JP2024114256A - Cola-flavored beverage and method for producing same - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cola flavor beverage which gives an improved clear feeling in drinking it and has reduced persistent sweetness of an aftertaste.SOLUTION: A cola flavor beverage according to the present invention contains a sweetener and linalool, and has a linalool content of 500 ppb or more.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

The present invention relates to a cola-flavored beverage and a method for producing the same.

Cola-flavored beverages have a unique flavor and are one of the beverages that have long been popular with many consumers. In general, cola-flavored beverages are known to contain water, carbon dioxide gas, sweetener, caramel coloring, and cola flavoring. Examples of cola flavoring include cola seed extract, from which the name cola is derived, as well as spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon, and spice-like flavors. Each beverage manufacturer produces the cola-flavored beverage of their choice by devising the selection, combination, and blending of ingredients from among these various cola flavorings.

Incidentally, linalool, nerol, and the like are known as aroma components used in beverages. Patent Document 1 discloses that beer-flavored beverages are made to contain 1 to 1,000 ppb of linalool and 2 to 250 ppb of nerol in order to impart a citrus aroma to the beverage and to suppress deterioration of flavor and generation of undesirable aromas during storage.

JP 2020-96560 A

The present inventors have conducted research to develop a new cola-flavored beverage and have found that the unique flavor of conventional cola-flavored beverages makes them insufficient in terms of refreshing drinking. Furthermore, the inventors have noticed that the unique flavor makes the sweetness artificial, resulting in a lingering sweetness.
Therefore, the present inventors have conducted research to solve the problem of improving the refreshing feeling when drinking a cola-flavored beverage while reducing the sweet aftertaste, and have found that using linalool at a higher concentration than in conventional cola-flavored beverages is effective, thus completing the present invention.
Furthermore, Patent Document 1 does not disclose anything about cola-flavored beverages, and does not focus on the above-mentioned problems that are specific to cola-flavored beverages.

The present invention provides the following cola-flavored beverage and related technology.

[1] A cola-flavored beverage containing a sweetener and linalool, the linalool content of which is 500 ppb or more.
[2] The cola-flavored beverage according to [1], further comprising nerol.
[3] The cola-flavored beverage according to [2], wherein the nerol content is 7 ppb or more.
[4] The cola-flavored beverage according to any one of [1] to [3], which contains carbon dioxide gas.
[5] The cola-flavored beverage according to any one of [1] to [4], having a sweetness index of 2 to 20.
[6] A cola-flavored beverage according to any one of [1] to [5], which is packaged in a container.
[7] A method for producing a cola-flavored beverage containing a sweetener and linalool, comprising:
A method for producing a cola-flavored beverage, comprising the step of adjusting the linalool content to 500 ppb or more.

The present invention provides a cola-flavored beverage that improves the refreshing feeling when consumed while reducing the cloying sweetness of the aftertaste.

The following is a detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention. In this specification, the notation "a to b" in the description of a numerical range means a to b, unless otherwise specified. In addition, "ppm" is synonymous with "mg/L", and "ppb" is synonymous with "μg/L".

<Cola-flavored drink>
The cola-flavored beverage of this embodiment contains a sweetener and linalool, and the linalool content is 500 ppb or more.
This can improve the refreshing feeling when drinking cola flavored beverage, while reducing the sweet aftertaste.The details of the reason are not clear, but it is considered that by making linalool relatively high concentration, it can reduce the difficulty of drinking caused by cola flavor, and the citrus-like aroma of linalool can improve drinking comfort and mask the sweet aftertaste.In addition, it is considered that as a result, it can improve the refreshing feeling and reduce the sweet aftertaste.

Below, we will explain each component contained in the cola-flavored beverage of this embodiment (hereinafter also simply referred to as "beverage").

[Linalool]
Linalool is also called 3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadien-3-ol and is a compound with CAS number 78-70-6. Linalool is contained in many essential oils and is known to have a floral scent, such as that of lily of the valley and lilac.
In this embodiment, the linalool concentration is 500 ppb or more. This can reduce the "sweet aftertaste" while improving the "refreshing feeling". In addition, the spice feeling and the cola drink-like feeling can be improved.
The lower limit of the linalool concentration is preferably 800 ppb or more, more preferably 1000 ppb or more, from the viewpoint of reducing the "sweet aftertaste", improving the "refreshing feeling", and maintaining a moderate spice and cola drink-like taste.
On the other hand, the upper limit of the linalool concentration is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of maintaining a moderate spice feeling and a cola beverage-like flavor, it is preferably 5000 ppb or less, more preferably 4000 ppb or less, and even more preferably 3500 ppb or less.

