On trend: Symrise develops tea and coffee flavors for dairy applications

10 Dec 2018 --- Flavors and fragrance supplier Symrise is now offering a collection of specialty flavors designed to deliver the popular tastes of coffee and tea to dairy products, including milkshakes, yogurts and ice cream. According to Symrise, this new collection provides “a gateway to a unique and fully indulgent, authentic taste adventure to lovers of these beverages through a variety of flavors that expand beyond the known and following the trend wave.”

Symrise developed this tea and coffee flavor collection based on the flavor trend from their proprietary consumer insights study they have identified as “Conserve, Preserve, Shaken or Stirred” whereby processing, mixing and infusing opposing ingredients together transforms flavor profiles to create something uniquely new, says the company.

Combining unusual ingredients and special sourcing with a unique process, creative composition and an intriguing story is proving successful in the dairy category, especially outside of the usual flavors and applications, says Symrise. 

“Consumers are looking for that premium experience in their food, which means pushing the boundaries on taste,” notes Ian Thurston, Senior Category Manager Sweet at Symrise. 

“Our collection goes beyond what is expected in coffee and tea flavors, utilizing café favorites and unique tastes that pair perfectly with dairy indulgences,” he claims.

Examples of complex, high-intensity flavors include hazelnut and amaretto, salted caramel, cold brew mocha and hibiscus blossom chai latte in the coffee category. In the tea category, examples include matcha, chocolate, vanilla earl grey and white peach., 

Not only are these strong flavors meant to impart a pleasant taste sensation, but they also serve practical benefits, including masking any astringent or sour notes that are challenging for these dairy applications, says Symrise. The result is a collection of flavors that elevates dairy with the authentic taste of barista-brewed tea and coffee and opens the door to new, more indulgent applications for an eager consumer base.

FoodIngredientsFirst has reached out to Symrise for further comments on the new range of flavors.

Meanwhile, there is ample space for innovation and differentiation using tea and coffee flavors in the food and beverage market. Tea and coffee flavors are cropping up in several categories beyond hot drinks, including ice cream, sweet biscuits and beer. A focus on indulgence is likely to be a key focus in the foreseeable future. You can view FoodIngredientsFirst recent key trends on tea and coffee flavors here.

This year (2018), “Beyond the Coffeehouse” was tipped as trend number five by Innova Market Insights. According to the market researcher, coffee has clearly been trending among Millennial and Generation Z consumers and tea is also reinventing itself among the younger generations. With the taste and experiential associations of coffee and the healthy image of tea, the industry is increasingly using coffee and tea as ingredients and flavors outside the hot drinks and iced tea and coffee sub-categories across a wide variety of products as varied as energy bars, yogurt and jam.

Previously speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Director of Innovation at Innova Market Insights, Lu Ann Williams said: “Everybody is doing specialty teas and coffee. Competition is fierce but what you see now is coffee flavors everywhere, this has jumped out of the category. There is a hype around coffee and tea. Coffee used to be a thing that your old parents drank, but once it jumps the category its becomes super interesting – it’s a force on its own – one thing we do see is that shelves are heaving with passion, and that’s the driving force behind this trend.”