IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING INFUSIONS AND DECOCTIONS FROM COFFEE, HERBS, BERRIES, GRAINS, SEEDS, AND LEAVES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Nelson Hutchinson, of Wellesbourne,
near Bideford, in the County of Devon, General in Her Majesty's
APPARATUS FOR
Army, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
OBTAINING INFUSIONS AND DECOCTIONS FROM COFFEE, HERBS, BERRIES, GRAINS,
SEEDS, AND LEAVES."
Sealed the 2nd June 1874, and dated the 2nd March 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Nelson
Hutchinson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 2nd March 1874.
I, WILLIAM NELSON HUTCHINSON, of Wellesbourne, Bideford, in
the County of Devon, General in Her Majesty's Army, do hereby declaro
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
OBTAINING INFUSIONS AND DECOCTIONS FROM COFFEE, HERBS, BERRIES, ĠRAINS,
SEEDS, & LEAVES," to be as follows:-
Decoctions from coffee are usually made by pouring hot water on the
grounds (of the berry) placed on a strainer in an upper vessel, from
whence the decoction when strained passes into a lower vessel. This

page_text: arrangement is inconvenient, as under ordinary circumstances it gives
such a height to the compound vessel that it cannot stand under the
spout of the common breakfast urn or suspended kettle. It has the
further disadvantage that the liquid loses heat in being transferred to
the lower vessel. Moreover the compound vessel presents a very large
external surface to the cooling influence of the air. Also the strainer
or area of the surface, through which the straining takes place, is small
in comparison with the area of the unstraining surface of the external
vessel, whereas by my arrangement I obtain a maximum of filtering or
straining surface for the entire contents of the containing vessel, the
whole pot being a recipient for the water.
The principal object of the present Invention is to provide a vessel
satisfying the foregoing conditions, and whatever may be its material,
of so low a shape that coffee can be made in it precisely as tea is usually
made. This is effected by placing the filtering or straining vessel within
the other instead of above it, and of the-same shape as the external
vessel, and by forming its sides and possibly bottom wholly or partially
of a porous quickly filtrating material or materials. The grains of
coffee are placed within this filtering vessel; its sides and bottom, which
are nearly in close contact with the sides and bottom of the outer vessel,
furnish such a large filtrating surface that the water which has been
added (after standing any length of time in contact with the grains) will
percolate so rapidly through the filtrating vessel as to allow of the liquid
being poured out almost as expeditiously as if it were a decoction from
tea leaves made in the usual manner.
I surround the bottom and the side with a straining material, such
as flannel or swans down calico, but I find the latter best suited for the
purpose. Its use may be dispensed with in cases in which the holes of
the filtering or straining vessel are small, or the coffee or substance from
which the decoction is made not ground very fine. Also in a large pot
it might be convenient to separate the front part from the main body of
the pot by a vertical filtering or straining screen. The pot can be so
shaped as to become either a tea pot or a coffee pot. This method of
obtaining decoctions or infusions is applicable to vessels of a large size
when a tap might be employed. It promises to be useful for chemical
purposes, because the liquid without coming to the boiling point could
be conveniently kept at a regulated temperature with the aid of a
lamp.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Nelson Hutchinson in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 2nd September 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
NELSON HUTCHINSON, of Wellesbourne, near Bideford, in the County of
Devon, General in Her Majesty's Army, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-four, in
the thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Nelson Hutchinson,
Her special licence that I, the said William Nelson Hutchinson, my exc-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Nelson Hutchinson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, oxcrcise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING INFUSIONS AND
DECOCTIONS FROM COFFEE, HERBS, BERRIES, GRAINS, SEEDS, AND LEAVES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Nelson
Hutchinson, my oxecutors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing, under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Nelson Hutchinson, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say) :—
Decoctions from coffee are usually made by pouring hot water on the
ground coffee placed upon a strainer in an upper vessel, through which
the decoction percolates and passes thence into a lower vessel. This

