CPC Definition - Subclass A23F
This place covers:
- Tea;
- Tea substitutes, e.g. mate, lemon balm or rose hips;
- Extracts or infusions of tea and tea substitutes;
- Tea flavour, tea oil;
- Methods of manufacturing, preparing and modifying tea and tea substitutes, e.g. oxidation, fermentation, removing caffeine, extraction, drying, concentrating or flavouring;
- Coffee;
- Coffee substitutes, e.g. grain coffee;
- Extracts or infusions of coffee and coffee substitutes;
- Coffee flavour, coffee oil; and
- Methods of manufacturing, preparing and modifying coffee and coffee substitutes, e.g. treating green coffee, roasting, grinding, removing caffeine, extraction, drying or concentrating.
This subclass does not cover chemical compounds, e.g. alkaloids such as caffeine, theophylline, theobromine, or their preparation as such, which subject matter is covered by classes C07 (organic chemistry) and C08 (organic macromolecular compounds).
Physical or chemical processes or apparatus in general, e.g. boiling, extraction or filtration, are covered by class B01.
Group A23B 85/00 covers preservation of tea, tea substitutes or herbal tea.
Group A23B 90/00 covers preservation of coffee or coffee substitutes.
This place does not cover:
Synthetic spices, flavouring agents or condiments, e.g. synthetic tea flavours | |
Synthetic coffee flavours | |
Machines for cleaning, blanching, drying or roasting fruits or vegetables, e.g. coffee | |
Coffee mills |
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Picking of tea | |
Picking of coffee | |
Preservation of foods or foodstuffs or non-alcoholic beverages | |
Chocolate, confectionery or ice-cream containing coffee or tea | |
Foods, foodstuffs or non-alcoholic beverages, not otherwise provided for; Preparation or treatment thereof | |
Non-alcoholic beverages | |
Foods containing plants extracts additives, e.g. tea or coffee | |
Shaping or working of foodstuffs, not fully covered by a single other subclass, e.g. agglomerating, granulating or tabletting | |
Coffee or tea pots | |
Tea infusers, e.g. egg-shaped infusers | |
Tea or coffee pot cosies | |
Apparatus for making beverages, e.g. coffee or tea; Vending machines for tea or coffee | |
Cosmetic preparation containing material of vegetable origin | |
Medicinal preparations containing plant material from algae, lichens, fungi, plants or derivatives thereof | |
Medicinal preparations containing plant material from Asteraceae or Compositae, e.g. chamomile, feverfew, yarrow or echinacea | |
Medicinal preparations containing plant material from Coffea | |
Medicinal preparations containing plant material from Theaceae (Tea family) | |
Physical or chemical processes or apparatus in general, e.g. boiling, extraction or filtration | |
Packaging of substances, e.g. tea, that are intended to be infused in the package, i.e. filling tea bags | |
Attaching, or forming and attaching, string handles or tags to tea bags | |
Disposable containers or packages with contents that are infused or dissolved in situ | |
Disposable tea bags | |
Chemical compounds e.g. alkaloids such as caffeine, theophylline or theobromine or their preparation as such |
In this place, the following terms or expressions are used with the meaning indicated:
alkaloid | stimulant xanthine drugs caffeine, theobromine and theophylline contained in coffee beans and/or tea leaves |
coffee | stimulant product or beverage made from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, which come from a plant of the genus Coffea, e.g. Coffea arabica or Coffea canephora |
coffee substitutes | coffee substitutes (solid or liquid) are non-coffee products that normally do not contain caffeine and are used to substitute for coffee while preserving its taste. Grain coffee and other substitutes can be made by roasting or decocting various organic substances. Common ingredients include acorn, barley and malt, beech nut, chicory root, corn, fig or rye. |
decaffeination | process of removing the alkaloid caffeine from coffee beans or tea leaves |
herbal tea, tisane, ptisan | any Camellia sinensis-free product or beverage prepared by hot water infusion of plant material, usually leaves, but also fruits, flowers and possibly even bark or other parts. Herbal teas belong to the group of tea substitutes. |
tea | stimulant product or beverage made from the leaves of the traditional tea plant (Camellia sinensis) |
tea substitutes | tea substitutes (solid or liquid) are non-tea products, i.e. are not derived from the traditional tea plant (Camellia sinensis), and include mate (Ilex paraguariensis), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) or rose hips (Rosa canina); cf. "herbal tea" |
In patent documents, the following words/expressions are often used as synonyms:
- "freeze-drying" and "lyophilisation"
This place does not cover:
Preservation of tea, tea substitutes or herbal tea |
In this place, the following terms or expressions are used with the meaning indicated:
tea | Camellia sinensis |
tea substitutes | tea substitutes (solid or liquid) are non-tea products, i.e. are not derived from the traditional tea plant (Camellia sinensis), and include mate (Ilex paraguariensis), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) or rose hips (Rosa canina); cf. "herbal tea" |
This place covers:
Tea harvesting methods, e.g. for producing morning tea; Withering or wilting; Bruising; Deactivation of enzymes in leaves (fixation or kill-green); Sweltering or yellowing; Drying; Aging or curing
This place covers:
Post-fermentation of dried, rolled leaves (Puer tea).
