Beverage aroma adjusting method and beverage aroma adjusting device

Abstract

To provide a technique related to adjusting the aroma of a beverage.SOLUTION: The method for adjusting the aroma of the beverage is a method for adjusting the aroma of the beverage prepared by using drinking water, wherein at least one of the alkalinity and hardness of the drinking water is adjusted to adjust the amount of the aroma component of the beverage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a beverage aroma adjustment method and a beverage aroma adjustment device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a coffee maker. This coffee maker is provided with a hardness adjusting means for adjusting whether to soften the water supplied to the heating means by removing metal ions or to harden the water by adding hardness components. Patent Document 1 states that coffee tastes strongly sour when made with soft water, and that increasing the hardness of the water makes the taste more mellow. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-276351 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Various studies have been conducted to date on the effect that differences in water hardness have on the taste of beverages. However, the effect that differences in water quality, including hardness, have on the aroma of beverages has not been fully studied. If the aroma of a beverage could be strengthened according to the water quality, the aroma of the beverage could be fully enjoyed. Furthermore, if the aroma of a beverage could be adjusted according to the water quality, changes in the aroma of a beverage due to differences in water quality between regions could be reduced. Furthermore, if the aroma of a beverage could be adjusted according to the water quality, it may be possible to reproduce the unique aroma of a beverage that was previously only found in a specific region in other regions.

[0005] The present disclosure is intended to solve at least part of the above problems, and aims to provide technology related to adjusting the aroma of beverages and to utilize that technology. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage disclosed herein is a method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage prepared using drinking water, in which at least one of the alkalinity and hardness of the drinking water is adjusted to adjust the amount of aroma components in the beverage. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a beverage aroma adjustment device according to Example 1. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the beverage aroma adjustment device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 shows the results of a principal component analysis of aroma components of black tea when the alkalinity was adjusted. [Figure 4] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the alkalinity of drinking water and the amount of characteristic aroma components of black tea. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 shows the results of a principal component analysis of aroma components of chamomile tea when the alkalinity was adjusted. [Figure 6] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the alkalinity of drinking water and the amount of characteristic aroma components of chamomile tea. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the results of a principal component analysis of aroma components of coffee when the alkalinity is adjusted. [Figure 8] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the alkalinity of drinking water and the amount of aroma components characteristic of coffee. [Figure 9] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the alkalinity of drinking water and the amount of acetal compounds in sweet potato shochu, rice shochu, and whiskey. [Figure 10] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the pH of a 10% ethanol solution and the amount of decomposition products of an acetal compound. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a beverage aroma adjustment device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the beverage aroma adjustment device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13]1 is a graph showing the relationship between the alkalinity of drinking water and the amount of acetal compounds in sweet potato shochu, rice shochu, and whiskey. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 shows the results of a principal component analysis of aroma components of black tea when the hardness was adjusted. [Figure 15] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the hardness of drinking water and the amount of aroma components characteristic of black tea. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the results of a principal component analysis of aroma components of coffee when the hardness is adjusted. [Figure 17] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the hardness of drinking water and the amount of aroma components characteristic of coffee. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a beverage aroma adjustment device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the beverage aroma adjustment device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the production of isovaleraldehyde from leucine. [Figure 21] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the residual chlorine concentration and alkalinity of drinking water and the amount of aroma components related to the unpleasant odor of chamomile. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a beverage aroma adjustment device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 1 shows the results of a principal component analysis of aroma components of black tea when the alkalinity and hardness were adjusted. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a heat map of aroma components of black tea when alkalinity and hardness are adjusted. [Figure 25] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the alkalinity and hardness of drinking water and the amount of aroma components characteristic of black tea. [Figure 26] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the alkalinity and hardness of drinking water and the amount of characteristic chamomile aroma components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. Any combination of the following embodiments without causing any contradiction is also included in the embodiments for carrying out the invention. [1] The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage disclosed herein is a method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage prepared using drinking water, in which at least one of the alkalinity and hardness of the drinking water is adjusted to adjust the amount of aroma components in the beverage. [2] In the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage described in [1] above, the beverage is an extract extracted from a raw material using drinking water, and it is preferable to carry out either a process of increasing the alkalinity of the drinking water to increase the amount of the aroma components, or a process of decreasing the alkalinity of the drinking water to decrease the amount of the aroma components. [3] In the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage described in [1] above, the beverage is an extract extracted from a raw material using drinking water, and it is preferable to carry out either a process of reducing the hardness of the drinking water to increase the amount of the aroma components, or a process of increasing the hardness of the drinking water to decrease the amount of the aroma components. [4] In the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage described in [1] above, the beverage is an extract extracted from a raw material using drinking water, and it is preferable to adjust the alkalinity of the drinking water and the hardness of the drinking water to change the composition of the aroma components of the beverage, thereby changing the aroma tone. [5] In the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage described in [1] above, the beverage is a dilution obtained by diluting a beverage base with drinking water, and the pH of the beverage base is less than 6. It is preferable to carry out either a process of increasing the alkalinity of the drinking water to increase the amount of the aroma components, or a process of decreasing the alkalinity of the drinking water to decrease the amount of the aroma components. [6] The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage described in any of [1] to [5] above may include treating the water to be treated to reduce at least one of the alkalinity and hardness to obtain primary treated water, and then adding at least one of an alkalinity-increasing component that increases the alkalinity of the water and a hardness-increasing component that increases the hardness of the water to the primary treated water to obtain the drinking water. [7] The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage described in any of [1] to [5] above may involve treating water to remove residual chlorine to obtain primary treated water, and then adding at least one of a component that increases the alkalinity of the water and a component that increases the hardness of the water to the primary treated water to obtain the drinking water. [8] The beverage aroma adjusting device of the present disclosure is a device that performs the beverage aroma adjusting method described in any of [1] to [7] above, and is equipped with an addition unit that adds at least one of an alkalinity increasing component that increases the alkalinity of water and a hardness increasing component that increases the hardness of water. [9] The beverage aroma adjusting device described in [8] above may be provided with a reduction processing unit upstream of the adding unit that performs a process to reduce at least one of alkalinity and hardness.

[10] The beverage aroma adjustment device described in either [8] or [9] above may further include a residual chlorine removal unit that removes residual chlorine upstream of the addition unit.

[0009] Embodiments 1, 2, and 3 of the beverage aroma adjustment method of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, when a numerical range is described using "greater than or equal to" or "less than or equal to," the range includes both the lower limit and the upper limit unless otherwise specified. For example, the expression "10 or greater and 20 or less" includes both the lower limit of "10" and the upper limit of "20." In this specification, the upper and lower limits of each numerical range can be combined in any combination.

[0010] <Embodiment 1> The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage disclosed herein is a method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage prepared using drinking water, and involves adjusting at least one of the alkalinity and hardness of the drinking water to adjust the amount of aroma components in the beverage. The present disclosure was developed based on the new findings that the amount of aroma components in a beverage can be adjusted depending on the alkalinity of the water and that the amount of aroma components in a beverage can be adjusted depending on the hardness of the water. That is, the present disclosure was discovered by discovering a previously unknown attribute of drinking water in which at least one of the alkalinity and hardness has been adjusted, that is, that the drinking water is suitable for adjusting the aroma of a beverage. Furthermore, such a use of drinking water is a new one that differs from previously known uses, such as adjusting the taste of a beverage.

