Product and Process Research Center, Food Industry Research and Development Institute, Hsinchu City, Taiwan.
Health & Human Development, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
J Food Sci. 2022 Dec;87(12):5418-5429. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.16373. Epub 2022 Nov 15.
The global plant-based product market is growing rapidly, and plant-based milks show promising potential in the coffee beverage sector. This study aimed to identify sensory drivers of liking of plant-based milk coffees for guiding the development of plant-based products with competitive advantages over dairy milk coffees. Twelve coffee samples were prepared with plant-based (oat, soy, almond, and coconut) and dairy (cow) milk. Quantitative descriptive analysis was used to generate sensory attribute terms for the 12 samples. Check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions were given to consumers to evaluate the sensory profiles and consumer acceptance of the 12 samples. Correspondence analysis and cluster analysis of the CATA results from 80 consumers showed that the oat and soy milk coffee samples were closer to what the consumers perceived as "typical" milk products, while the coconut and almond milk coffee samples were closer to the "flavored" milk products. Partial least squares regression results revealed that the attributes smooth, milky, and thick were important drivers of liking for the milk coffee samples. On the contrary, rancid oil, greasy, astringent, and rice bran were the major sensory attributes lowering the panelists' acceptance of the milk coffee samples. The majority of consumers (53.5%) were "dairy milk lovers," who specifically liked the dairy milk coffee sample and had low acceptance for the plant-based milk coffee samples. There was also a group of consumers (46.2%) classified as "plant-based milk coffee lovers." They enjoyed coffees prepared with a wide range of milks (both dairy and nondairy milks) and represent high-potential consumers for plant-based milk coffee products. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The positive and negative drivers of liking for plant-based milk coffee samples were identified. A competitive landscape analysis method for assessing the acceptability and sensory attributes of 12 milk coffee samples (11 commercial plant-based milks and 1 dairy milk product) in the current Asian market was established. The sensory terms developed in this study can also be applied to evaluate sensory profiles of other plant-based and dairy milk coffee samples.
全球植物基产品市场发展迅速，植物奶在咖啡饮料领域显示出巨大的发展潜力。本研究旨在确定消费者对植物奶咖啡喜好的感官驱动因素，从而为开发具有竞争优势的植物基产品提供指导，使其在与牛奶咖啡的竞争中脱颖而出。本研究共制备了 12 种咖啡样品，包括植物奶（燕麦、大豆、杏仁和椰子）和牛奶（奶牛）。使用定量描述性分析方法生成 12 种样品的感官属性术语。消费者通过多项选择问题（CATA）评估 12 种样品的感官特征和消费者接受度。80 名消费者的 CATA 结果的对应分析和聚类分析表明，燕麦和大豆奶咖啡样品更接近消费者认为的“典型”奶类产品，而椰子和杏仁奶咖啡样品更接近“风味”奶类产品。偏最小二乘回归结果表明，口感顺滑、奶味浓郁和口感醇厚是消费者喜欢牛奶咖啡样品的重要驱动因素。相反，酸败油味、油腻感、涩味和米糠味是降低消费者对牛奶咖啡样品接受度的主要感官属性。大多数消费者（53.5%）是“牛奶爱好者”，他们特别喜欢牛奶咖啡样品，对植物奶咖啡样品的接受度较低。还有一部分消费者（46.2%）被归类为“植物奶咖啡爱好者”。他们喜欢用各种牛奶（包括牛奶和非牛奶）制作的咖啡，是植物奶咖啡产品的高潜力消费者。实际应用：确定了消费者对植物奶咖啡样品喜好的正面和负面驱动因素。建立了一种竞争格局分析方法，用于评估当前亚洲市场上 12 种牛奶咖啡样品（11 种商业植物奶和 1 种牛奶产品）的可接受性和感官属性。本研究中开发的感官术语也可用于评估其他植物奶和牛奶咖啡样品的感官特征。