In patent documents, the following abbreviations are often used:
CTC | Crush, Tear, Curl; Cut, Twist, Curl |
This place covers:
Leaf tea compositions per se, which may contain non-flavouring additives.
This place does not cover:
Tea compositions characterised by flavouring additives |
This place covers:
Extraction of non-water soluble tea constituents, using e.g. solvent.
In this place, the following terms or expressions are used with the meaning indicated:
tea juice | juice obtained by pressing fresh or partly processed tea leaves |
In patent documents, the following abbreviations are often used:
RTD | Ready-to-Drink |
This place covers:
Brewing, steeping, infusing or extracting leaf tea material with hot or cold water or with a polar solvent.
This place does not cover:
Addition of, or treatment with, enzymes or microorganisms | |
Isolation of tea flavour or tea oil |
This place covers:
Removing unwanted substances other than caffeine from tea extracts or infusions.
This place does not cover:
Addition of, or treatment with, enzymes or microorganisms | |
Reducing or removing alkaloid content |
This place covers:
Freeze concentration.
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Freeze-drying |
In this place, the following terms or expressions are used with the meaning indicated:
freeze concentration | tea extract is cooled down to form ice crystals, which are then separated |
In patent documents, the following words/expressions are often used as synonyms:
- "Lyophilisation" and "freeze-drying"
This place covers:
Decaffeinated tea.
This place does not cover:
Synthetic tea flavours |
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Flavourings for non-alcoholic beverages |
In this place, the following terms or expressions are used with the meaning indicated:
stripping | removing volatile constituents from tea leaves by passing a hot gas (e.g. steam) through the leaves |
This place covers:
Coffee processing steps prior to roasting, including harvesting, washing, drying, fermentation, mucilage removal, hulling, polishing, sorting, grading and aging steps; extracting constituents from coffee cherry fruit or non-roasted coffee beans.
This place does not cover:
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Grinding non-roasted beans | |
Washing apparatus for coffee cherries and beans |
This place covers:
Processes for treating roasted coffee.
All roasted coffee compositions, except flavoured roasted coffee composition. Those roasted coffee compositions may be characterised by e.g. physical properties such as particle size distribution, density or moisture content.
This place does not cover:
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Flavoured roasted coffee composition |
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Capsules, pads, pods or cartridges for use in coffee making machines |
This place does not cover:
Reducing or removing alkaloid contents or caffeine |
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Removing mucilage |
This place covers:
Removal of caffeine and decaffeinated coffee.
This place covers:
Removal of caffeine from liquid or dried coffee extract.
This place covers:
Infusions and extracts of roasted coffee.
This place does not cover:
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Extracts from coffee cherries or non-roasted coffee beans | |
Adding ingredients to non-alcoholic beverages | |
Foods containing plants extracts additives, e.g. tea or coffee | |
Cosmetic preparation containing material of vegetable origin | |
Constituents isolated from coffee extract and used for medicinal purposes |
This place covers:
Ready-to-drink coffee beverages in e.g. cans or bottles; liquid coffee extract concentrates.
This place does not cover:
Addition of, or treatment with, enzymes or microorganisms |
In patent documents, the following abbreviations are often used:
RTD beverage | Ready-to-drink beverage |
This place covers:
Brewing, steeping and infusion methods for producing a coffee beverage from roasted coffee beans.
This place does not cover:
Addition of, or treatment with, enzymes or microorganisms |
This place covers:
Freeze or chill concentration; cryogenic methods in which a cryogenic gas is sprayed onto liquid coffee extract.
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Freeze-drying |
In this place, the following terms or expressions are used with the meaning indicated:
freeze or chill concentration | coffee extract is cooled down to form ice crystals, which are then separated |
In patent documents, the following words/expressions are often used as synonyms:
- "Lyophilisation" and "freeze-drying"
This place covers:
Instant coffee products.
This place does not cover:
Removing unwanted substances | |
Addition of, or treatment with, enzymes or microorganisms | |
Flavouring |
This place covers:
Instant coffee mixtures containing organic additives such as milk powder, whitener, creamer, sugar, sweetener and foaming agents, including instant cappuccino products.
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Coffee whitener compositions |
This place covers:
Mixtures or blends of instant coffee with ground roasted coffee (substitute).
This place covers:
Instant coffee mixtures, including instant cappuccino products, containing inorganic additives, e.g. foaming agents.
This place covers:
Coffee substitutes, typically based on roasted chicory, roasted cereals or guarana, for preparing a beverage by adding hot water for brewing or infusion; any beverage product explicitly described as a coffee substitute or analogue.
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Treating roasted coffee using additives | |
Treatment of dried coffee extract using organic additives comprising ground coffee or ground coffee substitute particles | |
Non-alcoholic beverages |
This place covers:
Flavouring with artificial or natural substances that do not have a coffee flavour or aroma or that cannot be obtained naturally from coffee.
In this place, the following terms or expressions are used with the meaning indicated:
stripping | removing volatile constituents from coffee beans by passing a hot gas (e.g. steam) through the beans |
In this place, the following terms or expressions are used with the meaning indicated:
stripping | removing volatile constituents from coffee extract by passing a hot gas (e.g. steam) through the liquid or dried beans |