IN Brief:
- UNSW-led researchers have used a patented ultrasonic brewing sonoreactor to produce espresso-strength coffee in two to three minutes.
- The process reduces reliance on high temperature and high hydraulic pressure while preserving key aroma and physicochemical markers.
- The platform could support lower-energy beverage extraction, concentrated coffee production, and faster cold brew processing.
The University of New South Wales has led research showing that ultrasound can produce espresso-strength coffee at low temperature in two to three minutes, offering a potential route to lower-energy beverage extraction and more controllable coffee processing.
Conventional espresso relies on elevated temperature of around 90–95°C and hydraulic pressure of about 9 bar to force water through a compacted bed of finely ground coffee. The process extracts soluble compounds, emulsified lipids, and volatile aromatics quickly, but quality depends heavily on variables such as tamping force, flow rate, time, dose, and grind setting.
The research team used a patented ultrasonic brewing sonoreactor to reduce dependence on high temperature and pressure-driven extraction. In tests, the system produced espresso-strength coffee in two to three minutes without significantly altering aroma or physicochemical markers such as colour, pH, caffeine, or chlorogenic acid concentration.
The ultrasonic process extracted more solids per gram of coffee and gave greater control over strength and flavour. It also delivered a reported 75% reduction in energy consumption compared with conventional espresso machines. Under identical conditions without ultrasound, the researchers were not able to achieve espresso-strength extraction.
The same platform can be used to produce concentrated and filter-style coffees, and may reduce cold brew production times from hours to minutes. The full study has been published in the Journal of Food Engineering.
The central industrial question is whether acoustic-assisted extraction can be scaled into a reliable process tool for controlling flavour, concentration, energy use, and processing time. Coffee is a useful test case because extraction quality is sensitive, measurable, and commercially valuable.
Beverage extraction has to balance yield with sensory quality. More aggressive extraction can increase soluble recovery but may also pull out harsh, bitter, or undesirable compounds. A faster process is only useful when the flavour profile remains acceptable and consistent. The UNSW work is notable because the process maintained key markers while changing the energy and time profile of extraction.
Beverage scale-up and production flexibility are already active themes. The Food Works has added canning capacity for drinks scale-up, while Momo has been scaling kombucha fermentation in London. In both cases, process capability helps determine whether a beverage concept can move from niche production to reliable commercial output.
Energy use is becoming a stronger factor in beverage processing decisions. Hot extraction, pasteurisation, cleaning, chilling, concentration, and storage all carry energy costs. A process that reduces heat demand while maintaining quality will attract attention, particularly where manufacturers are dealing with energy price volatility, carbon reporting, and pressure to reduce factory emissions.
Cold brew is another relevant application. Traditional cold brew production can take many hours, tying up tank capacity and creating scheduling constraints. If ultrasound can reduce extraction time without damaging flavour quality, it could improve throughput and reduce the working capital tied up in slow extraction processes. The same logic could apply to concentrated coffee ingredients used in ready-to-drink beverages, dairy drinks, desserts, and flavour systems.
Industrial adoption will depend on scale, cleaning, robustness, and integration. Laboratory or pilot extraction systems often face tougher questions when they move into production: how the sonoreactor handles continuous operation, how easily it is cleaned, whether it can manage different grind sizes and feedstocks, how it performs with variable coffee quality, and whether the energy savings remain meaningful at larger scale.
Food safety and hygiene design will also shape adoption. Any beverage extraction technology must fit cleaning-in-place regimes, allergen controls where relevant, microbial risk management, and material compatibility. Coffee systems can accumulate oils, fines, residues, and scale, so production design needs to maintain quality without adding excessive downtime.
The research adds to wider work around intensified food processing. Ultrasound, pulsed electric fields, high-pressure processing, microwave-assisted extraction, and other non-traditional technologies are being explored as manufacturers seek more efficient ways to control heat, time, texture, flavour, and microbial safety. The strongest applications will be those where process intensification creates measurable gains without compromising product identity.
Coffee gives the technology a demanding test. Espresso is sensitive to small changes in preparation, while industrial coffee ingredients require repeatability, hygiene, and throughput. If ultrasound can reduce variation and provide tighter extraction control, it could support new equipment designs, ingredient production routes, and lower-energy beverage formats.
