“Using our proprietary technology we make liquid coffee
extract that contains the entire 20% of the flavor/fragrance and no wood fiber.
It is precisely extracted to meet individual specifications using pure water as
a carrier,” says Kalenian. Traditional methods used to make instant coffee
contain as much as 45% of the bean, which results in an undesirable woody
finish.
Autocrat Coffee & Extracts, Lincoln, R.I., manufactures coffee extracts
using a proprietary, state-of-the-art extractor designed to retain all of the
high-quality coffee notes. “These volatiles provide the best flavor notes
of the coffee bean to come through in dairy products,” says Noreen Carroll,
director of food ingredient sales. “Our process is an all-natural extraction
method without any carriers that can add negative processed notes. The
system provides a variety of concentrations and coffee blends based on customer
needs.”
Brix is the measurement used to quantify the concentration of coffee flavor in
coffee extract. “The brew strength of a typical cup of coffee is about 0.78
brix. So an extract at 23.5 brix is 30 times stronger than a standard cup of
coffee,” Kalenian says. “This brew strength also equates to about 20% solids in
the extract.”
Carroll adds, “Brix is one measurement that is checked to ensure quality of our
extracts. This is in addition to other items on the product specification,
including flavor, physical characteristics and microbiological standards.
“For many years we have been offering both single origin, as well as blended
coffee extracts,” Carroll adds. “Single origin extracts can work well in
products that require upscale marketing techniques. However, one must
consider that a single-origin source has a risk in that if a country has a bad
crop year for any reason, availability and price may prove challenging.”
With single-origin extracts, “The unique flavor of each bean comes through in
the final flavor of the liquid extract,” says Cathy Kalenian, COO of X Café.
“If you are looking for a specific coffee note—from a full-bodied lingering
taste to one that’s highly acidic—we are able to pin down the specific bean or
bean blend that provides that flavor profile.”
Dairy marketers should tout the fact that their products are made from premium
coffee extract, as consumers are seeking out such products because of their
purported health benefits. For example, a new analysis of the Iowa Women’s
Health Study of 27,000 women showed that women ages 55 to 69 who drank one to
three cups a day were 24% less likely to die of heart disease than non-coffee
drinkers. And coffee, even in very low doses, appears to protect the
liver. Kaiser Permanente researchers found less cirrhosis in heavy alcohol
users who also consumed coffee. In fact, drinking less than a cup a day
(the amount possibly in a serving of a coffee dairy product), cut the risk of
cirrhosis by 30% and four or more cups cut it by a remarkable 80%. Coffee
drinkers have also been shown to be about a third less likely to develop
Parkinson’s disease, according to Harvard University investigators. Italian
research found a steeper drop of 80%.
Coffee…it’s no longer an ordinary Joe.
