IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING DECOCTIONS OF COFFEE AND OTHER MATTERS
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
VARDY, of Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Gentleman, and MORITY
PLATOW, of Poland Street, Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Seventeenth day of August, in the third year of Her reign, did
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said James
Vardy and Mority Platow, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that we, the said James Vardy and Mority Platow, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said James Vardy and
Mority Platow, our executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my.
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING DECOCTIONS OF COFFEE AND OTHER
MATTERS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the
said James Vardy and Mority Platow, or one of us, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
James Vardy and Mority Platow, do hereby declare the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters
marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction of apparatus for making
extracts of coffee and other matters, whereby the water is caused to boil and
pass out of the vessel by the pressure of steam within, and in passing out of
the vessel the water enters into another vessel containing a straining or filtering
medium, and mixes with the coffee, tea, or other matter placed in such vessel.
The heating means being then removed, the steam in the lower vessel becomes
condensed, and thereby produces a partial vacuum under the filtering or strain-
ing medium, and the atmosphere pressing on the water combined with the
coffee or other matter in the upper vessel causes it to filter through into the
lower vessel with considerable quickness, and thus is an extract of coffee or
other matter produced with great advantage, both as to the quality and as to
the means of making the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
The Drawing represents an apparatus constructed according to the Invention
Figure 1 being an external view, and Figure 2 a section of a coffee pot or
vessel for making extracts; a being a cylindrical vessel which is placed within
the outer case b, the object of the outer case being to receive a spirit lamp
in order to heat the vessel a; but it will be evident that the vessel a may be
heated in any other way, but the arrangement shewn is convenient where it
it is intended to stand on a table; c is an upper vessel which has a descending
tube d passing into the vessel a; and the vessel c is affixed to the vessel a by
means of a screw or other means which will be convenient for readily sepa
rating the vessels a and c at the point d. At the upper part of the tube d there
is a bridge to receive a screw by which the perforated plate is fastened.. e is a
perforated plate at the lower part of the vessel c; f is a small hole through
the upper part of the tube d; the object of this hole is to allow of the passage
of the air from out of the vessel a up into the vessel c, otherwise the air expand-
ing would force the water into the vessel ċ before it boiled. And we would
remark that the construction of the means of permitting the air to escape may
be varied, provided the mode resorted to will admit of the passing off of the
heated air, and yet not allow of the steam flowing freely off when the air has
been driven off. It should, however, be understood, that this hole is small so

page_text: as to prevent the steam as quickly as it is generated from passing off in that
direction; hence the pressure of the steam, when the water boils, causes the
water in the vessel a to rise up the tube into the vessel c and mix with the
coffee, tea, or other matter contained therein, and thus extract matter there-
from; and so soon as the heat is removed a vacuum will be produced in the
vessel a, and the pressure of the atmosphere will cause the liquor to be
filtered through the perforated plate, and the female screw is formed with a
vertical groove which will allow of the air passing out from the vessel a when
water is running into the vessel a from the vessel c; but when the screws of
the vessels a and c are screwed tight together the felt washer placed at the
joint will keep the parts air-tight. 9 is a spring made of brass, by which, in
the event of the filter e being stopped, the pressure of steam would lift the
filter and prevent accident.
.
Having thus explained the mechanical arrangement of parts, we will
describe the mode of using the same. A quantity of water, according to the
quantity of extract of coffee required to be made, is to be put into the vessel c,
which vessel we generally make of glass, but it may be of other suitable
material. The upper part or vessel c is then to be slightly unscrewed, and the
water in c will pass into the vessel a, when the vessels a and c are to be screwed
tightly together; a quantity of ground coffee or tea or other matter, accord-
ing to the strength of extract desired to be obtained, is to be put into the
vessel c, on to the perforated plate c. The spirit lamp or other means of heating
being placed under the vessel a, or on that vessel being otherwise heated,
steam is generated in such manner as to produce pressure on the inside of the
vessel a, which will cause the boiling water to rush up through the pipe or
tube d through the perforated plate or other filtering or straining medium e,
and mix with the coffee or other matter and partly fill the vessel c.
The spirit
lamp is then to be removed or the vessel a to be removed from the source of
heat; when heated by other means the steam within the vessel a will quickly
condense, and a partial vacuum will be obtained in the vessel a, and the outer
atmosphere pressing towards such vacuum will cause the extract in the vessel c
to be quickly filtered or strained through the plate e into the vessel a, when
the extract of coffee or of the other matter will be ready to be drawn off by
the cock or tap f.
Having thus explained the nature of the Invention, and the manner of using
the same, we would remark that the shapes of the vessels a and c may be
varied according to taste, and the filtering or straining material may be also
varied. But what we claim is, first, the mode of combining the vessels a
and c with the tube d and its perforation or outlet f, as above described.

page_text: And I claim the mode of affixing the filtering surface or plate e by a screw,
as above described.
Secondly, we claim the mode of connecting the vessels a and c by screws
having a vertical groove, and employing a felt washer to the joint, as above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Mority Platow, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty.