Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Beverage or beverage concentrate
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-04
2002-12-31
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
C426S590000, C426S598000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06500478
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a coffee-substitute and more particularly, to a coffee-substitute produced from white corn.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hot coffee beverages are widely consumed throughout the world and are generally prepared from roasted coffee. Many consumers enjoy the taste and/or aroma of roasted coffee. In addition, many consumers believe that the consumption of coffee reduces stress during the workday.
The U.S. consumes about 70% of the world's coffee crop or about 3 cups a day for each American. Coffee beverages contain about 100 mg caffeine per cup (per 8 ounces).
Unfortunately, caffeine has many adverse side effects. Caffeine stimulates the nervous system. Excessive amounts of caffeine can make people tense, irritable, and unable to sleep. It also increases diuresis and dilates the vascular system. In some cases, it elevates the heart rate to unsafe levels. Caffeine can also irritate the alimental canal. It is common for people diagnosed with sensitive stomachs, colons and the like to be required, as part of their medical treatment, to refrain from ingesting caffeine. Moreover, caffeine can penetrate the placenta and is possibly linked to birth defects.
As a result of the health problems associated with the ingestion of excessive caffeine, such as those enumerated hereinabove, in 1980, the Food and Drug Administration has removed caffeine from its Generally Recognized As SAFE (GRAS) list to an interim list. In view of the health concerns related to the ingestion of excessive amounts of caffeine, to avoid excessive consumption of caffeine, many consumers began drinking decaffeinated coffee or beverages prepared from coffee substitutes.
Coffee substitutes have been prepared from various starch materials. For example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,324 to Shirbroun, green soybeans are used to make coffee substitutes. More specifically, green soy beans are defatted, preferably by crushing, prior to grinding and roasting. In one embodiment, the green soybeans are presoaked prior to crushing and defatting. Thereafter, the crushed, defatted soybeans are dried at 250° F. to 350° F. to a moisture content of from 11 to 13 wt %. The dried soybeans are then ground and roasted. Shirbroun prefers slow roasting, preferably at 350° F. to 325° F. for up to 45 minutes, until the product has the appearance of ground coffee.
While consumers describe the brewed product prepared in accordance with the method of Shirbroun as having the appearance and taste of coffee, they also noted some soy aroma. To many coffee drinkers aroma is essential to the enjoyment of coffee. Accordingly, the coffee thus prepared is not entirely satisfactory to all coffee drinkers.
Moreover, consumers who enjoy the taste imparted by beverages prepared from caffeinated coffee found the taste of decaffeinated coffee or other coffee substitutes unsatisfactory. A great majority of consumers are unable to accept those products as a substitute for caffeinated regular coffee due to their somewhat inferior taste, aroma, and flavor. Many consumers thus avoid drinking non-caffeinated coffee or coffee substitutes for this reason and have continued to drink regular caffeinated coffee.
Nevertheless, a large number of consumers are desirous of obtaining a product containing significantly lower amounts of caffeine than in pure coffee products, provided the product could yield a brewed beverage closely resembling brewed coffee in taste, flavor and aroma. Unfortunately, to date, no such product has been satisfactory.
The present inventor has found such a product. It has the taste, aroma and appearance of caffeinated coffee, but it is not coffee. In fact, it does not contain any caffeine, and thus avoids the health problems associated with caffeinated coffee.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a coffee-like product, the composition of which contains white corn, a first component selected from the group consisting of whole allspice pepper and whole cloves or combination thereof, and a second component selected from the group consisting of cinnamon and vanilla or combination thereof, said first and second components and corn being roasted together and ground, said white corn being present as the major component, and the first and second components being present together in amounts sufficient to mask the corn flavor and to impart a coffee-like aroma thereto.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention is directed to a coffee-substitute comprised of white corn, allspice pepper or cloves or combination thereof and cinnamon or vanilla or combination thereof.
The major component of the coffee-like composition of the present invention is white corn, which is usually the whole ground or stone-ground corn. Of all of the corn products, the present inventor has found that white corn is the most preferable. The white corn product used in the present composition is commercially available. The white corn should be a relatively dry solid. It should be removed from the stalk, which is effected by conventional methods. The whole kernel is used, which may be obtained commercially or from white corn on the cob and the kernel removed by conventional means. In addition, in lieu of the grain and whole kernel corn, a ground product may be utilized or a combination of any of the aforementioned forms. In fact, the present inventor has found that the white corn commercially available could be used as is to make the present coffee-like product by the present process, i.e., no further treatments are required.
The present inventor has found that a product prepared from the white corn itself, without any additional ingredients, is totally unsatisfactory. It had a very strong bitter taste. It did not possess the flavor, aroma or taste of coffee.
To mask the bitter taste and to impart the coffee flavor thereto, the present inventor added additional components thereto.
The first component added thereto is whole allspice pepper, or whole cloves or a combination thereof.
Allspice pepper is the dried, unripe berries of a shiny leafed evergreen tree indigenous to the western hemisphere. The berries are reddish brown, round and smooth and about 1 cm in diameter. The flavor thereof has been described as a combination of spices, viz., cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. It is commercially available and is sold as a relatively dry solid. The commercial product can be used “as is” without further treatment.
Cloves are the dried unopened flower buds of an evergreen tree of the myrtle family. Cloves are 1-1.25 um long and resemble a rounded top nail. It has a strong and aromatic flavor. It is commercially available. It is commercially sold as a relatively dry product. Whole cloves can be used “as is” without further treatment.
The preferred first component is whole allspice pepper.
The second component is cinnamon, or vanilla or combination thereof.
Cinnamon, as used herein is either Cassia (species
Cinnamomum cassia
) or the species
Cinnamomum zeylanicum
. True cinnamon, from the latter species, has a pale color and has a very mild delicate flavor. Cassia, which is what is generally imported into the United States and which is generally sold in supermarkets, is darker red with a much stronger flavor. Both come from the bark of evergreen trees, which is peeled off and allowed to curl into cinnamon sticks. It is preferred that the cinnamon used in the process of the present invention is cassia. In addition, it is preferred that the cinnamon used in the present process is in the form of a stick. The cinnamon should be relatively dry. The cinnamon is commercially available in the United States and can be used as commercially sold, without further treatment.
Vanilla, as used herein, is the common term for the alcoholic extract of the vanilla bean, which is the fruit of a thick tropical vanilla orchid vine. The vanilla that is useful in the present invention is the extract that has been cured by techniques known in the art, which includes the following well known steps: (1) wetting or killing of t
Scully Scott Murphy & Presser
Weier Anthony J.
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