Beverage Ingredients

Most of the category is a concentrated or dried version of something that was once liquid, so the questions repeat across it: how much water was removed, by what method, and what survived. Concentrated Juice and Concentrated Fruit And Vegetable Juice are traded on Brix, on whether the product is clear or cloudy, and on acid content, since apple and pear concentrates are bought as much for sweetness and body as for flavour.

Cocoa splits on fat content and on treatment. Natural cocoa powder is acidic and pale, while Alkalized Cocoa is treated to raise pH, which darkens the colour, softens the flavour and improves dispersion in milk. Instant Coffee and Instant Tea split on drying method, since spray drying costs less and freeze drying holds more aroma, and on cold water solubility, which decides whether a powder suits a ready to drink product or only hot preparation.