page_text: arrangement is incommodious for table use, as the compound vessel is
usually of such a height that it cannot be conveniently placed under the
spout of the common table urn or suspended kettle. It has the further
disadvantage that the liquid loses a considerable quantity of heat by being
transferred from one vessel to another, and in consequence of the time!
required to percolate through the strainer, which is of comparatively
small area. Moreover the compound vessels presents a very large
external surface to the cooling influence of the air, whereas by my
Invention I can obtain a filtering or straining surface extending over
the whole, or nearly the whole, area of the sides and bottom of the pot,
the entire pot being a recipient for the water, which in the case of small
pots is a great advantage.
The principal object of the present Invention is to provide a pot free
from the above-mentioned objections, and of about the same height as
an ordinary tea pot, so that it can be conveniently filled with water from
a table urn or hanging kettle.
In order that my Invention may be more readily understood I have
illustrated it in the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1, is a
central vertical section of a small pot; Figure 2, a horizontal section on
line 1-1 Figure 1; and Figure 3, a plan of the bottom of the pot with
the interior fittings removed.
The pot may be made of any convenient shape with vertical sides to
facilitate the removal of the filtering vessel, the top being removable for
the same purpose.
a are the sides of the pot; b, the detachable top
fitted thereon by a flange or otherwise; and c, an ordinary hinged lid on
the top b. The filtering vessel consists of a strainer d of finely perforated
metal covered with a straining cloth f, and corresponding to the shape
of the pot. The strainer is stiffened by a metal frame or beading e along
its top and bottom edges, which also serves to prevent the straining
cloth f from coming in contact with the strainer d. This is also effected
by making the metal strainer d with corrugations at suitable intervals
projecting from the external surface, as at 9, 9, Figure 2, or by attaching
metal strips or wires on the exterior by soldering to strainer & so
as to stretch the cloth clear of the strainer, see Figures 5 and 6. The
corrugations, strips, or wires around the sides are preferably vertical, but
they may be otherwise disposed. The straining cloth f, indicated in
red lines, is formed of a bag conforming in shape to the perforated metal

page_text: strainer d, and may be drawn in with a string at top. In small pots
this filtering cloth is preferably made of Scotch cambric or a muslin.
The filtering vessel d, f, fits close to the pot in order that as little water
as possible may be prevented from being in immediate contact with and
extracting flavor from the coffee until the moment the infusion is drawn
off. The filtration would however be greatly retarded were the strainer
to be in contact with the pot; and to prevent this the filtering vessel is
made to rest on raised ribs or bars i, i, fixed on the bottom of the pot,
and continued up the sides with the same object as shown in Figure 1,
and more clearly in Figure 3, or a single diagonal rib at each side would
suffice. k represents a guard made of finely perforated metal attached
to d at the part near the spout, as shown, to prevent the bulk of the
coffee grounds resting against the front part of the metal strainer when
the pot is tilted, and so impeding the flow of the infusion through that
part of the strainer. Such or similar guards I use in pots of all
sizes.
In largo pots the area of the filter extending as it would over the.
whole of the sides and bottom would be so great that the infusion could
be most conveniently run off through a tap, the pot being supported on
legs to allow of a cup standing under the tap. A wide tray to receive
the ground coffee, with perforated sides and bottom supported on short
legs, might be used in lieu of the vertical guards %, but I prefer the
latter in most cases. A large tray of this kind very coarsely perforated
or made of wire might be used with advantage in teapots, as the tea
leaves lying upon it would more readily yield their flavor than when
resting on the bottom of the pot in the ordinary manner.
Instead of the filtering vessel being perforated on all sides, as above:
described, it may be sufficient in large pots to have only the front portion.
perforated, as shown in Figure 4, which is a horizontal section of a
filtering vessel so made. d is the perforated portion having external
corrugations or ribs; k is the inner guard as before; and f is the
filtering cloth secured by a string drawn in around the undercut rim or
flange d¹ of the strainer d. In this case I prefer to use flannel or
swans down calico for the filtering cloth. A poor swans down calico with
a very fluffy face seems to answer best.
In large pots, instead of inserting a complete filtering vessel lining the
whole interior of the pot as before described, I may fit a removable filter.

