JP2024055645A - Packaged coffee drink and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a novel packaged coffee beverage that can be used as an alternative to conventional packaged coffee beverages that contain dairy ingredients, and a method for producing the same. The present invention provides a packaged coffee beverage that has a sugar content of less than 0.5 g/100 ml and a lipid content of 0.4 to 3.6 g/100 ml. [Selected Figures] None

Description

The present invention relates to a packaged coffee beverage and a method for producing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a packaged coffee beverage with a reduced sugar content and a method for producing the same.

Packaged beverages, so-called ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, are popular with consumers because they are easy to carry and store, and many products are available on the market. Coffee beverages containing dairy ingredients have traditionally been popular with consumers because of their smooth taste and flavor preferences.
However, bottled coffee beverages containing dairy ingredients are subject to restrictions regarding the sterilization method and the containers in which the beverage is filled in order to ensure that the dairy ingredients are sterilized, and there is also a need for alternative beverages due to health concerns regarding the high calorie content of dairy ingredients.
In the prior art, for example, a low-calorie beverage composition is disclosed (Patent Document 1).

JP 2019-176865 A

In light of the current situation surrounding packaged coffee beverages containing dairy ingredients, the inventors conducted intensive research and developed a new packaged coffee beverage with a reduced sugar content that is comparable in flavor to conventional packaged coffee beverages containing dairy ingredients, thereby completing the present invention.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel packaged coffee beverage that can replace conventional packaged coffee beverages containing dairy ingredients, and a method for producing the same.

According to the present invention, the following packaged coffee beverages and the like can be provided.
1. A packaged coffee beverage having a sugar content of less than 0.5 g/100 ml and a lipid content of 0.4 to 3.6 g/100 ml.
2. The bottled coffee beverage according to 1, having a dietary fiber content of 0.1 to 2.0 g/100 ml.
3. The container-packed coffee beverage according to 1 or 2, wherein the container is a plastic bottle.
4. The packaged coffee beverage according to 1 or 2, which has a cafe au lait flavor.
5. A method for producing a packaged coffee beverage having a cafe au lait flavor, the method comprising adjusting the sugar content in the packaged coffee beverage to less than 0.5 g/100 ml and the lipid content to 0.4 to 3.6 g/100 ml.
6. The method for producing a packaged coffee beverage according to 5, further comprising adjusting the dietary fiber content in the packaged coffee beverage to 0.1 to 2.0 g/100 ml.
7. The method for producing a bottled coffee beverage according to 5 or 6, wherein the container is a plastic bottle.

The present invention provides a novel packaged coffee beverage that can be used as an alternative to conventional packaged coffee beverages that contain dairy ingredients, and a method for producing the same.

(Packaged coffee drinks)
In the present invention, the term "coffee beverage" refers to "a beverage made from coffee beans, or a beverage to which sugar, dairy products, emulsified edible oils and fats, or other edible substances have been added and sealed in a container."

The bottled coffee beverage of the present invention has a sugar content of less than 0.5 g/100 ml and a lipid content of 0.4 to 3.5 g/100 ml.
The packaged coffee beverage of the present invention can be made to have an excellent caffe latte flavor, a good aftertaste, and an excellent overall flavor by reducing the sugar content and adjusting the lipid content to a specific range. Conventional packaged coffee beverages containing dairy ingredients contain a lot of sugar, but the present inventors have investigated reducing the sugar content, contrary to the conventional technology, and have focused on the lipid content in order to improve the flavor of packaged coffee beverages through repeated trial and error, and have completed the present invention by combining the sugar content and lipid content within a specific range. The packaged coffee beverage of the present invention is comparable in flavor to conventional packaged coffee beverages containing dairy ingredients and can be used as an alternative.

In the packaged coffee beverage of the present invention, the sugar content is less than 0.5 g/100 ml, preferably less than 0.4 g/100 ml, more preferably less than 0.3 g/100 ml, even more preferably less than 0.2 g/100 ml, even more preferably less than 0.1 g/100 ml, and even more preferably 0 g/100 ml. Since the packaged coffee beverage of the present invention has a sugar content of less than 0.5 g/100 ml, it can be labeled as "zero sugar" in accordance with the Food Labeling Standards (Cabinet Office Order No. 10 of 2015) based on the Food Labeling Act (Act No. 70 of 2013).

In the present invention, the raw materials constituting the carbohydrates are not particularly limited, but examples thereof include glucose, sucrose, lactose, maltose, mannose, galactose, maltotriose, etc.

