Process and apparatus for making coffee having less bitterness

Provided is a coffee extraction process and apparatus. The process comprises: a) providing a brewing vessel comprising an intimate mixture of coffee grounds and an aqueous medium; b) reducing the pressure to be between about 23.7 kPa and 50.8 kPa; c) brewing the coffee at reflux whilst maintaining the pressure; and d) increasing the pressure in the brewing vessel to atmospheric pressure; wherein step c) is sustained for a period of time between 1 and 5 minutes; and wherein commencement of the period of time is determined from the point at which the aqueous medium reaches its water reflux temperature. The process selectively consumes many of the reactive compounds that are responsible for some of the bitterness, whilst simultaneously avoiding high temperatures which can thermally decompose some of the more desirable complex organic compounds. During the intensive reduced pressure reflux extraction, several of the compounds which can give coffee its bitter and astringent taste are subject to reaction, such as by way of condensation, polymerisation and/or thermally catalysed reduced pressure promoted decarboxylation. The reaction products present at the end of the brewing step appear to have more tolerable flavours (e.g. esters and polyols rather than acids and aldehydes), and/or have reduced solubility and are therefore removed with the grinds during a subsequent separation. Coffee obtained by the inventive process can be characterised by its unique chemical composition and is generally denoted as caffè depurato. It can also be distinguished from caffè espresso, French Press and other prior art coffee extracts by its rich and extra smooth flavour. Traditionally espresso is the base for drinks such as a caffè latte, cappuccino, caffè macchiato, caffè mocha, flat white, or caffè Americano. The specification further demonstrates that caffè depurato can now be substituted as the base for making these same styles of beverages.