[0011] Drinking water can be obtained by subjecting water to a treatment that adjusts at least one of its alkalinity and hardness. Alkalinity is expressed as the amount of calcium carbonate (mg / L) corresponding to the amount of acid consumed to reach a predetermined pH value when water is titrated with a strong acid such as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid. The alkalinity (mg / L) in this disclosure is the acid consumption (pH 4.8) measured in accordance with JIS K0101 13.1. The hardness (mg / L) in this disclosure is the total hardness measured in accordance with JIS K0101 15.1. The treatment for adjusting at least one of its alkalinity and hardness will be described later.

[0012] The water to be treated can be any type of water suitable for drinking. The water to be treated can be selected from the group consisting of tap water, RO water, purified water, ion-exchanged water, ultrapure water, mineral water, and bottled water. RO water refers to water treated with a reverse osmosis membrane. Purified water refers to water treated with a water purifier. A water purifier, for example, is equipped with a filter media capable of reducing dissolved substances in raw water and filters the raw water to obtain purified water. From the standpoints of cost and quality stability, the water to be treated is preferably tap water, RO water obtained by treating tap water with a reverse osmosis membrane, or purified water obtained by treating tap water with a water purifier. The alkalinity and hardness of tap water are not constant and vary depending on the region and the season, making the technology disclosed herein particularly effective. For example, in the 2022 Water Quality Test Annual Report, the alkalinity of tap water at 14 locations from Hokkaido to Kagoshima was found to have a minimum value of 14.1 mg / L and a maximum value of 50.9 mg / L. Measurements by the present inventors revealed that the alkalinity of tap water collected in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture was 14 mg / L, the alkalinity of tap water collected in Asaka City, Saitama Prefecture was 65 mg / L, and the alkalinity of tap water collected in Suginami Ward, Tokyo was 80 mg / L.

[0013] The alkalinity of the water to be treated, i.e., the alkalinity before adjustment, is not particularly limited. The alkalinity of the water to be treated is, for example, 0 mg / L to 2000 mg / L, 0 mg / L to 800 mg / L, or 0 mg / L to 200 mg / L. If the water to be treated is Japanese tap water, it is usually 10 mg / L to 80 mg / L. The hardness of the water to be treated, i.e., the hardness before adjustment, is not particularly limited. The hardness of the water to be treated is, for example, 0 mg / L to 2000 mg / L, 0 mg / L to 1000 mg / L, or 0 mg / L to 600 mg / L. If the water to be treated is Japanese tap water, it is usually 10 mg / L to 120 mg / L. The pH of the water to be treated, i.e., the pH before adjustment, is not particularly limited. The pH of the water to be treated is, for example, 4.0 to 10. If the water to be treated is Japanese tap water, it is usually 5.8 to 8.6.

[0014] The beverages prepared using drinking water are not particularly limited. Similar trends have been observed in a variety of beverages regarding the change in the amount of aroma components depending on the alkalinity of the drinking water. Similar trends have also been observed in a variety of beverages regarding the change in the amount of aroma components depending on the hardness of the drinking water. Therefore, the present technology is considered to be a highly versatile technology that can be applied to any type of beverage, as long as the beverage is prepared using drinking water in which at least one of the alkalinity and hardness has been adjusted.

[0015] The beverage may be an extract extracted from raw materials using drinking water. The extract extracted using drinking water is, for example, a beverage in which the flavor of the raw materials is extracted by soaking or boiling the raw materials in water. Specific examples of extracts extracted using drinking water include one or more selected from the group consisting of tea, herbal tea, coffee, grain tea, broth, and soup. The raw materials are not particularly limited and include, for example, processed plant products and various broth ingredients. Specifically, tea is a beverage extracted from raw materials including black tea, green tea, oolong tea, and pu-erh tea, which are produced mainly using the leaves and stems of the tea plant (scientific name: Camellia sinensis). Herbal tea is a beverage extracted from dried herbs, fresh herbs, etc. Coffee is usually a beverage extracted from roasted coffee beans.

[0016] The conditions for preparing the extract are not particularly limited. For example, the temperature of the drinking water during extraction is usually 60°C or higher and 100°C or lower, and preferably 80°C or higher and 100°C or lower. The amount of raw materials used to prepare the extract, the extraction time, etc. can be appropriately set depending on the raw materials of the beverage.

[0017] In the case of the above extracts, the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage preferably involves either a treatment of increasing the alkalinity of drinking water to increase the amount of aroma components, or a treatment of decreasing the alkalinity of drinking water to decrease the amount of aroma components.In the case of the above extracts, the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage preferably involves a treatment of decreasing the hardness of drinking water to increase the amount of aroma components, or a treatment of increasing the hardness of drinking water to decrease the amount of aroma components.

[0018] The beverage may be a dilution product obtained by diluting a beverage base with drinking water. In the case of a dilution product obtained by diluting with drinking water, the pH of the beverage base is preferably less than 6. The lower limit of the pH of the beverage base is not particularly limited. The lower limit of the pH of the beverage base is usually 2.0 or higher. The pH of the beverage base is measured, for example, using a pH meter at a temperature of 25°C. In this specification, the pH of the beverage is also measured in the same manner.

[0019] The dilution product to be diluted with drinking water is, for example, an alcoholic beverage with water, which is based on an alcoholic beverage. In this specification, an alcoholic beverage with water also includes an alcoholic beverage with hot water. The alcoholic beverage can be selected from, for example, whiskey, shochu, brandy, gin, vodka, tequila, rum, beer, wine, sake, and fruit liquor.

[0020] The dilution product to be diluted with drinking water is preferably a beverage containing an acetal compound. An acetal compound is a general term for organic compounds obtained by condensation of an aldehyde with an alcohol and organic compounds obtained by condensation of a ketone with an alcohol. An acetal compound is a type of aroma component.

[0021] The conditions for preparing the diluted product are not particularly limited. For example, the temperature of the drinking water during dilution can be appropriately set within the range of 0°C to 100°C, for example, 4°C to 15°C, 15°C to 30°C, 30°C to 50°C, 50°C to 70°C, or 70°C to 85°C. The dilution ratio is preferably 1.1 to 10 times, more preferably 1.2 to 8 times, and even more preferably 1.3 to 5 times. The dilution ratio D is calculated as D = (A + B) / A, where A mL is the beverage base and B mL is the drinking water. From the viewpoint of suppressing decomposition of the acetal compound, the pH of the diluted product is preferably higher than the pH of the beverage base, more preferably 6 or higher, and even more preferably 6.5 or higher. The upper limit of the pH of the diluted product is usually 8 or lower.

[0022] In the case of the above-mentioned diluted product, when the pH of the beverage base is less than 6, the method for adjusting the aroma of the beverage preferably involves either increasing the alkalinity of the drinking water to increase the amount of aroma components, or decreasing the alkalinity of the drinking water to decrease the amount of aroma components.

[0023] The alkalinity of drinking water, i.e., the alkalinity after adjustment, is not particularly limited. From the viewpoint of increasing the amount of aroma components in the beverage, the alkalinity of drinking water is preferably 30 mg / L or more, more preferably 40 mg / L or more, and even more preferably 80 mg / L or more. From the viewpoint of preventing a specific aroma component from becoming stronger and balancing the original aroma of the beverage, the alkalinity of drinking water is preferably 600 mg / L or less, more preferably 400 mg / L or less, and even more preferably 200 mg / L or less. From these viewpoints, the alkalinity of drinking water is preferably 30 mg / L or more and 600 mg / L or less, more preferably 40 mg / L or more and 400 mg / L or less, and even more preferably 80 mg / L or more and 200 mg / L or less.