[Nerol]
The beverage of the present embodiment preferably contains nerol, which provides a synergistic effect with linalool, reducing the "sweet aftertaste" and improving the "refreshing feeling," while also improving the moderate spice and cola beverage-like feel.
Nerol is a compound also called (3Z)-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadien-1-ol, and is the trans isomer of geraniol. Its CAS number is 106-25-2.

In this embodiment, the lower limit of the nerol concentration is preferably 7 ppb or more. On the other hand, the upper limit of the nerol concentration is not particularly limited, but is preferably 100 ppb or less, more preferably 50 ppb or less, in order to maintain the effect of reducing the "sweet aftertaste" while improving the "refreshing feeling."

The above aroma components may be added to the beverage as the individual compounds linalool and nerol, or may be added to the beverage as raw materials or mixtures containing linalool and nerol.

The content of each aroma component contained in the beverage of this embodiment can be quantified by the dynamic headspace (DHS) method using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC/MS) and a Gestell MPS.

[sweetener]
The sweetener may be any known sweetener for beverages. Examples of the sweetener include saccharides such as sucrose (sugar), glucose, granulated sugar, fructose, lactose, maltose, and fructose glucose liquid sugar; sugar alcohols; and high-intensity sweeteners such as thaumatin, stevia extract, disodium glycyrrhizinate, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, aspartame, saccharin, neotame, sodium saccharin, and stevia. Only one type of sweetener may be used, or two or more types may be used in combination.

[Other ingredients]
The beverage of the present embodiment may contain aroma components, flavorings, colorants, acidulants, pH adjusters, various nutritional components, diluents, antioxidants, thickening stabilizers, etc. other than those described above, as long as the effects of the present invention are obtained.

(Fragrance)
The flavoring includes spices, spice-like flavors, and various flavors other than the spice-like flavors.
Examples of flavorings include cola nut, cinnamon, cinnamon bark, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, vanilla spice, cardamom, coriander, root beer, sassafras, and ginseng, etc. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.
Examples of spice-like flavors (spice-based flavors) include cola-like flavors.

(Coloring agents)
The coloring agent may be caramel color or the like.

(Acidulant)
Examples of the acidulant include citric acid, adipic acid, gluconic acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, phytic acid, ascorbic acid, phosphoric acid, and salts thereof.

(Fruit juice)
The beverage of the present embodiment may contain fruit juice. For example, citrus juices such as lemon juice, orange juice, mandarin juice, grapefruit juice, lime juice, mandarin juice, and yuzu juice, apple juice, peach juice, strawberry juice, banana juice, melon juice, grape juice, and mango juice may be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds.

[Cola flavor]
The cola flavor is intended to mean a flavor and aroma that is exhibited by a so-called cola beverage when consumed. The cola flavor can be obtained by a known method, and examples of the raw materials include one or more selected from cola seed extract, cola flavorings such as spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon, caffeine, etc.
The cola flavored beverage of the present embodiment is not limited to beverages containing cola seed extract.

[Carbon dioxide]
The beverage of the present embodiment preferably contains carbon dioxide gas, which can further enhance the cola flavor.
When carbon dioxide gas is contained, the carbon dioxide gas pressure is preferably 2.8 gas volumes or more, more preferably 3.0 gas volumes or more, and even more preferably 3.3 gas volumes or more, which can further improve the flavor similar to that of a cola drink.
On the other hand, from the viewpoint of maintaining the palatability of the carbonated beverage and suppressing gas leakage, the carbon dioxide pressure is preferably 5.5 gas volumes or less, more preferably 5.0 gas volumes or less, and even more preferably 4.5 gas volumes or less.

In addition, when the beverage of this embodiment contains carbon dioxide gas, the physical properties such as pH, citric acid acidity, Brix, etc. are intended to be values for the beverage from which the carbon dioxide gas has been removed.

The gas volume in a carbonated beverage can be measured by a known method. For example, it can be measured using a commercially available measuring device (Kyoto Electronics Manufacturing Co., Ltd. gas volume measuring device GVA-700). More specifically, after a sample (carbonated beverage to be measured) is cooled to 20°C, a gas pressure gauge is attached, the stopcock is opened once to release gas (sniff), the stopcock is immediately closed and the beverage is vigorously shaken, and the gas volume can be calculated from the value at which the pressure becomes constant.
In this embodiment, the gas volume (carbon dioxide pressure) represents the volume of carbon dioxide dissolved in a carbonated beverage relative to the total volume of the carbonated beverage at 1 atmosphere and 20°C.

