer to picture below
• Smooth running of the formulation on cube forming machine
• Increased throughput- Over 100kgs in every batch
• Excellent visual appearance and quick solubility of the coffee cubes.

Method for preparing coffee cubes with improved traits according to the present invention comprises:
- individually weighing Sugar, Instant coffee, micronized coffee in accordance with the desired recipe,
-blending Instant coffee, micronized coffee with instant chicory together to make a concentrate kit,
-loading sugar into a container means and slowly dosing the ingredients in concentrate kit into the container means,
-spraying binder onto the resultant mixture and homogenously blending the resultant mixture and,
-feeding the homogenous mixture into a cube forming machine to obtain the desired coffee cubes, such that the coffee cubes have the following ingredients by weight,
a) sugar of 50% to 95%,
b) instant coffee of 5% to 25%,
c) micronized coffee with instant chicory of 5% to 40%,
d) liquid flavour of 1% to 5%,
said liquid flavour comprising of polypropylene glycol as solvent which also acts as a binder for holding the matrix of ingredients together upon compaction in a sugar cube forming machine.
The liquid flavour also acts as a carrier for flavouring ingredients.
The coffee cubes according the invention and the cube farming machine are shown in figures 7 and 8.

Shelf life of the coffee cube thus prepared:
Minimum shelf life has been found to be nine months. The experimental data provided in Table 2 below will corroborate.

TABLE 2

Primary Packaging Material: laminate of 12µPET/7µFoil/40µpoly
Attribute Zero Day After 9 months
Moisture content (%) <1% <2%
Sensory NA Acceptable as against Zero day sample
Microbiological
TPC 100 cfu/gm <10000 cfu/gm
Y&M <10 cfu/gm <10 cfu/gm
Escherichia coli <10 cfu/gm <10 cfu/gm
Coliform <10 cfu/gm <10 cfu/gm
Salmonella Absent/25gm Absent/25gm
Staphylococcus aureus < 10cfu/gm < 10cfu/gm

Advantages of coffee cubes as deciphered over regular instant coffee/ filter coffee
• Convenient and unitized format of coffee.
• Can be prepared in hot or cold water.
• Superior taste delivery owing to micronized coffee content and unique process followed.
• No spent to dispose.
• Delivers delicious taste matching that of filter coffee.

Benefits of using a commercial cube forming machine for coffee cube manufacturing is detailed below:
• Consistent shape and weight of cube resulting in consistent product performance.
• Quicker Solubility (<60 seconds) as compared to other compacted products.
• Intact shape and hence better appearance of product without any chipped edges.
• Easy to change shape and weight of cubes without major investments.
• Product (Coffee cubes) can be produced by making use of existing sugar cube manufacturing facility without any major investments.
• Higher throughput.

The present invention has been described with reference to some preferred embodiments for the sake of understanding the invention and includes all legitimate modifications and developments, within the scope of what has been described hereinbefore and claimed in the appended claims.

,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:

1. Coffee cubes with enhanced traits comprising the following ingredients by weight:
a) sugar of 50% to 95%,
b) instant coffee of 5% to 25%,
c) micronized coffee with instant chicory of 5% to 40%,
d) liquid flavour of 1% to 5%,
said liquid flavour comprising of polypropylene glycol as solvent which also acts as a binder for holding the matrix of ingredients together upon compaction in a sugar cube forming machine.
2. The coffee cubes as claimed in claim 1, wherein said binder also acts as a carrier for flavouring ingredients.
3. A kit having a coffee cube comprising the following ingredients by weight:
a) sugar of 50% to 95%,
b) instant coffee of 5% to 25%,
c) micronized coffee with instant chicory of 5% to 40%,
d) liquid flavour of 1% to 5%,
said liquid flavour comprising of polypropylene glycol as solvent which also acts as a binder for holding the matrix of ingredients together upon compaction in a sugar cube forming machine.

4. A method for preparing coffee cubes with improved traits comprising:
- individually weighing Sugar, Instant coffee, micronized coffee in accordance with the desired recipe,
-blending Instant coffee, micronized coffee with instant chicory together to make a concentrate kit,
-loading sugar into a container means and slowly dosing the ingredients in concentrate kit into the container means,
-spraying binder onto the resultant mixture and homogenously blending the resultant mixture and,
-feeding the homogenous mixture into a cube forming machine to obtain the desired coffee cubes, such that the coffee cubes have the following ingredients by weight,
a) sugar of 50% to 95%,
b) instant coffee of 5% to 25%,
c) micronized coffee with instant/ground chicory of 5% to 40%,
d) liquid flavour of 1% to 5%,
said liquid flavour comprising of polypropylene glycol as solvent which also acts as a binder for holding the matrix of ingredients together upon compaction in a sugar cube forming machine.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein micronized coffee is derived from air jet milling of roast and ground coffee and instant chicory powder.
6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein 70% by weight of roast and ground coffee and 30% by weight of chicory powder are subjected to air jet milling.
7. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein 53% by weight of roast and ground coffee and 47% by weight of ground chicory powder are subjected to air jet milling.
8. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said binder propylene glycol also acts as a carrier for flavouring ingredients.

Dated this 6th day of May 2021

(SUBHASISH GHOSH)
IN/PA – 212
Applicants’ Agent
for seenergi IPR