[0024] The alkalinity of drinking water can be increased, for example, by adding a component that increases the alkalinity of the water. The component that increases the alkalinity of the water is preferably one or more selected from the group consisting of sodium bicarbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, tripotassium phosphate, trisodium phosphate, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, and disodium hydrogen phosphate. The alkalinity of drinking water can be decreased, for example, by performing a process to reduce the alkalinity of the water. The process to reduce the alkalinity of the water is preferably at least one of a process using a reverse osmosis membrane to remove components that increase alkalinity, and a process using an ion exchange material to remove components that increase alkalinity.

[0025] The hardness of drinking water, i.e., the hardness after adjustment, is not particularly limited. From the viewpoint of increasing the amount of aroma components in the beverage, the hardness of drinking water is preferably 400 mg / L or less, more preferably 100 mg / L or less, and even more preferably 50 mg / L or less. From the viewpoint of preventing a specific aroma component from becoming stronger and balancing the original aroma of the beverage, the hardness of drinking water is preferably 10 mg / L or more and 400 mg / L or less, more preferably 10 mg / L or more and 100 mg / L or less, and even more preferably 10 mg / L or more and 50 mg / L or less. From these viewpoints, the hardness of drinking water is preferably 10 mg / L or more and 400 mg / L or less, more preferably 10 mg / L or more and 100 mg / L or less, and even more preferably 10 mg / L or more and 50 mg / L or less.

[0026] The hardness of drinking water can be increased, for example, by adding a component that increases the water hardness. The component that increases the water hardness is preferably one or more components selected from the group consisting of calcium chloride and magnesium chloride. The hardness of drinking water can be reduced, for example, by performing a process to reduce the water hardness. The process to reduce the water hardness is preferably at least one of a process using a reverse osmosis membrane to remove components that increase hardness, and a process using an ion exchange material to remove components that increase hardness. For example, the alkalinity and hardness can be suitably adjusted by using a chelating material that selectively adsorbs multivalent ions such as calcium and magnesium.

[0027] The pH of drinking water, i.e., the adjusted pH, is not particularly limited as long as it is within a range that allows adjustment of the amount of aroma components in the beverage to be prepared. The pH of drinking water may be, for example, 5.0 or higher, 5.5 or higher, 6.0 or higher, or 6.5 or higher. The pH of drinking water may be, for example, 10.0 or lower, 9.0 or lower, 8.6 or lower, 8.0 or lower, 7.5 or lower, or 7.0 or lower. The pH of drinking water can be set to a range that appropriately combines the above lower and upper limits.

[0028] The aroma components of the beverage to be adjusted are not particularly limited. The aroma of a beverage is usually formed by a mixture of multiple components with different odor qualities. The aroma components of the beverage to be adjusted can be analyzed using solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GCMS) and identified by principal component analysis. This result is consistent with the results of the aroma sensory evaluation described below.

[0029] The optimum amount of aroma components in a beverage varies depending on the type of beverage and the preferences of the beverage consumer. The optimum amount of aroma components for each beverage can be determined in advance, for example, by conducting a sensory evaluation test by a panel of experts. A method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage may involve adjusting the alkalinity of the drinking water so that the amount of aroma components in the beverage is optimum, based on the relationship between the amount of aroma components in the beverage and the alkalinity of the water used to prepare the beverage. Note that the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage is not limited to the method performed according to the optimum amount of aroma components in the beverage. For example, the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage may involve adjusting the alkalinity of the drinking water to a predetermined value, e.g., 100 mg / L, regardless of the alkalinity of the water to be treated, in order to standardize the quality of the beverage. Alternatively, the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage may involve adjusting the alkalinity of the drinking water to the same alkalinity as the water in a particular region, in order to reproduce the taste of beverages made with water with a high alkalinity in that region.

[0030] The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage may include adjusting the hardness of the drinking water based on the relationship between the amount of aroma components in the beverage and the hardness of the water used to prepare the beverage, so that the amount of aroma components in the beverage is appropriate. The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage may also include adjusting the hardness of the drinking water to a predetermined value, for example, 40 mg / L, regardless of the hardness of the water to be treated, in order to standardize the quality of the beverage. Alternatively, the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage may include adjusting the hardness of the drinking water to the same hardness as the water in a particular region, for example, in order to reproduce the taste of a beverage made with water of high hardness in that region. Furthermore, the method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage may also adjust both the alkalinity and hardness of the drinking water based on the relationship between the amount of aroma components in the beverage and the alkalinity and hardness of the water used to prepare the beverage, so that the amount of aroma components in the beverage is appropriate.

[0031] A method for producing drinking water will be specifically described below. A specific example of the method for producing drinking water involves treating water to reduce at least one of alkalinity and hardness to obtain primary treated water, and then adding at least one of a component that increases the alkalinity of the water and a component that increases the hardness of the water to the primary treated water to obtain drinking water. A specific example of the method for producing drinking water can be performed using the beverage aroma adjustment device 10 of Example 1 shown in Figure 1.

[0032] The beverage aroma adjusting device 10 of Example 1 includes a reduction treatment unit 11 that performs a process to reduce alkalinity, and an addition unit 12 that adds a component that increases the alkalinity of water. The reduction treatment unit 11 is located upstream of the addition unit 12. The reduction treatment unit 11 is an RO water purifier equipped with a reverse osmosis membrane. RO water purifiers are preferable in that they not only reduce alkalinity but also have the function of removing residual chlorine and the like contained in tap water. The reduction treatment unit 11 treats tap water, which is the water to be treated, to produce RO water, which is primary treated water.

[0033] The adding unit 12 preferably adds the component that increases the alkalinity of the water as a high-concentration alkalinity-adjusting solution, since the amount added is easily controlled. The concentration of the alkalinity-adjusting solution is, for example, 900 mg / L or more, and may be 5000 mg / L or more, or 10000 mg / L or more. The amount of the component that increases the alkalinity of the water to be added can be calculated from the alkalinity of the primary treated water and the target alkalinity of drinking water. The amount of the component that increases the alkalinity of the water to be added can be adjusted as appropriate by controlling the driving speed of the pump or a flow control valve (not shown).

[0034] The processing flow of the beverage aroma adjustment device 10 is as shown in Figure 2. In the beverage aroma adjustment device 10, a reduction processing unit 11 performs a process to reduce the alkalinity of tap water to produce RO water. In the beverage aroma adjustment device 10, an addition unit 12 adds a component that increases the alkalinity of the RO water to adjust the alkalinity of the drinking water to a target value. A beverage is prepared using the drinking water with the adjusted alkalinity.

[0035] A specific example of a method for producing drinking water and a beverage aroma adjustment device 10 perform a process to lower the alkalinity, so the alkalinity of the drinking water can be suitably adjusted even if the alkalinity of the treated water is not constant due to regional differences or seasonal fluctuations.

[0036] The beverage aroma adjustment device may be provided with an addition unit that adds a component that increases the hardness of water, instead of the addition unit 12 that adds a component that increases the alkalinity of water.The above-described method for producing drinking water and beverage aroma adjustment device perform a process to reduce hardness, so that the hardness of drinking water can be suitably adjusted even if the hardness of the water to be treated is not constant due to regional or seasonal variations.The beverage aroma adjustment device may be provided with an addition unit that adds a component that increases the hardness of water, in addition to the addition unit 12 that adds a component that increases the alkalinity of water.