[Brix value]
The Brix value (Bx) of the beverage of this embodiment is preferably 0.1 or more and 15 or less, and more preferably 0.2 or more and 12 or less.
By setting the Brix value within the above range, a good cola flavor can be obtained, and the effect of improving the refreshing feeling while reducing the cloying sweetness of the aftertaste becomes more pronounced.

The Brix value can be measured, for example, by measuring the sugar refractometer reading at 20° C. using a digital refractometer Rx-5000α (manufactured by Atago Co., Ltd.).
The Brix value can also be adjusted by, for example, the amount of sweetener and the amounts of various other ingredients.

[Sweetness]
The sweetness of the beverage of this embodiment can be set appropriately depending on the preference of the beverage, but from the viewpoint of obtaining a more significant effect of reducing the cloying sweetness of the aftertaste while improving the refreshing feeling, a sweetness of 2 to 20 is preferable, and a sweetness of 5 to 12 is more preferable.

Incidentally, "sweetness" is a parameter indicating the intensity of sweetness of each sweetener compared to sucrose, and values described in, for example, "A Comprehensive Guide to Sweeteners" (published by the Sugar Refining Industry Association in May 1990), "All about the High-Intensity Sweetener Sucralose" (published by Korin Co., Ltd. in May 2003), and "Dictionary of Beverage Terms" (published by Beverage Japan Co., Ltd. on June 25, 1999) can be used.
The sweetness of a beverage can be calculated based on the sweetness of the sweetness component indicated on the container of the bottled beverage and the content of the sweetness component identified by analysis, etc. If the above method cannot be used for calculation, a trained taste sensory panelist can perform a sensory evaluation using a standard sweetness solution to identify the concentration of a sucrose solution that has the same sweetness as the beverage, and use that concentration as the sweetness.

[acidity]
The beverage of this embodiment preferably has a citric acid acidity of 0.04 g/100 ml or more and 0.20 g/100 ml or less, and more preferably 0.05 g/100 ml or more and 0.18 g/100 ml or less.
By setting the acidity within the above range, a good cola flavor can be obtained.

The acidity of citric acid can be expressed as the amount of acid contained in 100 ml converted into citric acid in grams (g anhydrous citric acid/100 ml). Acidity can also be measured by the method specified in the acidity measurement method of the JAS standard, specifically the neutralization titration method (quantitative method) using 0.1 mol/L sodium hydroxide standard solution as the alkaline solution.

[pH]
The pH of the beverage of this embodiment at 20° C. is preferably 2.0 or more and 3.2 or less, more preferably 2.2 or more and 3.0 or less, and even more preferably 2.3 or more and 2.8 or less.
By adjusting the pH to fall within the above range, a good cola flavor can be obtained.

The pH can be measured using a commercially available pH meter. The pH can be adjusted, for example, by changing the amount of a specific acid or by using a pH adjuster such as trisodium citrate.

[container]
Examples of containers used for the beverage of this embodiment include sealed containers made of glass, paper, plastic (polyethylene terephthalate, etc.), aluminum, steel, etc., or composite or laminated materials thereof. The type of container is not particularly limited, but examples include PET bottles, aluminum cans, steel cans, paper packs, chilled cups, bottles, etc. From the viewpoint of maintaining the flavor of the beverage, steel cans are preferred, and from the viewpoints of being lightweight and resealable, PET bottles, steel cans, and aluminum cans with lids are preferred.

The volume of the beverage is not particularly limited, but 100 to 2000 g is preferable, and 200 to 500 g is even more preferable in terms of ease of drinking.

The method of heat sterilization when the beverage of this embodiment is packed in a container is not particularly limited, but in Japan, heat sterilization is performed in accordance with the provisions of the Food Sanitation Act. Specifically, there is a method in which the beverage is sterilized at high temperature for a short time and then filled into a storage container that has been sterilized under aseptic conditions (UHT sterilization method), and a retort sterilization method in which the prepared liquid is filled into a storage container such as a can and then retorted.

[Type of drink]
Furthermore, the beverage of this embodiment may be either a concentrated type or a straight type, but is preferably a straight type beverage that is consumed as is without being diluted.
The beverage is preferably a so-called Ready To Drink (RTD) beverage.

The beverage of this embodiment is preferably a non-alcoholic beverage. A non-alcoholic beverage refers to a beverage that does not substantially contain alcohol, specifically a beverage that contains less than 1.0 volume/volume percent of alcohol, such as ethanol.