Since carbohydrates is a concept that includes sugars, the sugar content in the packaged coffee beverage of the present invention is less than 0.5 g/100 ml, preferably less than 0.4 g/100 ml, more preferably less than 0.3 g/100 ml, even more preferably less than 0.2 g/100 ml, even more preferably less than 0.1 g/100 ml, and even more preferably 0 g/100 ml. Since the packaged coffee beverage of the present invention has a sugar content of less than 0.5 g/100 ml, it can be labeled as "zero sugar" in accordance with the Food Labeling Standards (Cabinet Office Order No. 10 of 2015) based on the Food Labeling Act (Act No. 70 of 2013).

In the packaged coffee beverage of the present invention, the lipid content is 0.4 to 3.6 g/100 ml, preferably 0.5 to 3.0 g/100 ml, more preferably 0.6 to 2.5 g/100 ml, even more preferably 0.6 to 2.0 g/100 ml, and even more preferably 0.7 to 1.5 g/100 ml. The lower limit of the lipid content is, for example, 0.4 g/100 ml, 0.5 g/100 ml or more, 0.6 g/100 ml or more, 0.7 g/100 ml or more, 0.8 g/100 ml or more, or 0.9 g/100 ml or more, and the upper limit is, for example, 3.6 g/100 ml or less, 3.0 g/100 ml or less, 2.5 g/100 ml or less, 2.0 g/100 ml or less, 1.5 g/100 ml or less, 1.4 g/100 ml or less, 1.3 g/100 ml or less, 1.2 g/100 ml or less, or 1.1 g/100 ml or less. The lower limit and upper limit of the lipid content exemplified above can be arbitrarily combined to form the content range.

In the present invention, the raw materials constituting the lipids are not particularly limited, and vegetable oils and fats, animal oils and fats, combinations of two or more of these, etc. can be used. Examples of vegetable oils and fats include coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, rapeseed oil, olive oil, corn oil, etc. Examples of animal oils and fats include butter, buttermilk powder, butter oil, cream, milk, concentrated milk, condensed milk, whole milk powder, butter preparations, cream cheese, etc.

In one embodiment of the packaged coffee beverage of the present invention, the packaged coffee beverage has a cafe au lait flavor. Even if the content of dairy ingredients is reduced, the packaged coffee beverage still has a cafe au lait flavor, so it can meet consumer needs as an alternative to packaged coffee beverages that contain dairy ingredients.

In one embodiment of the packaged coffee beverage of the present invention, the packaged coffee beverage may contain dietary fiber, and the dietary fiber content is preferably 0.05 to 3.0 g/100 ml, more preferably 0.05 to 2.5 g/100 ml, and even more preferably 0.1 to 2.0 g/100 ml. This allows the packaged coffee beverage to be endowed with various functionalities associated with dietary fiber. Furthermore, the use of dietary fiber can achieve low sugar content and provide a packaged coffee beverage that has a coffee flavor while also having the richness and thickness of the dairy ingredients.
The dietary fiber that can be used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is usable in foods and beverages, but examples include resistant textulin, polydextrose, guar bean hydrolysate, pectin, inulin, glucomannan, alginic acid, carrageenan, cellulose, etc.

The packaged coffee beverage of the present invention may contain, for example, 0.25 to 1.5% by mass, preferably 0.25 to 1.0% by mass, more preferably 0.3 to 0.8% by mass, and even more preferably 0.4 to 0.6% by mass of coffee solids.

The packaged coffee beverage of the present invention may contain emulsifiers, pH adjusters, sweeteners, and the like, provided the effects of the present invention are not impaired.
The emulsifier may be any of those commonly used in beverages, such as sucrose fatty acid esters, polyglycerin fatty acid esters, soybean lecithin, glycerin fatty acid esters, sorbitan fatty acid esters, etc. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.
The pH adjuster may be any of those commonly used in beverages, such as sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydroxide, dipotassium phosphate, etc. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.
The sweetener may be any of those commonly used in beverages, such as sucralose, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, neotame, stevia, erythritol, Monk fruit extract, etc. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

In the present invention, the container is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a PET bottle, a can, an aluminum pouch, a paper container, a plastic cup, a bottle, or the like, which has a sealable property, and is preferably a PET bottle.

In one embodiment of the packaged coffee beverage of the present invention, it is preferable that the beverage does not contain any dairy ingredients. This allows the sugar content of dairy ingredients to be reduced, and the beverage can be adapted to the health-conscious needs of consumers.

The packaged coffee beverage of the present invention can be produced by the method for producing the packaged coffee beverage of the present invention described below.