[0037] The beverage aroma adjustment device does not need to be equipped with the reduction treatment unit 11. The beverage aroma adjustment device 100 of Example 2 shown in Figure 11 is equipped with a water purifier 111 instead of the reduction treatment unit 11. The water purifier 111 does not have the function of lowering alkalinity, for example, but has the function of removing residual chlorine and the like contained in tap water. The beverage aroma adjustment device 100 is particularly useful in areas where treated water with generally low alkalinity, such as tap water in Japan, is easily available. The addition unit 12 of the beverage aroma adjustment device 100 is the same as that of the beverage aroma adjustment device 10, and its description will be omitted.

[0038] The processing flow of the beverage aroma adjustment device 100 is as shown in Figure 12. The beverage aroma adjustment device 100 produces purified water by purifying tap water using the water purifier 111. In this case, the tap water and purified water usually have the same alkalinity. The beverage aroma adjustment device 100 adds a component that increases the alkalinity of the purified water using the addition unit 12, thereby adjusting the alkalinity of the drinking water to a target value. A beverage is prepared using the drinking water with the adjusted alkalinity.

[0039] 18, the beverage aroma adjustment device 200 of Example 3 includes a first addition unit 210 that adds components that increase the alkalinity of water, a second addition unit 220 that adds components that increase the hardness of water, a third addition unit 230 that adds minerals, and a fourth addition unit 240 that adds ions. Note that the components added by the third addition unit 230 and the fourth addition unit 240 do not affect the alkalinity or hardness of water. The beverage aroma adjustment device 200 can suitably obtain not only water for drinking, but also water suitable for various uses such as cooking food and beverages and drinking.

[0040] As described above, this embodiment adjusts the amount of aroma components in a beverage by adjusting at least one of the alkalinity and hardness of drinking water, thereby enhancing the aroma of the beverage and allowing the beverage to be fully enjoyed. For example, if the introduction of an RO water purifier improves the water quality but weakens the aroma of the beverage produced, increasing the alkalinity of the drinking water can enhance the aroma of the beverage.

[0041] The reason why increasing the alkalinity of drinking water can increase the amount of aroma components in a beverage is presumed to be as follows. However, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this presumption. It is presumed that in beverages that are extracts, the amount of aroma components extracted from the raw materials increases due to the effect of alkalinity. In beverages that are dilutions, it is presumed that the buffering capacity of alkalinity inhibits the decomposition of aroma components, including acetal compounds. Furthermore, each aroma component has its own acid dissociation constant and solubility in the beverage. The alkalinity and hardness of drinking water may each change the acid dissociation constant of the aroma component or its solubility in the beverage, thereby changing the amount of aroma component volatilized from the beverage.

[0042] Furthermore, this embodiment adjusts the amount of aroma components in a beverage by adjusting at least one of the alkalinity and hardness of drinking water, thereby reducing variations in the aroma of the beverage due to differences in water quality between regions. For example, if the alkalinity of tap water obtained in Tokyo is 80 mg / L, the alkalinity of tap water obtained in Osaka is 45 mg / L, and the alkalinity of tap water obtained in Aichi Prefecture is 14 mg / L, there is a concern that the aroma of beverages served in each region will differ if the tap water is used directly to prepare a beverage. On the other hand, by using drinking water whose alkalinity has been adjusted to a predetermined value, differences in the aroma of beverages served in each region can be reduced.

[0043] Furthermore, this embodiment adjusts the amount of aroma components in the beverage by adjusting at least one of the alkalinity and hardness of the drinking water, so that the unique aroma of a beverage that can only be felt in a specific region can be reproduced in other regions.

[0044] <Embodiment 2> The beverage aroma adjusting method of embodiment 2 involves treating water to remove residual chlorine to obtain primary treated water, and then adding at least one of a component that increases the alkalinity of the water and a component that increases the hardness of the water to the primary treated water to obtain drinking water. The beverage aroma adjusting method of embodiment 2 is an aspect of the beverage aroma adjusting method of embodiment 1, which specifies that primary treated water is obtained by treating the primary treated water to remove residual chlorine. In other respects, the beverage aroma adjusting method of embodiment 2 can be performed in the same manner as the beverage aroma adjusting method of embodiment 1. In the following description, the same points as in embodiment 1 apply as is, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0045] The present inventors have discovered a new finding: increasing alkalinity in the presence of residual chlorine significantly deteriorates the aroma of a beverage. The present inventors have then developed the technology of the present disclosure, which reduces the residual chlorine concentration in drinking water to reduce the amount of aroma components that cause unpleasant odors, while adjusting at least one of the alkalinity and hardness of drinking water to increase or decrease the amount of other aroma components. The present disclosure is not limited by this development history. For example, embodiment 1 of the present disclosure also encompasses an embodiment in which at least one of the alkalinity and hardness is adjusted in the presence of residual chlorine.

[0046] A specific example of the method for preparing drinking water according to the second embodiment can be performed using the beverage aroma adjustment device 100 of Example 2 shown in FIG. 11. The beverage aroma adjustment device 100 of Example 2 includes a water purifier 111 upstream of the addition unit 12. The water purifier 111 contains, for example, activated carbon and has the function of removing residual chlorine. The water purifier 111 is an example of a residual chlorine removal unit. The removal of residual chlorine is not limited to the use of activated carbon. The removal of residual chlorine may also be performed by adding a reducing agent. From the standpoint of safety, ascorbic acid is preferred as the reducing agent.

[0047] The processing flow of the beverage aroma adjustment device 100 is as shown in the rightmost flow of the four flows shown in Figure 19. The beverage aroma adjustment device 100 produces purified water by treating tap water with a water purifier 111 to reduce the residual chlorine concentration. The beverage aroma adjustment device 100 also adds a component that increases the alkalinity of the purified water with an addition unit 12, thereby adjusting the alkalinity of the drinking water to a target value. The obtained drinking water is used to prepare a beverage.

[0048] The residual chlorine concentration of the water to be treated is not particularly limited, as long as it is higher than the residual chlorine concentration of the primary treated water described below. When the water to be treated is tap water, the residual chlorine concentration of the water to be treated is usually 0.1 mg / L or more and 2 mg / L or less. The Enforcement Regulations of the Water Supply Act stipulate that water at the tap must be disinfected with chlorine so that the free residual chlorine is maintained at 0.1 mg / L or more. The water quality standards of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, based on Article 4 of the Water Supply Act, for the comfortable water quality items (13 items), stipulate a residual chlorine level of approximately 1 mg / L or less. The residual chlorine concentration of tap water sampled in Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture, was 0.5 mg / L.

[0049] The residual chlorine concentration of the primary treated water from which the residual chlorine removal treatment in embodiment 2 has been performed is not particularly limited. The residual chlorine concentration of the primary treated water is preferably less than 0.3 mg / L, more preferably less than 0.1 mg / L, and even more preferably less than 0.05 mg / L. The lower limit of the residual chlorine concentration of the primary treated water is usually 0.00 mg / L or higher. Note that when the residual chlorine concentration of water is 0.02 mg / L or higher and 2 mg / L or lower, it can be measured by the diethylparaphenylenediamine method. The diethylparaphenylenediamine method is also called the DPD method.

[0050] The alkalinity of the water to be treated and the alkalinity of the drinking water are not particularly limited, and the explanation of the first embodiment applies to the alkalinity of the water to be treated and the alkalinity of the drinking water.

[0051] The hardness of the water to be treated and the hardness of the drinking water are not particularly limited, and the explanation of the first embodiment applies to the hardness of the water to be treated and the hardness of the drinking water.

