What’s ultrasonic brewed coffee and tea?
Ultrasonics is a different way of extracting coffees and teas than current methods of long, cold brewing and hot brewing. Instead of temperature, we rely largely on radical formation (like thermal heating can create) and physical destruction originating from microscopic implosions. These implosions form due to extremes in pressure which are generated from a piece of lab equipment, an ultrasonicator. These machines have metal walls that vibrate very fast (>20,000 times a second) and very powerfully to create this brewing effect. Our company logo shows the beginning stages of this, with a microscopic bubble in the center of violently churning water about to implode.
Ultrasonics are commonly used in a number of industries. Whisky producers use ultrasonics to speed age their product. Dentistry has used ultrasonics to clean equipment of microorganisms. Machine shops use ultrasonics to clean parts of material efficiently in a way that doesn’t damage the part. Biochemists use ultrasonic to extract active enzymes from various cells. While ultrasonics is often used in the food industry, its use commercially for extracting coffees and teas is relatively unexplored.
A problem with hot brewing is increased chances of elevated temperatures destroying flavorful or texture promoting molecules in a coffee or tea. On the other hand, cold brews have a problem with microorganism consuming flavorful molecules during the brewing process alongside long term exposure to reactive oxygen. In addition, the current heat based pasteurization solution for cold brews negates one huge benefit of cold brew, that being the preservation of heat sensitive flavors.
Ultrasonic Benefits
- No bitterness
- Low acidity, easy on the stomach
- Fast concentrate drink preparation
- More caffeine (in brews that have it)
- Long lasting. Refrigerated all drinks can last 4 months unopened and 1 month opened.
- Virtually heat free process preserves natural sugars, fats, and enzymes.
- Allows for brewing of hard to process materials like cacao husks, peels, and wood.
- Quickly and economically made. The process is fairly efficient at boring into brew grounds and getting everything out. It only takes about an hour to complete our brews, even one with wood ingredients.
LEARN MORE
Applications of power ultrasound in food processing
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22349129/
Applications of ultrasound in food and bioprocessing
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25219872/
Ultrasound-assisted extraction of some branded tea: Optimization based on polyphenol content, antioxidant potential and thermodynamic study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31303839/