Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Beverage or beverage concentrate
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-21
2003-04-08
Weier, Anthony J. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Beverage or beverage concentrate
C426S651000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06544576
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to compositions for providing aroma at the time of preparation of a coffee beverage, and to particulate soluble coffee product compositions containing such coffee beverage preparation aroma compositions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The production of soluble, or instant, coffee powder involves processing conditions such as elevated temperature, which causes loss of desirable coffee aroma. Unless additional steps are taken in its manufacture, there is very little aroma associated with hot coffee beverages prepared from instant coffee powder relative to the aroma of hot coffee beverages prepared by brewing roast and ground coffee. Many attempts have been made to enhance the aroma of instant coffee products, including the use of particular types of coffee beans, the use of particular coffee roasting conditions, and the addition of coffee aroma. The present invention relates to the addition of coffee aroma to instant coffee and, in particular, to such addition which results in a burst of preparation aroma.
It is known to prepare natural and artificial coffee aromas and flavors for addition to instant coffee. Such aromas and flavors are usually complex, comprising many organoleptically active compounds, which combine in effect to create the characterizing aroma of the product. Since aromas and flavors are extremely powerful and typically unstable in their undiluted state they are combined with a carrier to render them stable and easier to handle. The carriers are neutral or complementary in organoleptic impact and do not contribute to the characterizing aroma of the product.
Carriers can be water-soluble solids or liquid. In cases where a liquid carrier is used, it is often encapsulated in a solid, water-soluble matrix to further preserve the characterizing aromas from loss or damage. The carrier, often referred to as a solvent in liquid systems, functions as an aroma base and is used to adjust the level of otherwise powerful aroma and taste substances to levels similar to those that exist in nature. Desirable characteristics of carriers for liquid systems include blandness and miscibility with other liquid carriers and with liquid aromas. Traditional liquid carriers include ethanol, propylene glycol, glycerol, vegetable oil, benzyl alcohol, triacetin, tripropionin, triethyl citrate, and tributyrin.
The aroma constituent of an aromatizing composition characterizes its aroma, i.e., the innate quality that gives the aroma its special attributes among and over other aromas. The aroma constituent may, and often does, include a plurality of aroma ingredients which together result in the characterizing aroma.
When a preparation aroma is desired upon rehydration of such flavors and aromas in a dehydrated food or beverage such compositions are limited in effectiveness because of poor aroma release. When a solid carrier is used, the release or aroma is poor because the diffusion of rehydrating liquid into the particle during rehydration inhibits the counter-diffusion of aroma out. In this way, the vast majority of the characterizing aroma constituents end up in the rehydrating liquid. An aroma burst can be obtained by increasing the loading of characterizing aroma constituents into the carrier but this typically leads to an overwhelmingly strong or unbalanced flavor in the product when consumed.
Likewise poor aroma release is obtained when traditional liquid carriers are used, whether or not they are encapsulated. Those which are water-soluble suffer the same problems as with soluble solid carriers. The flux of water into the carrier inhibits the diffusion of the aromas out. Furthermore, many carriers have a density greater than 1.0 g/cc so they sink in the product during hydration and aromas are released into the rehydration liquid rather than being released at the surface to effect preparation aroma. Finally, those conventional carriers which do float and are insoluble in water are of an oily or fattynature. Though these can be arranged to release aroma at the surface they leave an unsightly and often organoleptically and visually undesirable “slick” at the surface of the product.
A particular problem which has been noted in connection with instant coffee is the relative lack of coffee aroma that is generated at the time that a hot instant coffee beverage is prepared compared to the coffee aroma that is generated when brewing coffee. This problem of poor preparation aroma (i.e., poor aroma burst or “above-cup aroma” at the time of preparation of an instant coffee beverage) is noted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,368 assigned to Nestec S. A. and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,178 also assigned to Nestec S. A. Each of these patents describes several prior art attempts to provide an initial burst of above-cup coffee aroma, such as by coating soluble coffee powder with an aqueous emulsion of an aromatic coffee substance, or by employing particulate aromatized coffee glass. It is reported in each of these U.S. patents that these and other previously known procedures had not been successful in achieving good preparation aroma. The '368 patent proposes a method of coextruding capsule particles in which a liquid core material containing aromatized coffee oil is encapsulated within a shell of hardened coffee glass. The shell encapsulates a core of aromatized coffee oil saturated with an inert gas under pressure. The '178 patent also describes known techniques for aromatizing instant coffee and notes that techniques which may provide good package aroma (i.e., aroma in a coffee container) do not provide good preparation aroma. The '178 patent reports that the method of the '368 patent provides excellent entrapment of the aroma but that complex machinery and careful control are required. The '178 patent proposes a modified method of preparing the aromatized coffee capsule particles which method is said to have the advantage of simplicity.
The amount of preparation aroma which can be achieved by incorporating aromatized coffee particles, such as those described in the '368 and '178 patents, in an instant coffee product, depends in part on the amount of such particles employed. Good preparation aroma can be achieved by employing a sufficient amount of the aromatized capsules. However, the more capsules that are employed, the more capsule material, particularly coffee oil, that is introduced. The added coffee oil accumulates as an oil film on the surface of the coffee beverage. Such oil films are readily apparent and are widely known to impair consumer acceptance of instant coffee.
A need arises to provide soluble coffee product compositions with good coffee preparation aroma without requiring the use of amounts of other ingredients, such as vegetable oils, that would adversely affect the properties of coffee beverages prepared from the aromatized coffee product compositions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the invention provides a particulate coffee aroma composition comprising a coffee aroma constituent and a volatile organic carrier constituent, said volatile organic carrier constituent being in the liquid state at 25° C. and atmospheric pressure, and having a vapor pressure of at least 0.01 mm Hg at 25° C., a boiling point in the range of 25 to 250° C., a density of less than 1.0 g/cc at 25° C., and water solubility of not more than about 10% by weight at 25° C.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a particulate coffee beverage preparation aroma composition comprising particles having a solid water soluble matrix, said matrix having physically entrapped therein a coffee aroma composition, said coffee aroma composition comprising a coffee aroma constituent and a volatile organic carrier constituent, said volatile organic carrier constituent being in the liquid state at 25° C. and atmospheric pressure, and having a vapor pressure of at least 0.01 mm Hg at 25° C., a boiling point in the range of 25 to 250° C., a density of less than 1.0 g/cc at 25° C., and water solubility of not more than about 10% by weight at 25° C.
In a
Ceriali Stefano
Gaonkar Anilkumar G.
Wragg Anthony
Zeller Bary L.
Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc.
Larson & Taylor PLC
Weier Anthony J.
LandOfFree
Coffee beverage preparation aroma system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Coffee beverage preparation aroma system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Coffee beverage preparation aroma system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3067912