[0052] The beverage prepared using drinking water is not particularly limited. For example, the beverage may be an extract extracted from a raw material using drinking water. The description of the first embodiment is applied to the beverage prepared using drinking water.

[0053] In the second embodiment, by adjusting at least one of the alkalinity and hardness of the primary treated water that has been treated to remove residual chlorine, it is possible to suitably adjust the aroma of the beverage while suppressing the production of aroma components that cause unpleasant odors. The aroma components that cause unpleasant odors are, for example, one or more selected from the group consisting of isobutyraldehyde, 2-methylbutyraldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, and 1-vinylaziridine. Isobutyraldehyde is an aroma component related to a burnt odor. 2-Methylbutyraldehyde is an aroma component related to a burnt odor. Isovaleraldehyde is an aroma component related to a stuffy odor and a pungent odor. 1-Vinylaziridine is an aroma component related to a chlorine odor and a pungent odor.

[0054] The mechanism by which unpleasant odors caused by residual chlorine are generated is presumed to be as follows. The present disclosure is not limited to this presumption. Many beverages contain amino acids derived from raw materials. When residual chlorine acts on amino acids, aroma components different from those generated when the residual chlorine concentration is low may be generated. Isovaleraldehyde can be generated from leucine. Figure 20 shows how residual chlorine acts on leucine to generate isovaleraldehyde. 2-Methylbutyraldehyde can be generated from isoleucine. Isovaleraldehyde can be generated from valine. Embodiment 2 is effective for suppressing the generation of unpleasant odors and mainly for adjusting the aroma of beverages to improve them.

[0055] <Embodiment 3> In the beverage aroma adjustment method of embodiment 3, the beverage is an extract extracted from raw materials using drinking water. The beverage aroma adjustment method of embodiment 3 adjusts the alkalinity of the drinking water and the hardness of the drinking water to change the composition of the beverage's aroma components, thereby changing the aroma tone. The beverage aroma adjustment method of embodiment 3 is an aspect of the beverage aroma adjustment method of embodiment 1, which specifies that both the alkalinity and hardness of the drinking water are adjusted. In other respects, the beverage aroma adjustment method of embodiment 3 can be performed in the same manner as the beverage aroma adjustment method of embodiment 1. In the following description, the same points as in embodiment 1 apply as is, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0056] The present inventors have discovered that not only the intensity of a beverage's aroma but also its quality changes depending on the respective concentrations of alkalinity and hardness of drinking water. The present inventors have then developed the technology of the present disclosure, which adjusts both the alkalinity and hardness of drinking water to achieve more complex adjustment of aroma. Note that the present disclosure is not limited by this development history. For example, embodiment 1 of the present disclosure also encompasses an embodiment in which only either the alkalinity or the hardness of drinking water is adjusted.

[0057] A specific example of the method for producing drinking water according to Embodiment 3 can be performed using a beverage aroma adjustment device 300 according to Example 4, shown in FIG. 22. The beverage aroma adjustment device 300 includes a first addition unit 312 that adds a component that increases the alkalinity of water, and a second addition unit 314 that adds a component that increases the hardness of water. The beverage aroma adjustment device 300 also includes a reduction treatment unit 311, located upstream of the first addition unit 312 and the second addition unit 314, that reduces both the alkalinity and hardness of water. The reduction treatment unit 311 is an RO water purifier equipped with a reverse osmosis membrane. RO water purifiers are preferable in that they not only reduce alkalinity and hardness, but also remove residual chlorine and other contaminants contained in tap water.

[0058] The beverage aroma adjustment device 300 produces RO water by, for example, performing a process to reduce both the alkalinity and hardness of tap water using a reduction processing unit 311. The beverage aroma adjustment device 300 adds a component that increases the alkalinity of the water to the RO water using a first addition unit 312, and adds a component that increases the hardness of the water using a second addition unit 314, thereby adjusting the alkalinity and hardness of the drinking water to target values. The obtained drinking water is used to prepare beverages.

[0059] The alkalinity of the water to be treated and the alkalinity of the drinking water are not particularly limited, and the explanation of the first embodiment applies to the alkalinity of the water to be treated and the alkalinity of the drinking water.

[0060] The hardness of the water to be treated and the hardness of the drinking water are not particularly limited, and the explanation of the first embodiment applies to the hardness of the water to be treated and the hardness of the drinking water.

[0061] The beverage prepared using drinking water is not particularly limited as long as it is an extract extracted from a raw material using drinking water. The description of the first embodiment applies to the beverage prepared using drinking water.

[0062] Generally, the aroma of a beverage is composed of a combination of multiple aroma components. "Changing the composition of aroma components" can be achieved by adjusting the amount of each aroma component contained in the beverage. It is believed that changing the composition of aroma components affects the harmony between the flavor components volatilizing from the beverage. The aroma notes are, for example, woody, floral, herbal, etc. The aroma notes can be identified by conducting a sensory evaluation.

[0063] The third embodiment provides a new, previously unknown use of drinking water, in which the alkalinity of drinking water is adjusted, and the hardness of drinking water is adjusted to change the composition of aroma components in the beverage, thereby changing the aroma tone.

[0064] The mechanism by which aroma notes can be changed by adjusting the alkalinity and hardness of drinking water is conjectured as follows. The present disclosure is not limited to this conjecture. The inventors of the present application discovered an unknown attribute: when both alkalinity and hardness are increased, some aroma components are decreased by the effect of hardness, while others are increased by the effect of alkalinity. Figures 23 and 24 show the results of analyzing aroma components when black tea is made using drinking water with different alkalinities and hardness. The results of principal component analysis in Figure 23 suggest that the composition of aroma components changes depending on the alkalinity and hardness. The heat map in Figure 24 shows that in "H300A300," i.e., drinking water with an alkalinity of 300 mg / L and a hardness of 300 mg / L, there are aroma components that decrease due to the effect of hardness and aroma components that increase due to the effect of alkalinity. It is conjectured that the beverage aroma adjusting method of embodiment 3 achieves changes in the composition of aroma components of a beverage primarily by increasing or decreasing these aroma component groups. Details of Figures 23 and 24 will be explained in Experiment 4 below.

[0065] Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described more specifically with reference to examples. <Experiment 1> 1. Preparation of drinking water from RO water The water to be treated was tap water obtained from Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture. The pH of the water to be treated was 7.3, with an alkalinity of 40 mg / L. An aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate with an alkalinity of 1000 mg / L was prepared as the alkalinity adjusting solution. The sodium bicarbonate used was sodium bicarbonate food additive grade manufactured by Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.

[0066] The experimenter treated the water to be treated using an RO water purifier: Grohe Pure RO pro 1000G / Grohe AG to obtain RO water. The experimenter added an alkalinity adjusting solution to the obtained RO water to obtain drinking water with alkalinity adjusted to 50 mg / L, 100 mg / L, and 300 mg / L.

[0067] 2. Beverage Preparation The experimenters prepared black tea, chamomile herbal tea, and coffee as beverage extracts. The extraction was performed by heating drinking water to 98°C. The extraction conditions are shown in Table 1. Three samples were prepared for each type of beverage. Details of the ingredients for each beverage are as follows: Black tea: Lipton Yellow Label / Lipton Tea & Infusion Japan Co., Ltd. Chamomile: TWINIGS / Kataoka Bussan Co., Ltd. Coffee: Colombia Supremo / Made by Sanbon Coffee Co., Ltd.

