Beverage Flavorings

Beverage flavorings are becoming increasingly important in the beverage industry. They help add flavor, appeal and value to a drink.

Many of these flavors also add a functional element, delivering nutrients or compounds that promote sleep, energy or health benefits. They’re also a chance for brands to create unique flavors that consumers connect with.

Fruit Flavors

Fruit flavors are a popular way to add a sweet, refreshing flavor to beverages. They’re also good for your health.

These flavors are derived from natural sources, such as fruits, vegetables or herbs. They can be extracted, dissolved in water or alcohol, or formulated in an emulsion.

The most common fruit flavor ingredients are essential oils, extracts and concentrates. Typical examples of extracts include vanilla, chocolate and various herb extracts. Other common extracts are berry and citrus, which are used to enhance the taste of drinks.

Aside from flavorings, beverage manufacturers often use additives like sugars to add sweetness. This allows them to add a more varied flavor profile to their products, and also make them more appealing to consumers.

Flavor chemists prepare flavor mixtures that meet strict efficiency and safety guidelines. These mixes are also designed to match specific preferences of consumers.

Some fruit-flavored drinks are loaded with sugar, so if you’re trying to cut down on calories, it might be best to stay away from these types of drinks. However, it’s not impossible to find low-calorie or healthy alternatives that are also flavorful.

In fact, many brands are using fruit-flavored beverages to communicate that their product is better for you or has a lower sugar content than other products. This trend is likely to continue as more consumers seek to improve their health and wellness habits.

The latest trends in fruit-flavored drinks include exotic tropical flavors, botanical accents beverage flavorings and a mix of natural and artificial flavors. For instance, tahitian vanilla is a sophisticated flavor that will be a big hit with consumers this year, while passion guava is an on-trend combination of sun-ripened passion fruit and sweet guava.

These flavor pairings are a fun way to experiment with different tastes and textures in drinks. They’re also a great tool for aspiring bartenders and cocktail connoisseurs.

Citrus Flavors

Citrus flavors are among the most popular and widely used flavorings in beverage products. They add a refreshing and energizing flavor to beverages, as well as provide health benefits. These include boosting immune defense, aiding weight loss and digestion, and supplying antioxidants.

Orange, lemon, and lime flavors are the most commonly used citrus flavors. Several leading food and beverage companies use these flavors in their soft drinks, including PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. However, as new product development trends develop in the beverage industry, some companies are adding other citrus flavors, such as ruby red grapefruit and yuzu.

Minerva Calatayud, strategic marketing director of beverage and sweet flavors for Kerry Ingredients & Flavours, told Beverage Industry that these exotic citrus flavors are more appealing to millennials. She noted that these flavors can be mixed with a variety of other ingredients to create unique flavors that appeal to consumers.

Another challenge facing citrus flavor manufacturers is how to maintain the integrity of these delicate flavor molecules during processing and storage. Because they deteriorate easily during this process, it is important to find ways to preserve these flavors.

As a result, the industry is looking for innovative ways to prolong their shelf life and prevent the generation of unpleasant off-flavors from the degradation products. “There is an ongoing quest to identify stable fractions that can be used to extend the shelf life of these delicate flavor molecules,” says Kellman-Grosinger.

Other solutions that flavor companies have developed to extend the life of their citrus flavors include emulsion technology and brominated vegetable oil (BVO) replacements. “BVO is a very sensitive flavor compound that has been a challenge to replace,” she notes. But she also points out that there is a growing trend in the industry to eliminate it from emulsion-based beverages, as it can produce off-flavors and negatively affect other flavor compounds.

The global market for citrus flavors is expected to grow at a high rate over the next few years. A large share of this growth is coming from the regional markets.

Spice Flavors

Spices are used to flavor many types of foods, including beverages. They are often combined to create blends that have a variety of flavors and aromas, such as vindaloo, sour colombos, or spicy tagines.

Flavors are perceived based on their combination of taste, aroma, and texture. For example, fenugreek seed provides a bitter taste and astringency, fennel seed has a sweet and cooling taste, and cumin has an intense flavor with a richness of smell.

The flavors and fragrances of spices are derived from the volatile components, or aroma compounds, that give them their specific scents and taste. These are made up of phenols, terpenes, and other oxygenated molecules that provide floral, earthy, piney, sweet, or spicy sensations.

Some of these aromatic compounds are also responsible for color. Some spices, such as saffron, paprika, and chile pepper, beverage flavorings are rich in coloring components, such as crocin, carotenoids, and capsanthin. These coloring compounds can be water soluble or oil soluble, depending on the type of spice and how it is used.

These components can help protect human cells against oxidation and free radicals. They can also prevent the growth of microorganisms and other toxins in the body.

Certain spices, such as rosemary, sage, and basil, have been found to act as broad-spectrum antimicrobials. Others, such as licorice, ginger, and garlic, have been shown to act against specific microorganisms.

For these reasons, it is important that spices be stored in tightly closed containers at low temperatures and humidity conditions, and not exposed to sunlight or heat that may accelerate the loss of their aromas and flavor components. This helps maintain their freshness for longer periods of time.

Ground and whole spices are available in various forms, including granulated, crushed, and pulverized. They are suited for a wide range of applications, from flavoring sauces and soups to baking powders and cheese blends.

Dried spices are also available, and can be ground to a finer grind than fresh whole spices, which is useful in high-heat cooking applications. Dried spices can also be encapsulated to prolong their shelf life and keep their full flavor impact.

Bitter Flavors

A bitter flavor may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about beverage flavors, but it can offer a great way to accentuate certain other ingredients. For example, a bit of bitter lemon juice can be incorporated into a creamy chocolate dessert to add an undercurrent of flavor that helps the chocolate shine through.

Bitter flavors can be found in a variety of foods and beverages, including tea, coffee, and dark chocolate. They are also present in bitter greens and other leafy vegetables, herbs and spices, and even fruit such as grapes or oranges.

While the taste of bitterness is often perceived as unpleasant, it has many health benefits and can be a positive addition to a healthy diet. It stimulates production of the body’s self-regulating digestive fluids, which can be particularly beneficial for those with liver and gall bladder issues.

Adding a touch of bitterness to sweet beverages can balance sweetness and sourness, resulting in a balanced flavor that’s enjoyable for all palates. Likewise, it can be used to highlight other flavors in a drink, such as citrus or spice.

In addition to enhancing the natural sweetness of beverages, bitter flavors can help mask off-notes, such as that associated with high-intensity sweeteners like stevia, says Ana Rodriguez, product manager at Imbibe. In this case, she advises combining a high-quality fat source with salt and other food additives early on to neutralize the off-note and then selecting a characterizing flavor that complements it, such as a tangy citrus or coffee.

Another way to boost the bitterness in a recipe is to add a bit of bitter tea or liqueur to a dish. A splash of Aperol or Cynar can add a welcome sour note to braises, stews and other long-simmering dishes, and black tea is also a great addition to frozen desserts.

As with all types of flavorings, bitter flavors can be mixed with other ingredients to create a blend that’s uniquely your own. It’s important to consider where and when the flavor should sit in a dish and how it should be incorporated into the dish, explains David Storrer, a chef and culinary instructor at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.