BEVERAGE BREWING APPARATUS

An apparatus for brewing a selected quantity of a brewed beverage comprises a water heater tank having a heating element, a water supply line having an inlet valve and an outlet disposed within the water heater tank adjacent the bottom, a water level sensor mounted within the water heater tank to activate the inlet valve when the level of water within the tank is below a controlled water level, and a temperature control to maintain water in a region adjacent the controlled water level within a predetermined temperature range. A brew chamber retains product therein. Heated brew water passes through the product in order to extract flavour therefrom. The heated brew water passes from the brew chamber into the brewed beverage container. A, heated brew water outlet is disposed in water dispensing relation to the brew chamber and has a brew water valve to control the flow of heated brew water therefrom. A heated by-pass water outlet is separately arranged away from the brew chamber and is disposed in direct water-dispensing relation to the brewed beverage container. The heated by-pass water outlet has a by-pass water valve to control the flow of heated by-pass water therefrom directly into the brewed beverage container. A microprocessor controls the operation of the brew water valve and the by-pass water valve. The heated brew water outlet and the heated by-pass water outlet are used to produce the selected quantity of the brewed beverage at a desired strength.