(Production method of packaged coffee beverage)
The method for producing a packaged coffee beverage of the present invention includes adjusting the sugar content of the packaged coffee beverage to less than 0.5 g/100 ml and the lipid content to 0.4 to 3.6 g/100 ml. The packaged coffee beverage produced by the method of the present invention has an excellent cafe au lait flavor, a good aftertaste, and an excellent overall flavor, despite having a reduced sugar content.

One embodiment of the method for producing a packaged coffee beverage of the present invention includes adjusting the dietary fiber content in the packaged coffee beverage to 0.1 to 2.0 g/100 ml. This makes it possible to impart various functionalities to the packaged coffee beverage produced.

In the method for producing a packaged coffee beverage of the present invention, other characteristics of the packaged coffee beverage are as described above. In the present invention, a packaged coffee beverage can be produced using the ingredients that make up the coffee beverage in accordance with the procedures described in the Examples.

The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to examples, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the description of these examples.

Examples 1 to 8, Comparative Examples 1 to 2
Brazilian coffee beans (roasting level L value = 20) were added with 8 to 10 times the weight of the coffee beans in water at 95 to 98°C, and extraction was performed. The obtained coffee extract was subjected to a refractometer Brix meter (converted into sucrose) to measure the Brix value. The amount of extract (g) was multiplied by the Brix value (%) to calculate the coffee solids content (mass%) in the extract.
To each of sucrose fatty acid ester (sucrose palmitate, Mitsubishi Chemical Foods Corporation, P-1670) and polyglycerin fatty acid ester (glycerin average degree of polymerization 3 to 4, fatty acid moiety: palmitic acid, stearic acid), 300 times the amount of water by weight was added in advance, and the mixture was stirred at 70 to 80° C. for 30 minutes to disperse until no lumps remained.

According to the formulation shown in Table 1, coffee extract, vegetable oil composition (30% by weight of lipids, 2% by weight of sodium caseinate, 0.6% by weight of emulsifier), fresh cream (47% by weight of lipids), indigestible dextrin, emulsifiers (sucrose fatty acid ester, polyglycerol fatty acid ester), sodium bicarbonate (pH adjuster), and sweeteners (sucralose, acesulfame potassium) were mixed and diluted with water, and thoroughly stirred to dissolve uniformly to prepare a coffee beverage. This beverage was sterilized at 140°C for 30 seconds using a UHT sterilizer, and filled into PET bottles in a sterile environment to obtain a bottled coffee beverage.

The resulting packaged coffee beverages were subjected to a sensory evaluation by five expert panelists using the following indices: caffe latte flavor, aftertaste, and overall flavor (overall evaluation). Each index was scored on a five-point scale from 1 point (negative evaluation of "poor" for each index) to 5 points (positive evaluation of "excellent" for each index), with each score being calculated by rounding off the average score of the five panelists to the nearest tenth.
In the sensory evaluation, the panelists were made to agree on how strong each index should be in order to increase the score by one point.

Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were rated at 1.8 to 2.8 points for each index, whereas Examples 1 to 8 were rated at 3.0 to 4.8 points for each index, and were rated better than the Comparative Examples. The packaged coffee beverages of the Examples had an excellent caffe latte flavor, a good aftertaste, and an excellent overall flavor. It was confirmed that the packaged coffee beverages of the Examples are comparable in flavor to conventional packaged coffee beverages that contain a lot of sugar, and can be used as an alternative.

According to the present invention, a novel packaged coffee beverage having a reduced sugar content can be provided. The packaged coffee beverage of the present invention has a reduced sugar content and therefore satisfies the needs of health-conscious people.

Claims (7)

A packaged coffee beverage with sugar content of less than 0.5g/100ml and lipid content of 0.4-3.6g/100ml. The packaged coffee beverage according to claim 1, wherein the dietary fiber content is 0.1 to 2.0 g/100 ml. The container-packed coffee beverage according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container is a plastic bottle. The packaged coffee beverage according to claim 1 or 2, having a cafe au lait flavor. A method for producing a packaged coffee beverage having a cafe au lait flavor, the method comprising adjusting the sugar content of the packaged coffee beverage to less than 0.5 g/100 ml and the lipid content to 0.4 to 3.6 g/100 ml. The method for producing a packaged coffee beverage according to claim 5, further comprising adjusting the dietary fiber content in the packaged coffee beverage to 0.1 to 2.0 g/100 ml. The method for producing a bottled coffee beverage according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the container is a plastic bottle.