Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Beverage or beverage concentrate
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-05
2002-04-30
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
C426S285000, C426S654000, C426S590000, C426S453000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06379737
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a novel dissolution agent which is suitable for use in the manufacture of instant beverage products. The present invention also relates to a process for making instant beverage products using the novel dissolution agent described herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Current dry mixes used to prepare many instant beverages, especially instant flavored coffee beverages, typically comprise a mixture of non-dairy creamers, sweeteners, soluble beverage components (e.g. instant coffee products use soluble coffee) and flavors. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,962 (Stipp). Consumers usually prepare flavored instant beverages using, on average, 7.5% solids, and generally in the range of 5%-10% solids. Unfortunately, at a 5-10% dosage of solids, instant beverages prepared from current dry mixes are perceived as thin and watery and do not develop any foamy/frothy head. They also lack the creamy mouthfeel, richness, flavor impact and sweetness that is desired by consumers of such products.
Creamy beverages, generally, and creamy coffee beverages, in particular, typically rely on finely dispersed fat (i.e., homogenized fat) to deliver mouthfeel. This emulsified fat can be delivered by liquid or spray dried non-dairy creamers, whole milk, or low fat milk. However, the fat found at normal levels in current flavored coffee beverages provides insufficient mouthfeel benefits. These mouthfeel benefits can be improved by increasing the level of fat. However, increasing the level of fat creates other issues such as stability of the fat against oxidative reactions, the development of off-flavors, and the potential instability of the emulsion of the non-dairy creamer. Further, since non-dairy creamers typically contain only 35 to 50% fat, delivering increased mouthfeel can require significantly higher volumes or dosages of powdered products. This makes these powdered products less useful, for the consumer, as spoonable executions.
Typically, an instant beverage product contains a mechanical mixture of beverage solids (e.g., instant coffee particles), creamer base, sweetener base, and, if desired, flavorings. Unfortunately, the rate of solubility of these individual components differs, such that the desired ratios of the components do not completely dissolve. For example, the creamer base typically comprises a fatty component and is therefore hydrophobic. As a result, the creamer tends to dissolve less completely or less rapidly as compared to the other components. This, in turn, leaves aesthetically unappealing clumps of undissolved particles floating on the top of the beverage or as sediment in the bottom of the drinking vessel. This hydrophobic property is also characteristic of other fatty materials, such as chocolate, whole milk solids, whole cream solids and flavor oils, frequently included in instant beverage products, particularly flavored instant coffee beverages. Other problems associated with current instant beverage products, particularly flavored instant coffee beverages, include segregation of low and high density particles in the dry mix. Such segregation results in non-uniform ingredient composition between spoonfuls of dry product. This non-uniformity is particularly prevalent in products sweetened with an artificial sweetener.
While vigorous shaking and stirring of such an instant beverage solution may eventually result in a completely dissolved product, this is unsatisfactory for the consumer. The characterization of “instant” should connote ease of preparation, such as little to no stirring, yet result in a readily dissolved product.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for an instant beverage product, particularly a creamy, rich, flavored instant coffee product, that is readily and uniformly soluble. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an instant beverage product, particularly a flavored instant coffee product, that is more readily and uniformly soluble as compared to flavored instant coffee products wherein the creamer and sweetener components occur as individual particles in the dry product. It is a further object of this invention to provide a more dense product via agglomeration than results when using the steam agglomeration process described by Stipp in U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,962, realizing density achieved in agglomeration is formula dependent. The product made as described herein is more dense and allows the consumer to use less scoops or teaspoons of finished product, yet retains a creamy mouthfeel. It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel dissolution agent to be used in the binder solution used in the agglomeration process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a novel dissolution agent, and its use in the manufacture of instant (flavored and unflavored) beverage products, (coffee, hot chocolate, teas, creamy juice drinks, milk shakes, nutritional drinks, and the like, especially instant coffee products), that have improved mouthfeel (“creaminess”, “richness”, “body”, “complexity”, “body-richness”, “substantial”) and thickness, without “sliminess” or “stringiness”.
The present invention also relates to the use of a novel dissolution agent to make a binder solution that will be used during manufacturing in the agglomeration process. The instant beverage products made according to the present invention, (especially preferred are instant coffee products), can deliver a creamy, rich, preferably foamy, beverage with a clean, improved mouthfeel and thickness without “sliminess” or “stringiness”, as well as a higher flavor impact, at a lower dosage of solids (5-10%, preferably 6.5-8.5%, and more preferably 7.5%).
The method for making the flavored instant beverage products of the present invention involves the use of a special blend of emulsifiers as a dissolution agent. Said dissolution agent preferably includes lecithin, propylene glycol, ethoxylated mono and diglycerides, and a sucrose fatty acid ester, combined with maltodextrin and water to make a binder solution. The dissolution agent is used at about 0.20% to about 0.33%, preferably about 0.27%, dry basis of the finished product. The ethoxylated mono and diglycerides, the lecithin, and the propylene glycol together comprise from about 0.1% to about 0.3%, preferably about 0.2%, dry basis of finished product. The lower sucrose fatty acid ester is from about 0.01% to about 0.04%, preferably about 0.02%, dry basis of finished product. During the manufacture of the instant beverage product, a binder solution is prepared using the dissolution agent and is preferably sprayed onto a previously mixed flavored instant beverage product base, preferably in a high intensity agglomerator (for example, a Schugi type agglomerator). The particle size is increased and the binder solution with the dissolution agent is preferably added as the particles are formed so the dissolution agent is thoroughly mixed inside of the newly formed granule.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A. Definitions
“Agglomeration” refers to the preparation of relatively larger particles by combining a number of relatively smaller particles into a single unit. Processes for accomplishing agglomeration are more fully discussed below. It is preferred to use a high intensity agglomerator for the process of the present invention.
“Dissolution agent,” as used herein, refers to a blend of food grade emulsifiers that, when added to the binder solution used in the agglomeration process, results in an instant beverage product which readily dissolves when mixed with water or other suitable liquid. Said dissolution agent aids in dispersion and ultimate dissolution in water of the particles used to make the instant beverage product.
As used herein, the term “lecithin” includes conventional lecithins, acetylated lecithins, and other suitable lecithin or lecithin-like compounds such as de-oiled lecithin, lysolecithins, phosphatidic acid and its salts, lysophosphatidic acid and its salts, and phospholated monoglycerides and any mixture thereof.
By “pol
Butterbaugh Jeffrey Lee
Sargent Jeffrey Alan
Hemm Erich D.
Roof Carl J.
The Procter & Gamble Co.
Weier Anthony J.
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