since brewed beverages have little caloric value , except when used with additives such as cream , milk and sugar , they are consumed primarily for taste or medicinal effects . quality blends of coffee or tea are more costly than cheaper , more abundant blends . without resorting to additives which affect flavor , such as cream and sugar , there are basically two ways to obtain maximum flavor quality . the first is to extract as much quality flavor from a beverage base as is possible and the second is to have a quality water in the brewed beverage . the present invention is drawn to both facets and accomplishes both through a unique brewing process . as already mentioned , the primary cations found in quality spring water are usually calcium , magnesium and iron . the anions associated with these metal cations are usually bicarbonate and sulfate . however , oxides , carbonates , phosphates , chlorides and other anions may also be present . other minerals in trace form such as boron , fluorine , barium , copper , cobalt , zinc , nickel , aluminum , manganese , silver and many others may also be present . some , which are insoluble , are present in extremely finely divided particulate form as colloids . water treatment plants often remove many of the minerals that improve water flavor when removing undesirable bacteria , waste and other foreign materials . ion exchange resins used in water treatment to soften water add excessive amounts of sodium and potassium to water . also , heating water to boiling or near boiling removes many more minerals as well as desirable gases such as air . the key feature of the present invention is a method to replace as many of the desirable minerals as possible to the water of a brewed beverage . it has now been found that many naturally occurring minerals , such as some clays , contain the appropriate minerals and can be utilized to mineralize hot waters if added to such waters under appropriate conditions , and after such hot waters have begun their cooling process . clay is defined as a hydrated aluminum silicate which may also contain other minerals . there are myriad kinds and qualities of clays which vary greatly in chemical composition and particle size . there may also be other mineral combinations of alumina and silica such as finely divided igneous rocks , shale , sandstone and sedimentary deposits which could also be used , provided they have the appropriate chemical makeup . for purposes of the present invention , both chemical makeup of the mineral and particle size are important . besides being primarily composed of an aluminum silicate , it is important that the mineral source contain calcium , magnesium and iron . since the eight most prevalent elements in the earth &# 39 ; s crust are , in order , oxygen , silicon , aluminum , iron , calcium , sodium , potassium and magnesium , it would seen that the chemical makeup requirement could be easily satisfied . the following table taken from pettijohn , sedimentary rocks , harper brothers ( 1948 ), as contained on page 3126 of the handbook of chemistry and physics , 39th edition , verifies that many materials satisfy these criteria . ______________________________________chemical composition of rocks average igneous average average average averageelement rock shale sandstone limestone sediment______________________________________sio . sub . 2 59 . 14 58 . 10 78 . 33 5 . 19 57 . 95tio . sub . 2 1 . 05 0 . 65 0 . 25 0 . 06 0 . 57al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 15 . 34 15 . 40 4 . 77 0 . 81 13 . 39fe . sub . 2 o . sub . 2 3 . 08 4 . 02 1 . 07 0 . 54 3 . 47feo 3 . 80 2 . 45 0 . 30 2 . 08mgo 3 . 49 2 . 44 1 . 16 7 . 89 2 . 65cao 5 . 08 3 . 11 5 . 50 42 . 57 5 . 89na . sub . 2 o 3 . 84 1 . 30 0 . 45 0 . 05 1 . 13k . sub . 2 o 3 . 13 3 . 24 1 . 31 0 . 33 2 . 86h . sub . 2 o 1 . 15 5 . 00 1 . 63 0 . 77 3 . 23p . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 0 . 30 0 . 17 0 . 08 0 . 04 0 . 13co . sub . 2 0 . 10 2 . 63 5 . 03 41 . 54 5 . 38so . sub . 3 0 . 64 0 . 07 0 . 05 0 . 54bao 0 . 06 0 . 05 0 . 05c 0 . 80 0 . 66 99 . 56 100 . 00 100 . 00 99 . 84 99 . 93______________________________________ from the above , it is seen that only limestone does not meet the stated criteria . however , since limestone contains calcium , magnesium and iron , some or all of the mineral source may consist of finely divided limestone if needed to meet taste requirements of the brewed beverage . therefore , limestone is considered to be within the scope of the invention . that is not to say that any mineral base containing the above stated minerals may be used . the presence of toxic materials and degree of solubility of minerals must also be considered . because of the variety of materials available , it is not possible to categorize an acceptable mineral source by name , i . e ., clay , sandstone , shale , limestone , etc . rather , each source will generally be determined on an empirical basis . most mineral sources utilized , except for limestone , will have , at the minimum , the following composition calculated as oxide : ______________________________________required mineral composition (% by weight ) minimum maximum______________________________________sio . sub . 2 55 80al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 4 16fe . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 1 . 5 7mgo . 5 3 . 5cao 1 . 