Systems and methods for creating beverages
View Patent ↗The present disclosure generally relates to beverages, and to systems and methods for creating beverages. In certain aspects, a beverage precursor can be contained within a gel, such as a carboxylate agarose gel or other gel suitable for human consumption. The precursor can be mixed with water to form a beverage. In some cases, a composition comprising the beverage precursor may also contain ice, e.g., a gel may be frozen or embedded in the ice. The ice may be heated or mixed with water (or otherwise physically disrupted) to release the precursor, which mixes with the water to form the beverage. A variety of beverage precursors are possible, including alcoholic beverages (e.g., beer, wine, rum, cognac, cocktails, etc.), juices, etc. In addition, in certain embodiments, the precursors may also include gas-forming agents, and/or other ingredients suitable for drinks, such as sugar, artificial sweetener, food coloring, flavoring, etc. Other aspects include methods for making or using such compositions, kits including such compositions, or the like.
1 . A composition, comprising:
an edible gel and a beverage precursor, wherein the edible gel comprises carboxylate agarose, and the beverage precursor comprises ethyl alcohol.
2 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition, when mixed with water, forms a beverage.
3 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the beverage precursor comprises a beverage extract.
4 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the beverage precursor comprises dehydrated extract of vodka, baijiu, shochu, soju, gin, rum, tequila, mezcal, and/or whisky.
5 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the beverage precursor comprises dehydrated extract of a cocktail.
6 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the beverage precursor comprises dehydrated extract of apple, beet, blackberry, cantaloupe, carrot, celery, cherry, cranberry, coconut, cucumber, grape, grapefruit, guava, honeydew, kiwi fruit, lemon, lime, orange, papaya, passionfruit, parsley, pineapple, pomegranate, prune, raspberry, strawberry, sugarcane, tomato, turnip, watercress, and/or winter melon.
7 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the beverage precursor comprises a sugar.
8 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the beverage precursor comprises artificial sweetener.
9 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the beverage precursor comprises food coloring.
10 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the beverage precursor comprises annatto, caramel, carmine, elderberry juice, lycopene, paprika, and/or turmeric.
11 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the beverage precursor comprises flavoring.
12 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the beverage precursor comprises fragrance.
13 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises a gas-forming agent.
14 . A method, comprising:
adding water to a composition comprising (a) carboxylate agarose, (b) a beverage precursor comprising ethyl alcohol.
15 . A method, comprising:
providing a container comprising water and a plurality of edible gel particles having an average diameter of at least 0.5 cm, the edible gel particles comprising carboxylate agarose and ethyl alcohol; and
stirring the water in the container until the edible gel particles have an average diameter of less than 1 mm.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of edible gel particles further comprises a beverage precursor.
17 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the edible gel further comprises ice.
18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the composition further comprises ice.