Diet Cola Taste Improvement via Decocainized Coca Leaf Extract
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Solution Overview
Problem
The beverage industry has failed to create artificially sweetened cola sodas that match the taste and aroma of their sugar-based counterparts, due to challenges in understanding and combining artificial sweeteners and flavorings, leading to an unpleasant aftertaste and inability to replicate the full experience of sugary colas.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a de-cocainized extract of the coca leaf plant into diet cola beverages and syrups, optionally combined with additional artificial sweeteners, to enhance the taste and aroma, with a formulation ratio of approximately 22:1 to 44:1 by weight, and potentially using other aromatic compounds like ethyl benzoate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If artificial sweeteners are used to replace sugar in cola sodas, then sugar content is reduced, but unpleasant aftertaste is generated
Solution Approach 1:
Coca leaf extract is introduced as an intermediary substance that interacts with artificial sweeteners to mask their unpleasant aftertastes. The extract contains natural compounds that chemically interact with the sweeteners, neutralizing their negative flavor properties while preserving the sweetness, thereby allowing low sugar content to be achieved without the harmful aftertaste effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the flavor profile parameters of the beverage by adding coca leaf extract, which contains natural aromatic compounds. This modifies the taste characteristics of the artificial sweetener mixture, transforming the unpleasant aftertaste into a more pleasant flavor profile while maintaining the reduced sugar content objective.
2Quantity of substance
If artificial sweeteners are used to replace sugar in cola sodas, then calorie content is reduced, but taste and aroma similar to sugary colas cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates a composite flavor system combining multiple artificial sweeteners with natural coca leaf extract. This composite approach integrates the sweetness of synthetic sweeteners with the natural aromatic profile of coca leaves, achieving a synergistic effect that replicates the complex taste and aroma of traditional sugary colas while maintaining low calorie content.
Solution Approach 2:
By modifying the flavor parameters through the addition of coca leaf extract, the invention adjusts the taste and aroma characteristics of the beverage. This parameter change enables the low-calorie artificial sweetener formulation to achieve sensory properties similar to high-sugar colas, bridging the gap between calorie reduction and taste quality.
3Quantity of substance
If multiple artificial sweeteners are combined to improve taste, then sweetness is enhanced, but complexity of formulation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges artificial sweeteners with natural coca leaf extract in a unified formulation. This combination approach integrates multiple functional components (sweetness provision and flavor enhancement) into a single synergistic system, achieving enhanced sweetness and improved taste profile while managing formulation complexity through the coordinated interaction of the combined ingredients.
Data Source
AI summary
An improved diet cola beverage comprises ethyl benzoate (and/or methyl benzoate, propyl benzoate or benzyl benzoate). An improved diet cola beverage comprises an extract of the coca leaf. Such improved beverages can additionally comprise an artificial sweetener. The extract of coca leaf plant may be decocainized, and provided in either liquid or powder form. The ratio of diet cola beverage product and the extract of the coca leaf plant can be combined at a ratio by weight of approximately 22:1 to 44:1.