[Sales temperature]
The beverage of this embodiment may be either room temperature or cold, and can be appropriately set depending on the sales season, but is preferably cold. Note that cold refers to a beverage whose liquid temperature is lower than room temperature, i.e., cooled to about 4 to 15°C.

<Production method of beverage>
The beverage manufacturing method of this embodiment is a method for manufacturing a cola-flavored beverage containing a sweetener and linalool, and includes a step of adjusting the linalool content to 500 ppb or more.
This results in a cola-flavored beverage that can improve the refreshing feeling when drinking the cola-flavored beverage while reducing the sweet aftertaste. Known methods can be used for preparation, mixing, etc. The physical properties, components, etc. of the resulting beverage are the same as those of the beverage described above.

The above describes embodiments of the present invention, but these are merely examples of the present invention, and various configurations other than those described above can also be adopted.

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples and comparative examples, but the present invention is not limited to these.

(1) Quantitative Determination of Aroma Components in Beverages The concentrations (ppb or ppm) of linalool and nerol in the beverages were measured as follows.
10 g of each beverage to be analyzed was placed in a 20 ml vial and sealed.
The mixture was introduced into a GC/MS (Agilent Technologies) by the dynamic headspace (DHS) method using a Gestell MPS.
A calibration curve was prepared by the standard addition method, using cyclohexanol as the internal standard.
[GC/MS analysis conditions]
GC: 8890 manufactured by Agilent Technologies.
MS: 5977B manufactured by Agilent Technologies.
Collection tube (adsorbent): CarbopackBandCarbopackX
Column: Agilent Technologies HP-INNNOWAX 60 m x 0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 μm.
Injection method: solvent vent. Carrier gas: He.
Inlet temperature: 240° C. Transfer line: 250° C.
Oven temperature: 40°C (5 min) → 3°C/min → 100°C → 6°C/min → 240°C (10 min).
MS conditions: Scan mode Quantitative ions: Linalool m/z 93, Nerol m/z 69, cyclohexanol (internal target) m/z 57

(2) Physical properties of beverages: pH: The pH at 20° C. was measured using a pH meter (manufactured by DKK-Toa Corporation).
Brix: The sugar refractometer reading at 20° C. was measured using a digital refractometer Rx-5000α (manufactured by Atago Co., Ltd.).

(3) Sensory Evaluation Six developers who are skilled in sensory evaluation tasted each beverage and evaluated them according to the following evaluation criteria (7-level scale; 1 to 7 points) for "sweet aftertaste,""refreshingfeeling,""spicyfeeling," and "likeness of a cola beverage," and calculated the average value. The control (base liquid) was given a score of 4.

・Rating scale: 7 points - Very strong compared to the control.
6 points: Stronger than control.
5 points: Slightly stronger than control.
4 points: Very strong compared to control.
3 points: slightly weaker than the control.
2 points: Weaker than control.
1 point: Very weak compared to control.

(4) Examples and Comparative Examples A cola beverage using the following ingredients was used as a base liquid (sweetness 6, Brix 1.53, pH 2.62, citric acidity 0.073, carbon dioxide pressure 3.56 gas volume), and linalool and nerol were mixed to the contents shown in Table 1 below to obtain each beverage. The obtained beverages were subjected to the above (3) sensory evaluation measurement and evaluation. The results are shown in Table 1.
Ingredients: Resistant dextrin, carbonic acid, caramel color, flavoring, acidulant, sweetener (aspartame, L-phenylalanine compound, acesulfame potassium, sucralose), calcium gluconate, caffeine

(5) Analysis of commercial products Commercially available cola-flavored beverages A to D with the product name "Cola" were prepared, and the linalool concentration, nerol concentration, Brix, and carbon dioxide pressure of each were measured. The results are shown in Table 2.

Claims (7)

A cola-flavored beverage containing a sweetener and linalool, the linalool content of which is 500 ppb or more. The cola-flavored beverage according to claim 1, further comprising nerol. The cola-flavored beverage according to claim 2, wherein the nerol content is 7 ppb or more. The cola-flavored beverage according to claim 1 or 2, which contains carbon dioxide gas. The cola-flavored beverage according to claim 1 or 2, having a sweetness level of 2 to 20. The cola-flavored beverage according to claim 1 or 2, which is packaged in a container. A method for producing a cola-flavored beverage containing a sweetener and linalool, comprising:
A method for producing a cola-flavored beverage, comprising the step of adjusting the linalool content to 500 ppb or more.