[0068] [Table 1]

[0069] The experimenters prepared sweet potato shochu, rice shochu, and whiskey as beverages to be diluted. Dilution was performed using drinking water at room temperature. The dilution conditions are shown in Table 2. Three samples were prepared for each type of beverage. Details of each beverage base are as follows: Sweet potato shochu: Akakirishima / Kirishima Shuzo Co., Ltd. Rice shochu: Ginko Torikai / Torikai Shuzo Co., Ltd. Whiskey: Suntory Whiskey Kakubin / Suntory Holdings Ltd.

[0070] [Table 2]

[0071] 3. Analysis and Results The amount of aroma compounds in the beverage was analyzed by solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GCMS).

[0072] 10 mL of each beverage was dispensed into a 20 mL vial containing 3 g of sodium chloride. Each beverage was analyzed for aroma components under the following gas chromatography analysis conditions: GC-MS measurement conditions and SPME conditions. [GC-MS measurement conditions] Equipment name: Shimadzu Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer GCMS-QP2020 Column: Agilent DB-WAX (60 m x 0.25 mm df = 0.25 μm) Carrier gas: Helium (linear velocity 25.5 cm / s) Split ratio: 5.0 Inlet temperature: 250℃ Column oven temperature: 40°C (hold for 3 min), increase at 3°C / min, then 240°C (hold for 5 min) Ionization method: EI Ion source temperature: 230℃ Interface temperature: 250℃ Scan range m / z: 33-400 [SPME conditions] Fiber: SUPELCO 50 / 30um DVB / Carboxen / PDMS Sample volume: 10 mL Extraction temperature: 60℃ Extraction time: 20 min Desorption time: 1min

[0073] The results are shown in Figures 3 to 9. Figures 3, 5, and 7 show the results of principal component analysis of the aroma components of each beverage. The plot on the left is the score plot, and the plot on the right is the loading plot. In the score plot and loading plot, the horizontal axis represents the first principal component, and the vertical axis represents the second principal component. These results confirmed that for the extracts of black tea, chamomile, and coffee, the aroma component plots were concentrated on the side with higher alkalinity, i.e., in the positive direction of the first principal component axis.

[0074] Figures 4, 6, and 8 are graphs showing the relationship between the alkalinity of drinking water and the amount of characteristic aroma components in each beverage. The aroma component in column A of Figure 4 is hexanal. The aroma component in column B of Figure 4 is (Z)-linalool oxide (pyranoid). The aroma component in column C of Figure 4 is phenylethyl alcohol. The aroma component in column D of Figure 6 is linalool. The aroma component in column E of Figure 6 is α-bisabolol oxide B. The aroma component in column F of Figure 6 is α-bisabolol oxide A. The aroma component in column G of Figure 7 is pyridine. The aroma component in column H of Figure 7 is 3-ethylpyridine. Figure 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the alkalinity of drinking water and the amount of diethyl acetal, a characteristic aroma component. In each of the graphs in Figures 4, 6, 8, and 9, the left bar represents the results for beverages made with drinking water with an alkalinity of 50 mg / L, the center bar represents the results for beverages made with drinking water with an alkalinity of 100 mg / L, and the right bar represents the results for beverages made with drinking water with an alkalinity of 300 mg / L. The vertical axis represents the average detection intensity, which is an indicator of the amount of aroma components. Detection intensity was calculated as the peak area ratio. These results confirmed that the higher the alkalinity of the drinking water, the greater the amount of aroma components in the extracts (black tea, chamomile, and coffee) and the diluted products (sweet potato shochu and whiskey). However, for rice shochu, no significant difference in the amount of aroma components was observed between samples with different alkalinity levels of drinking water.

[0075] The pH of each of the diluted sweet potato shochu, rice shochu, and whiskey beverages was measured, and the average value was calculated for each alkalinity of the drinking water. The results are shown in Table 3. The pH of the sweet potato shochu before dilution was 4.44. The pH of the rice shochu before dilution was 6.01. The pH of the whiskey before dilution was 4.12.

[0076] [Table 3]

[0077] Based on the hypothesis that the pH of the dilution product, which is increased by drinking water to 6 or higher, contributes to the suppression of acetal compound decomposition, the following verification experiment was conducted as a reference example. Standard acetal compound samples were dissolved in 10% ethanol solutions of pH 5, pH 6, and pH 7, and the amount of acetaldehyde, a decomposition product of acetal compounds, was then measured. The results are shown in the graph in Figure 10. The left bar represents the results for the 10% ethanol solution at pH 5, the center bar represents the results for the 10% ethanol solution at pH 6, and the right bar represents the results for the 10% ethanol solution at pH 7. The vertical axis represents the detection intensity, which is an indicator of the amount of acetaldehyde. The detection intensity was calculated as the peak area ratio. From these results, it is inferred that when the pH of the beverage base is less than 6, increasing the pH of the dilution product suppresses the decomposition of acetal compounds. This speculated mechanism is also consistent with the measurement results showing that for rice shochu, which has a base pH of 6 or higher, increasing the alkalinity of the drinking water from 50 mg / L to 300 mg / L does not increase the amount of aroma components in the beverage.

[0078] 4. Sensory evaluation The resulting beverages were presented to Evaluators A and B for a sensory evaluation of aroma. Evaluators A and B were presented with beverages made with drinking water with an alkalinity of 50 mg / L, 100 mg / L, and 300 mg / L. The aroma was evaluated by sniffing or tasting each beverage and comparing their odors. The beverage made with drinking water with an alkalinity of 50 mg / L was assigned a standard score of "4" and the aroma intensity was rated on a 10-point scale. The results are shown in Tables 4 to 9. These results indicate that, for each beverage except rice shochu, the higher the alkalinity of the drinking water, the stronger the aroma of the beverage perceived.

[0079] [Table 4]

[0080] [Table 5]

[0081] [Table 6]

[0082] [Table 7]

[0083] [Table 8]

[0084] [Table 9]

[0085] <Experiment 2> 1. Preparation of drinking water from purified water The water to be treated was tap water obtained from Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture. The pH of the water to be treated was 7.3, with an alkalinity of 40 mg / L. An aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate with an alkalinity of 1000 mg / L was prepared as the alkalinity adjusting solution. The sodium bicarbonate used was sodium bicarbonate food additive grade manufactured by Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.

[0086] The experimenter treated the water to be treated using a water purifier equipped with a water purification cartridge: JF-43N / manufactured by LIXIL Corporation, and obtained purified water. The alkalinity of the obtained purified water was 40 mg / L. The experimenter added an alkalinity adjusting solution to the purified water to adjust the alkalinity to 90 mg / L and 340 mg / L, and obtained drinking water of each alkalinity.

[0087] 2. Beverage Preparation The experimenters used purified water and drinking water to prepare sweet potato shochu, rice shochu, and whiskey as dilution beverages. The dilution was performed using room temperature drinking water. The dilution conditions are as shown in Table 2 above. Three samples were prepared for each type of beverage. The details of each beverage base were the same as in Experiment 1.

[0088] 3. Analysis and Results As in Experiment 1, the amount of aroma components in the beverages was analyzed. Figure 13 shows the relationship between the alkalinity of drinking water and the amount of diethyl acetal, a characteristic aroma component. The left bar graph shows the results for beverages made with purified water with an alkalinity of 40 mg / L, the center bar graph shows the results for beverages made with drinking water with an alkalinity of 90 mg / L, and the right bar graph shows the results for beverages made with drinking water with an alkalinity of 340 mg / L. The vertical axis shows the average detection intensity, an indicator of the amount of acetaldehyde. The detection intensity was calculated as the peak area ratio. These results confirmed that the amount of aroma components in the diluted sweet potato shochu and whiskey tended to increase with increasing alkalinity. However, for the diluted rice shochu, no significant difference in the amount of aroma components was observed between samples with different alkalinities.