5 8______________________________________ as previously stated , other non - toxic minerals may also be present . by non - toxic is meant that the mineral concentration and solubility is not sufficient to be present in toxic amounts in the brewed beverage . many mineral sources contain trace amounts of many minerals in insignificant amounts which are perfectly safe . the mineral particles must be ground to a fine particle size . by fine particle size is meant that at least 90 % of the particle will be less than 1 . 0 mm in diameter and preferably at least 75 % will be less than 0 . 5 mm in size . it is especially preferred that at least 50 % of the particles be 0 . 2 mm or less in size . the mineral source is preferably prepared by dry grinding to the above size at an elevated temperature of between about 200 ° to 300 ° f . to remove as much water as possible from the finely divided mineral . this facilitates the preparation of a homogeneous blend of ground coffee with the mineral source . the appropriate ratio of mineral source to particulate beverage base will vary greatly depending upon many factors such as mineral composition , solubility and particle size . in general , the ratio will vary from about 1 to 25 grams of finely divided mineral source for every pound of beverage base used . preferably , the amount of mineral will vary from about 2 to 10 grams of mineral source per pound of beverage base , or stated differently , the mineral to beverage ratio may vary from 1 : 450 to 1 : 18 , with ratios of 1 : 225 to 1 : 45 being preferred . larger amounts of mineral may be used with increased mineral particle size . the mineral source and beverage base may be preblended , or the finely divided mineral source may be added to the beverage base at the time of brewing . if added just prior to brewing , the mineral should be as thoroughly admixed with the beverage particles as possible . for example , the desired amount of mineral source and one pound of ground coffee could be added to a paper bag . the bag is then closed and vigorously shaken to affect the mixture . commercial blending equipment may also be used . it has been found that , in addition to mineralizing the brew water , the use of finely divided minerals slows the brewing process and , in the case of coffee , one may obtain the same coffee flavor with about one half the amount of ground coffee previously used . since less ground coffee is used , the brewed coffee will contain less caffeine and acids , and also less bitter taste . it will also remain fresh longer . the mineral particles retard the brewing process by settling into the interstices of the coffee filter or tea bags . since some minerals dissolve and some of the finer particles pass through the interstices of the filter , it may also be desirable to utilize other flow retardants . any inert filter retardant type of material may be used . typical materials include particulate cellulosic or starch materials which are insoluble , but swell in water and which will not pass through the filter . inorganic materials such as silica gel , may also be used . however , ion exchange materials , such as zeolites and ion exchange resins , should be avoided since they exchange the desired calcium and magnesium ions with sodium or potassium before passing through the filter matrix . the amount of flow retardant to be used will be strictly a matter of the results desired . too much flow retardant will plug the filter or increase the brewing time beyond that required to extract the desired flavor components . generally , anywhere from 0 to 40 grams of flow retardant per pound of ground coffee or tea base may be used . since more flavor is produced with less beverage base , the color of the brewed beverage may be lighter than is acceptable to consumers . this is due to the fact that many of the flavors extracted from the beverage base by the extending brewing time are colorless . therefore , it may be advantageous to add any non - toxic fda approved coloring material to the mixture of beverage base and mineral source . because caramel powder is commonly used for producing coffee of deep brown colors , it is a preferred coloring agent . the amount to use will be strictly a matter of color to be imparted to the brewed beverage . generally speaking , the amount of caramel powder may vary between about 0 to 100 grams per pound of beverage base . if desired , the finely divided mineral source , flow retardant and coloring agent may be made into a homogeneous mixture and prepackaged for admixture with a beverage base just prior to brewing . such a composition may contain from 1 to 25 parts by weight of a finely divided mineral having a composition and particle size as defined above , 1 to 40 parts by weight of a flow retardant as previously described , and 1 to 100 parts by weight of a colorizing agent . particularly , preferred are admixtures wherein the ratio of flow retardant to mineral source are 0 . 25 : 1 to 1 : 1 , and where the ratio of caramel powder to mineral source are 1 : 1 to 4 : 1 . during mixing of the mineral source , flow retardant and coloring agent , it may also be desirable to add a minor amount of an edible oil , such as coconut oil , to the mixture to inhibit the formation of dust particles . this will normally not amount to more than 0 . 