Beverage dispensing unit and apparatus comprising said dispensing unit

This invention relates to a beverage dispensing unit (1; 13; 15; 17) for an apparatus for supplying a beverage, in particular for supplying coffee. The dispensing unit comprises an infeed section (21 ) for a beverage to be dispensed and a dispensing section (23), comprising three dispensing spouts (31, 32, 33). The dispensing unit also comprises two ducts (41, 42) interposed in parallel between the infeed section (21 ) and the dispensing section (23), each duct (41, 42) comprising an infeed (43) in liquid transfer communication with the infeed section (21 ) and an outfeed (44) in liquid transfer communication with the dispensing section (23). Each duct (41, 42), in use, receives a respective part of the beverage. The dispensing unit also comprises a movable member (5; 53; 7) shiftable between a first position and a second position, and vice versa. The movable member (5; 53; 7) is designed to change a liquid transfer path between the outfeeds (44) of the two ducts (41, 42) and the dispensing section (23) as follows. When the movable member (5; 53; 7) is in the first position, the respective parts of beverage are introduced into a same first dispensing spout (31 ); when the movable member (5; 53; 7) is in the second position, the respective part of beverage of one duct (41 ) is introduced into a second dispensing spout (32) and the respective part of beverage of the other duct (42) is introduced into a third dispensing spout (33). This invention also relates to an apparatus for supplying a beverage, comprising said dispensing unit, and a method for dispensing a beverage.