[0089] The pH of each of the diluted sweet potato shochu, rice shochu, and whiskey beverages was measured, and the average value was calculated for each alkalinity of the drinking water. The results are shown in Table 10. The pH of the sweet potato shochu before dilution was 4.44. The pH of the rice shochu before dilution was 6.01. The pH of the whiskey before dilution was 4.12.

[0090] [Table 10]

[0091] 4. Sensory evaluation The resulting beverages were provided to evaluators for a sensory evaluation of aroma. The evaluators were presented with beverages made with purified water with an alkalinity of 40 mg / L, beverages made with drinking water with an alkalinity of 90 mg / L, and beverages made with drinking water with an alkalinity of 340 mg / L. The aroma was evaluated by sniffing or sipping each beverage, comparing their odors, and rating the aroma intensity on a 10-point scale, with the beverage made with purified water with an alkalinity of 40 mg / L being the benchmark. The results are shown in Tables 11 to 13. These results indicate that, for each beverage except rice shochu, the higher the alkalinity of the drinking water, the stronger the aroma of each beverage perceived.

[0092] [Table 11]

[0093] [Table 12]

[0094] [Table 13]

[0095] <Experiment 3> 1. Beverage Preparation The experimenter prepared drinking water with hardness adjusted to 50 mg / L, 100 mg / L, and 300 mg / L. The hardness was adjusted using calcium chloride. The experimenter prepared tea and coffee as extract beverages. The ingredients and extraction conditions were the same as in Experiment 1, and three samples were prepared for each type of beverage.

[0096] 2. Analysis and Results As in Experiment 1, the amounts of aroma components in the beverages were analyzed. The results are shown in Figures 14 to 17. Figures 14 and 16 show the results of principal component analysis of the aroma components of each beverage. The plot on the left is the score plot, and the plot on the right is the loading plot. In the score plot and loading plot, the horizontal axis represents the first principal component, and the vertical axis represents the second principal component. These results confirmed that for the extracts of black tea and coffee, the aroma component plots were concentrated on the side with lower hardness, i.e., in the negative direction of the first principal component axis.

[0097] As in Experiment 1, the amount of aroma components in the beverages was analyzed. Figures 15 and 17 are graphs showing the relationship between hardness and the amount of characteristic aroma components. The aroma component in column A of Figure 15 is hexanal. The aroma component in column B of Figure 15 is (Z)-linalool oxide (pyranoid). The aroma component in column G of Figure 7 is pyridine. The aroma component in column J of Figure 7 is 2,6-diethylpyridine. The left bar graph shows the results for beverages made with drinking water with a hardness of 50 mg / L, the center bar graph shows the results for beverages made with drinking water with a hardness of 100 mg / L, and the right bar graph shows the results for beverages made with drinking water with a hardness of 300 mg / L. The vertical axis shows the average detection intensity, which is an indicator of the amount of aroma components. Detection intensity was calculated as a peak area ratio. These results confirmed that the lower the hardness of the tea and coffee extracts, the greater the amount of aroma components.

[0098] <Experiment 4> 1. Preparation of drinking water from purified water The water to be treated was tap water obtained from Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture. The pH of the water to be treated was 7.6, with an alkalinity of 40 mg / L, hardness of 40 mg / L, and a residual chlorine concentration of 0.5 mg / L. An aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate with an alkalinity of 1000 mg / L was prepared as the alkalinity adjusting solution. Food-grade sodium bicarbonate manufactured by Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd. was used as the sodium bicarbonate.

[0099] The experimenter treated the water to be treated using a water purifier equipped with a water purification cartridge: JF-43N / manufactured by LIXIL Corporation to obtain purified water. The alkalinity of the obtained purified water was 40 mg / L, and the residual chlorine concentration was less than 0.05 mg / L. The experimenter added an alkalinity adjusting solution to the purified water to obtain spiked purified water with an alkalinity adjusted to 140 mg / L. For comparison, the experimenter added an alkalinity adjusting solution to tap water to obtain spiked tap water with an alkalinity adjusted to 140 mg / L. Details of the above four types of water are as follows. Note that the expression "residual chlorine concentration <0.05 mg / L" indicates that the residual chlorine concentration is less than 0.05 mg / L. Purified water: Alkalinity 40mg / L, residual chlorine concentration <0.05mg / L Added purified water: Alkalinity 140mg / L, residual chlorine concentration <0.05mg / L Tap water: Alkalinity 40mg / L, residual chlorine concentration 0.5mg / L Added tap water: Alkalinity 140mg / L, residual chlorine concentration 0.5mg / L

[0100] 2. Beverage Preparation The experimenters prepared chamomile extract beverages using purified water, added purified water, tap water, and added tap water. The ingredients and extraction conditions were the same as in Experiment 1, and three samples were prepared for each type of beverage.

[0101] 3. Analysis and Results As in Experiment 1, the amount of aroma components in the beverages was analyzed. The results are shown in Figure 21. Figure 21 is a graph showing the relationship between the type of water and the amount of aroma components that cause unpleasant odors. The aroma component in column K of Figure 21 is isobutylaldehyde. The aroma component in column L of Figure 21 is 2-methylbutylaldehyde. The aroma component in column M of Figure 21 is isovaleraldehyde. The aroma component in column N of Figure 21 is 1-vinyl aziridine. Each bar graph represents, from left to right, the results for beverages made with purified water, added purified water, tap water, and added tap water. The vertical axis represents the average detection intensity, which is an index of the amount of aroma components. The detection intensity was calculated as the peak area ratio. These results confirmed that, for chamomile, the beverage made with added purified water contained fewer aroma components that cause unpleasant odors than the beverage made with added tap water. It was also confirmed that beverages made with purified water contained fewer aroma compounds that cause unpleasant odors than beverages made with tap water.

[0102] The inventors also conducted a separate experiment to investigate the relationship between residual chlorine concentration and the aroma components that cause unpleasant odors in herbal tea.The results showed that the higher the residual chlorine concentration in the water used to extract the herbal tea, the higher the concentrations of isobutyraldehyde, 2-methylbutyraldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, and 1-vinylaziridine.The inventors also conducted a separate experiment to investigate the relationship between residual chlorine concentration and amino acids in herbal tea.The results showed that the higher the residual chlorine concentration in the water used to extract the herbal tea, the lower the concentrations of valine, leucine, and isoleucine.

[0103] These results demonstrate that the residual chlorine in drinking water acts to produce aroma compounds that cause unpleasant odors from the amino acids in the beverage. In other words, by removing residual chlorine from the water to be treated to obtain primary treated water, and then adding a component that increases the alkalinity of the water to the primary treated water, it is possible to effectively adjust the aroma of the beverage while suppressing the production of aroma compounds that cause unpleasant odors.

[0104] 4. Sensory evaluation The resulting beverages were provided to Evaluators A and B for a sensory evaluation of aroma. Evaluators A and B were presented with purified water, purified water with added chlorine, tap water, and chamomile made with added tap water. The aroma was evaluated on a scale of 1 to 10, with the beverage made with purified water being assigned a standard score of "6." The results are shown in Table 14. The beverage made with added purified water had the same aroma as the beverage made with purified water, but its aroma was perceived as stronger than that of the beverage made with purified water. The beverage made with added purified water also had a better aroma than the beverage made with tap water and the beverage made with added tap water. These results demonstrate that the aroma of beverages can be improved by lowering the residual chlorine concentration in drinking water and increasing its alkalinity.

