Preparing tea with the aid of a tea pad and a coffee maker

Abstract

A tea pad is provided for preparing tea. More particularly, the tea pad provides at least one consumption unit of tea with the aid of a coffee maker. The coffee maker is provided with a holder for receiving at least one pad filled with a product to be extracted, and means for pressing hot water under pressure through the pad for obtaining an extract of the product while, preferably, the applied pressure of the water is 1-2 bar. The pad is provided with a covering, such as filtering paper which is at least partly transmissive to a liquid such as water and, which is at least virtually non-transmissive to tea. The covering comprises at least one space which is at least partly filled with tea.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An assembly comprising:
 a holder including an inside space formed by a bottom and an upstanding sidewall of the holder;   a pad received in the holder and filled with a product to be extracted; and   a lid bounding the inside space of the holder with which the holder is closed off;   wherein the holder includes an outflow path which begins in the bottom of the holder and ends outside the holder for dispensing the extracted product while, in use, hot water is fed to the holder and is pressed through the pad for obtaining the extract which, then, leaves the pad and, thereupon, leaves the inside space and the holder via the outflow path;   wherein the pad is a tea pad for preparing tea, more particularly, at least one consumption unit of tea, with the aid of a coffee maker;   wherein the coffee maker is provided with the holder for receiving at least one pad filled with a product to be extracted, and means for pressing hot water under pressure through the pad for obtaining an extract, while the applied pressure of the water is 1-2 bar;   wherein the pad includes a covering such as filtering paper which is at least partly transmissive to a liquid such as water and which is at least virtually non-transmissive to tea;   wherein the covering comprises at least one space which is at least partly filled with tea, wherein the volume of the tea is 60-90% of the volume of the space in the tea pad in which the tea is included; and   wherein a tea bed of the tea pad has a greatest height which is smaller than a greatest height of the space in the tea pad.   
     
     
         2 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad has a flat form. 
     
     
         3 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad has the form of a disc. 
     
     
         4 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea in the inside space forms a tea bed with a flat form. 
     
     
         5 . The assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the tea bed has the form of a disc. 
     
     
         6 . The assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the tea bed has a greatest diameter of 30-55 mm. 
     
     
         7 . The assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the tea bed has a greatest diameter of 35-45 mm. 
     
     
         8 . The assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the tea bed has a greatest height which is smaller than 10 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the tea bed has a greatest height which is smaller than 7 mm. 
     
     
         10 . The assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the tea bed has a greatest height which is greater than 2 mm. 
     
     
         11 . The assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the tea bed has a greatest height which is greater than 3 mm. 
     
     
         12 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the covering is provided with a top sheet and a bottom sheet interconnected by their circumferential edges, while the interconnected circumferential edges form a sealing seam, each sheet being manufactured from a material such as filtering paper which is at least partly transmissive to a liquid such as water and which is at least virtually non-transmissive to tea. 
     
     
         13 . The assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the sealing seam has a width which is greater than 4 mm. 
     
     
         14 . The assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the sealing seam has a width which is greater than 5 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the sealing seam has a width which is smaller than 10 mm. 
     
     
         16 . The assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the sealing seam has a size of 5-12 mm. 
     
     
         17 . The assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the sealing seam has a size of 5-10 mm, more particularly of 6-10 mm. 
     
     
         18 . The assembly of  claim 12 , wherein a first sheet of the two sheets, viewed at least partly from outside the tea pad, is of a convex design. 
     
     
         19 . The assembly of  claim 18 , wherein a second sheet of the two sheets, viewed at least partly from outside the tea pad, is of a flat or a convex design. 
     
     
         20 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad is filled with 1-6 gr of tea, more particularly with 1-2.5 gr of tea. 
     
     
         21 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad is filled with an amount of tea which is smaller than approximately 1.9 gr of tea. 
     
     
         22 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad is filled with 1-4 gr of black tea, more specifically with 1 2.5 gr of black tea. 
     
     
         23 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad is filled with 1-4 gram of fruit tea, more specifically with 1-2.5 gram of fruit tea. 
     
     
         24 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad is filled with 1-4 gram of green tea, more specifically with 1-2.5 gram of green tea. 
     
     
         25 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad is filled with 1-6 gram of rooibos tea, more specifically with 1.5-5 gram of rooibos tea. 
     
     
         26 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad is filled with 1-6 gram of tea in the form of herb mixture, more specifically with 1-5 gram of herb mixture. 
     
     
         27 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad is filled with 6-11 grams of components provided with a tea comprising also spices and/or aromas, while the components further comprise a milk powder, and sugar and/or sweeteners for preparing Chai-tea. 
     
     
         28 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the components comprise 1.5-3 grams of tea. 
     
     
         29 . The assembly of  claim 27 , wherein the components comprise 3.5-6.5 grams of sugar or a comparable equivalent of sweeteners or a comparable equivalent of a combination of sweeteners and sugar. 
     
     
         30 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the volume of the tea is 75-85% of the volume of the space in the tea pad in which the tea is included. 
     
     
         31 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad is filled with 3-8 ml of tea. 
     
     
         32 . A tea pad according to  claim 29 , characterized in that the tea pad is filled with 4-7 ml of tea. 
     
     
         33 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea comprises rooibos tea which may be supplemented with aromas and/or fruit parts. 
     
     
         34 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea comprises a herb mixture on the basis of various blends of herbs which may be supplemented with aromas and/or fruit parts. 
     
     
         35 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea comprises a fruit tea on the basis of a black tea blend which may be supplemented with aromas and fruit parts. 
     
     
         36 . The assembly of  claim 29 , wherein 2-8 volume percent of the tea consist of the aromas and 1-2 volume percent of the tea consists of fruit parts. 
     
     
         37 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea also comprises spices and/or aromas while in the tea pad, further, sugar and/or sweeteners are included and milk powder for preparing a Chai-tea. 
     
     
         38 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea comprises particles with a size of 0.1-1.2 mm, more particularly of 0.24-0.96 mm. 
     
     
         39 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea comprises particles with a size of 0.2-0.85 mm, more particularly of 0.36-0.84 mm. 
     
     
         40 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad comprises tea with particles having a size which is greater than 0.8 mm and/or particles having a size which is smaller than 0.35 mm. 
     
     
         41 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad comprises tea with a coarseness which is greater than PD and smaller than OP. 
     
     
         42 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea comprises at least a first type of tea and a second type of tea, while a size of particles of the first type of tea differs from a size of particles of the second type of tea. 
     
     
         43 . The assembly of  claim 42 , wherein the size of the particles of the first type of tea is smaller than 0.5 mm, more specifically smaller than 0.35 mm. 
     
     
         44 . The assembly of  claim 42 , wherein the size of the particles of the second type of tea is greater than 0.6 mm, more specifically greater than 0.8 mm. 
     
     
         45 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad has a greatest height which is at least 10% and preferably at least 20% smaller than the greatest height of the inside space. 
     
     
         46 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad has a width which corresponds at least virtually with a width of the inside space. 
     
     
         47 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the outflow path is provided with a flow restriction so that, in use, a pressure drop across the tea pad is smaller than a pressure drop across the outflow path. 
     
     
         48 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the inside space has a diameter of 40-60 mm while a tea bed of the tea pad has a diameter of 35-45 mm. 
     
     
         49 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom is provided with at least one outflow opening and grooves extending towards the at least one outflow opening. 
     
     
         50 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the tea pad rests on the bottom of the holder and reaches over the bottom adjacent the upstanding sidewall of the holder.