5 percent of the total composition . the brewing is accomplished by placing the mixture of beverage base and finely divided mineral source , with or without flow retardants or coloring agents , on a filter or in a filter bag , and subjecting the mixture to an appropriate amount of hot water . brewing temperatures normally vary between the boiling temperature of water down to about 150 ° f . the boiling temperature will vary according to altitude from about 212 ° to 200 ° f . preferably , however , the water used for brewing will reach its peak temperature before coming in contact with the beverage base - mineral mixture and actually be cooling down . brewing temperatures in the range of 170 ° to 150 ° f . are preferred for optimum flavor extraction and mineralization . in order to demonstrate the operability of the present invention , the following data is presented . two types of clays were ground to a size as to be operable in the present invention . the chemical analysis of the clays and their particle size distribution are reported in the following tables : ______________________________________composition % by total as oxideselement mineral a mineral b______________________________________sio . sub . 2 66 . 92 63 . 65al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 14 . 05 15 . 65cao 1 . 94 7 . 52mgo 0 . 68 1 . 15na . sub . 2 o 2 . 69 1 . 81k . sub . 2 o 2 . 67 1 . 65fe . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 1 . 67 1 . 59bao 0 . 03 0 . 03so . sub . 3 0 . 05 0 . 04n . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 1 . 69 0 . 72other 7 . 61 6 . 19 100 . 00 100 . 00______________________________________ ______________________________________particle size distribution % in each rangemicrons mineral a mineral b______________________________________3360 + 0 . 0 0 . 01000 - 3360 3 . 7 1 . 2 500 - 1000 22 . 9 4 . 3297 - 500 11 . 3 5 . 0125 - 297 28 . 0 28 . 8105 - 125 8 . 9 7 . 0 74 - 105 10 . 0 18 . 574 - 15 . 2 35 . 2 100 . 00 100 . 00______________________________________ a mineralizer premix was made by dryblending 100 pounds of caramel powder , 32 pounds of mineral b from example i and 8 pounds of a modified corn starch to a uniform blend . about 0 . 5 pounds of coconut oil was added to reduce dust formation during the blending process . this example illustrates the effectiveness of the mineralizer premix in increasing the mineral content of tap water . tap water containing 148 milligrams per liter ( mg / l ) of dissolved mineral solids was heated to about 160 ° f . about 1 . 2 grams of the mineralizer mixture of example i was placed in a coffee filter and seventy - two fluid ounces of the heated tap water was allowed to precolate through the filter . the resulting water was caramel colored and had a solids content of 692 mg / l . since the tap water contained 149 mg / l , it is evident that at least 544 mg / l was provided by the caramel and mineral content of the mineralizer mix . the dissolved caramel solids accounted for 461 mg / l and the dissolved mineral solids added by the mineralizer mix was calculated to be 83 mg / l . to show the efficiency of the present invention in mineralizing a brewed coffee , and also in extracting more dissolved coffee flavor per unit of ground coffee , three different samples of brewed coffee were prepared in accordance with the following table . the same ground coffee was used in each sample , and the same volume of water was used to prepare each sample . ______________________________________coffee sample c d e______________________________________ground coffee ( amount ) 2 / 3 cup 1 / 3 cup 1 / 3 cupmineralizer blend ( example 2 ) 0 1 . 2 grams 0tap water ( 148 mg / l dissolved 53 fl oz 53 fl oz 53 fl ozsolids ) initial brewing temperature 160 ° f . 160 ° f . 160 ° f . dissolved coffee solids ( mg / l ) 5112 4308 2484dissolved mineral solids 148 274 148 ( mg / l ) dissolved caramel solids ( mg / l ) 0 439 0color dark dark light brown brown browntaste strong - full - weak - wa - flat mellow - tery - crisp unpalat - abletaste after standing 4 bitter - slightly weak - hours flat - bitter - watery unpalat - crisp - unpalat - able still able palatable______________________________________ the above results show the effective extraction of coffee solids as a result of the present invention . only one half the amount of coffee was used for sample d as in sample c , but the dissolved coffee solids of sample d were 84 . 27 % of those in sample c . stated differently , the flavor extraction from sample d was 1 . 69 times greater than in sample c . at the same time , the mineralization of sample d was greater than in either samples c or e and the flavor of the coffee was described as &# 34 ; crisp &# 34 ; rather than &# 34 ; flat &# 34 ;. similar results may be obtained with tea or other beverage gases . obviously , the amounts of beverage base used may be adjusted according to one &# 39 ; s taste . therefore , the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments , but is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims .
a composition and method for mineralizing and enhancing the flavor of brewed beverages such as coffee and tea is disclosed wherein a finely divided mineral , a coloring agent such as powdered caramel , and a particulate beverage base such as ground coffee are combined to form an admixture . the admixture is placed on a filter and hot water is added . a portion of the finely divided mineral is dissolved in the hot water and passes through the filter along with the water soluble beverage ingredients . a small amount of the mineral solids also pass through the filter into the brewed beverage . a major portion of the mineral solids are retained on the filter surface , thereby retarding the brewing process and enhancing the extraction of flavoring ingredients from the particulate beverage base . the minerals added during the brewing process approximate those formed in fresh spring water and enhance the flavor of the brewed beverage .