[0105] [Table 14]

[0106] <Experiment 5> 1. Preparation of drinking water from RO water The water to be treated was tap water obtained from Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture. The pH of the water to be treated was 7.6, with an alkalinity of 40 mg / L, hardness of 40 mg / L, and a residual chlorine concentration of 0.5 mg / L. An aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate with an alkalinity of 1000 mg / L was prepared as the alkalinity adjusting solution. Food-additive-grade sodium bicarbonate manufactured by Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd. was used as the sodium bicarbonate. A calcium chloride aqueous solution with a hardness of 1000 mg / L was prepared as the hardness adjusting solution. Food-additive-grade calcium chloride manufactured by Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd. was used as the calcium chloride.

[0107] The experimenter treated the water to be treated using an RO water purifier: Grohe Pure RO pro 1000G / Grohe AG to obtain RO water. The experimenter added an alkalinity adjusting solution and a hardness adjusting solution to the obtained RO water to adjust the alkalinity and hardness, respectively, to obtain the following four types of water. H50A50: Alkalinity 50mg / L, Hardness 50mg / L, H300A50: Alkalinity 50mg / L, Hardness 300mg / L H50A300: Alkalinity 50mg / L, Hardness 300mg / L H300A300: Alkalinity 300mg / L, Hardness 300mg / L

[0108] 2. Beverage Preparation The experimenter prepared black tea and chamomile extract beverages using H50A50, H300A50, H50A300, and H300A300. The ingredients and extraction conditions were the same as in Experiment 1, and three samples were prepared for each type of beverage.

[0109] 3. Analysis and Results As in Experiment 1, the amounts of aroma components in the beverages were analyzed. The results are shown in Figures 23 to 26. Figure 23 shows the results of a principal component analysis of the aroma components of black tea. The plot on the left is a score plot, and the plot on the right is a loading plot. In the score plot and loading plot, the horizontal axis represents the first principal component, and the vertical axis represents the second principal component. These results confirmed that the compositions of aroma components differ between the black teas made with H50A50, H300A50, H50A300, and H300A300.

[0110] Figure 24 is a heat map of aroma compounds in black tea. The heat map shows H50A50, H300A50, H50A300, and H300A300 (n=3) arranged horizontally from left to right, and the aroma compounds contained in the black tea arranged vertically, with intersecting cells colored. The cell color indicates a darker red for a higher aroma compound content and a darker blue for a lower aroma compound content. In the heat map, most of the H300A50 cells were blue. This indicates that increasing the hardness can reduce the amount of aroma compounds. Most of the H50A300 cells were red. This indicates that increasing the alkalinity can increase the amount of aroma compounds. Meanwhile, among the H300A300 cells, the group of cells located at the top of the map was blue, while the group of cells located from the center to the bottom of the map was red. The blue cells are the cells surrounded by a box that reads "Decreased by the influence of hardness." The red cells are the cells surrounded by a box that reads "Increased by the influence of alkalinity." This suggests that in beverages, there are aroma compounds that decrease with the influence of hardness and aroma compounds that increase with the influence of alkalinity.

[0111] Figures 25 and 26 are graphs showing the relationship between the amounts of characteristic aroma components in beverages made with H50A50, H300A50, H50A300, and H300A300. The aroma component in column A of Figure 25 is hexanal. The aroma component in column B of Figure 25 is (Z)-linalool oxide (pyranoid). The aroma component in column C of Figure 25 is phenylethyl alcohol. The aroma component in column D of Figure 26 is linalool. The aroma component in column E of Figure 26 is α-bisabolol oxide B. The aroma component in column F of Figure 26 is α-bisabolol oxide A. In each of Figures 25 and 26, the bars represent, from left to right, the results for beverages made with H50A50, H300A50, H50A300, and H300A300. The vertical axis represents the average detection intensity, which is an index of the amount of aroma components. Detection intensity was calculated as the peak area ratio. These results confirmed that the amount of specific aroma components changed and the composition of aroma components differed in the black tea and chamomile made with H50A50, H300A50, H50A300, and H300A300.

[0112] 4. Sensory evaluation The resulting beverages were offered to evaluators A and B, who conducted a sensory evaluation of the aroma. Evaluators A and B were presented with beverages made with H50A50, H300A50, H50A300, and H300A300. The aroma sensory evaluation was conducted by rating the intensity of the aroma on a 10-point scale, with the beverage made with H50A500 being assigned a standard rating of "4."

[0113] The results for black tea are shown in Table 15. These results indicate that black tea is strongly affected by both alkalinity and hardness. This indicates that the aroma can be changed by adjusting the alkalinity and hardness of drinking water.

[0114] [Table 15]

[0115] The results for chamomile are shown in Table 16. These results indicate that the effect of hardness on chamomile is less pronounced than the effect of alkalinity. It was found that the intensity of the chamomile fragrance can be adjusted by increasing the hardness and alkalinity. In other words, it was shown that the fragrance tone can be changed by adjusting the alkalinity and hardness of drinking water.

[0116] [Table 16]

[0117] This example provides a technique related to adjusting the aroma of a beverage. [Explanation of symbols]

[0118] 10, 100, 200, 300... beverage aroma adjusting device, 11... reduction processing unit, 12... addition unit, 111... water purifier, 312... first addition unit, 314... second addition unit

Claims

1. A method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage prepared using drinking water, comprising: The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage comprises adjusting at least one of the alkalinity and hardness of the drinking water to adjust the amount of aroma components in the beverage.

2. The beverage is an extract obtained by extracting a raw material using drinking water, A treatment to increase the alkalinity of the drinking water to increase the amount of the aroma components; and A treatment to reduce the amount of the aroma components by lowering the alkalinity of the drinking water. The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

3. The beverage is an extract obtained by extracting a raw material using drinking water, A treatment to reduce the hardness of the drinking water to increase the amount of the aroma components; and A treatment to increase the hardness of the drinking water to reduce the amount of the aroma components. The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

4. The beverage is an extract obtained by extracting a raw material using drinking water, 2. The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage according to claim 1, wherein the alkalinity of the drinking water and the hardness of the drinking water are adjusted to change the composition of the aroma components of the beverage, thereby changing the aroma tone.

5. The beverage is a dilution product obtained by diluting a beverage base with drinking water; the pH of the beverage base is less than 6; A treatment to increase the alkalinity of the drinking water to increase the amount of the aroma components; and A treatment to reduce the amount of the aroma components by lowering the alkalinity of the drinking water. The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

6. The water to be treated is treated to reduce at least one of alkalinity and hardness to obtain primary treated water, A method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the drinking water is obtained by treating the primary treated water with at least one of a component that increases the alkalinity of the water and a component that increases the hardness of the water.

7. The water to be treated is treated to remove residual chlorine to obtain primary treated water, The method for adjusting the aroma of a beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the drinking water is obtained by treating the primary treated water with a component that increases the alkalinity of the water.

8. An apparatus for performing the beverage aroma adjustment method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The beverage aroma adjusting device is provided with an adding section that adds at least one of a component that increases the alkalinity of water and a component that increases the hardness of water.

9. The beverage aroma adjusting device according to claim 8 , further comprising a reduction processing unit, upstream of the adding unit, for reducing at least one of alkalinity and hardness.

10. The beverage aroma adjusting device according to claim 8 , further comprising a residual chlorine removing unit for removing residual chlorine, provided upstream of the adding unit.

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