page_text: or strainer in the front part of the pot opposite the spout, as shown in
part horizontal sections, Figures 5, 6, and 7, and in vertical section in
Figure 8.
In Figure 5 the pot has vertical sides, and the filter or strainer d is
formed of a rectangular piece of finely perforated metal curved to the
shape of the pot, as shown, and provided with grooved edges fitted to
slide water-tight in vertical guides m, m, fixed on the inside of the pot.
The edges of the straining cloth f covering the metallic strainer dare
lapped round a cotton cord, which fits tightly over the undercut rim or.
flange d, and retains the cloth securely in position; or the soft cord
might be a separate ring slipped over the undercut after a loose piece of
straining cloth was spread over it. The ring might be of any other mate-
rial, vulcanized rubber might be suitable. The undercut would be then
a V shaped groove or neck, which would prevent the ring from shifting
to other side. k is the perforated guard before described, and 7 the
handle, by which the whole may be readily removed from the pot.
9, 9, are thin metal strips soldered on the exterior of d to keep the
cloth fat a proper distance therefrom as before.
In Figure 6 the strainer d is shown as fitted in a rectangular framo n
soldered within the pot, the shoulder n¹ preventing the strainer from
being placed too closely to the side of the same. The cotton cord, round
which the edges of the cloth strainer are lapped, aids in preventing any
escape of the liquid between the frame and the strainer. The sides in
which the strainer fits are slightly bevelled or conical, and the strainer
is pushed in a horizontal direction by means of the handle, until it fits
tightly into its seat in the frame n. Wear of the cloth strainer at the
angles is prevented, and a better fit obtained by beading or rounding
the edges of the strainer d, or preferably, as in Figure 7, by attaching a
rim ó to the edge of the strainer corresponding in shape to the sides of
the frame n and fitting water-tight therein. The edges of the cloth arc
secured by a cord or elastic ring passing round a rim d' as before.
The strainers shown in Figures 6 and 7 are suitable for pots with sides
curved, as shown in Figure 8.
It is obvious that the strainer and the frame on which it is fitted may

page_text: In Figures 5, 6, and 7 the fixed handle is shown attached to d,
passing through the guard k, which is soldered to it.
The frame or seat in which the strainer is fitted may form a portion
of the sides of the pot, as shown in vertical and horizontal sections at
Figures 8 and 9. In these Figures the end of the pot is so shaped as
to form the seat for a circular strainer, sce Figures 10 and 11. The
hinge of the lid c is placed back near the handle, so that there is ample
space for the insertion of the strainer. In order that this pot may be
used as a teapot with the improved strainer removed the usual largely
perforated strainer should be fixed about to of an inch within the
spout.
An effective strainer might be made by giving the perforated metal a
coned form &³, as shown in Figure 12. As the axis of the cone is
preferably horizontal the coffee grounds would not block up the per-
forations to any great extent; and the guard, to prevent an accumulation
of fine grounds on the cloth strainer, might be a second cone of finely
perforated metal covering the first cone at an interval of about 1½ of an
inch. The infusion would flow out unusually bright and clear were a
second piece of muslin or other suitable material interposed between the
two cones or outside the conc. The straining cloth f might consist of
Scotch cambric or muslin or other suitable material secured on the rim
of the first (the inner) cone. The corded edge or binding of the straining
cloth would form a water-tight joint, or a slightly coned rim q might be
used, fitting water-tight within the similarly coned part of the pot, see
Figure 13.

page_text: Figure 15 represents a vertical section of a vessel of large dimensions
suitable for clubs, public refreshment rooms, and such like purposes.
The strainer would be either in a vertical or inclined position, according
to the form of the vessel, and would be made of sufficient area to allow
the infusion to flow out of the spout or tap as quickly as may be t
required. is a pipe passing up through a hole in the lid, and serving
as a chimney for the gas, by which the desired temperature is

page_text: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, whether provided with a guard k or
not.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Nelson Hutchinson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.