STiR coffee and tea magazine

38 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 5, 2017 (October / November) instant will grow in popularity despite the dominance of fresh beans in the industry. The report adds that "transportation of instant coffee is cheaper, as it has lower shipping weight and volume than beans or ground coffee. Moreover, instant cof- fee offers convenience in preparation, which increases demand among the urban consumers." The convenience of soluble coffee opens markets for more premium coffee products, according to IMARC. "Europe in- cluding the CIS represents the largest market for instant coffee globally. Asia is the second largest market and within Asia, the Middle East represents the fastest growing market." Nestlé became the world's biggest coffee seller by launching its first instant coffee in 1938 and the first capsule machines in 1986. Few people know, but the first soluble coffee in the world was developed in response to a request from the Brazilian govern- ment, during the coffee crisis of 1929, to come up with ways to add value. Nescafé was formulated in Brazil in 1938 and its first factory was built in Araras, a two-hour drive from São Paulo. "Coffee prices declined vertiginously after the great de- pression and the government understood that Nestlé, with its knowledge and food processing technology, would be the ideal partner and the solution for this problem," according to the company. Decades later, in 2014, a brand new facility opened in the same little town in Brazil. Today it is considered the largest and the most modern Nescafé factory in the world. Since its launch, Nescafé has been the market leader in the Brazil. Globally it is the most valuable brand in Nestlé's portfo- lio and the fifth most valuable brand in the food and beverage segment. The Nescafé blend of arabica and robusta is sold in more than 180 countries. Market dominance invites competition and spurs inno- vation. Since 2010 the JAB Holding Company has spent $30 billion acquiring coffee companies, beginning with Douwe Eg- berts. Strauss group, Mondele International (Kraft) and Tchibo are all jostling for position. Meanwhile smaller companies are in- vesting in innovation, technology, and quality processes to claim market share in the lucrative premium segment. See pg. 40 Mexico's Growing Coffee Market Instant coffee for the specialty market Aguinaldo José de Lima with ABICS says that "Quality in solu- ble coffee is improving. In the last few years freeze-dry is show- ing good results in the sensorial aspects. Considering that this segment will grow more than roasted and ground coffee, the industry is investing more in production and technology." According to IMARC, retail coffee shops in mature and emerging markets are popularizing coffee with young consum- ers. "Most importantly, innovation in the food and beverage market is stimulating the demand for instant coffee as manufac- turers are introducing finer quality of products with enhanced flavors and aroma, and attractive packaging," de Lima said. A great cup of coffee ready in seconds is heaven for those with an urge for tasty cup but few consumers have the time or gadgets that preparing specialty beans demands. The quest is convenience without sacrificing rich taste. Sudden Coffee is an example. This premium instant brand recently launched in specialty coffee market. According co-founder and c.e.o. Joshua Zloof, Sudden Coffee tastes like a pour over with the conve- nience of instant. Preserving the natural flavor of tea Sri Lanka's A7, the undulating and winding road that crosses the heart of Nuwara Eliya, a famous tea producing region, leads to Blinkbonnie a hillside factory quite unlike the 700 processing facilities on this island of tea. Hayleys Global Beverage chose Hatton for its proximity to com- pany-owned gardens that date to 1878. The Hayleys Group annually grows 15 million kilos of tea on 36 gardens, and exports 4.5% of Sri Lanka's tea, most of which is destined for teabags and tins. Engineers and researchers here at the Hatton factory have dis- covered a way to capture the very essence of tea used to produce concentrates, extracts, instant granules, and tea powders. Instant tea is popular, convenient, inexpensive, but often criticized for processing that sacrifices the delicacy of aroma that emanates from volatile compounds. Instant tea was developed in the 1930s, with Nestlé introducing the first commercially successful product in 1946. Nestea was popular and profitable as factories extracted the liquor from what were usually off grade black teas. Greens were later added to improve color and as a clarifying agent to prevent clouding. The extract was then concen- trated under low pressure and dried to a powder as a fine spray, free- dried, or vacuum-dried to crystals. The initial extraction was done at low temperatures to preserve some of the tea's aromatic components resulting in instant that lacked body and seemed flavorless. Flavor is very dependent on smell (typically accounting for 75 to 90% of the sensory experience) and the pleasantly aromatic molecules in good tea simply were not there to smell. Deputy general managers Akila Dalpathadu, compliance & pro- cess development, and Susantha Marasinghe, engineering, while leading a tour explained in detail a process that transforms bulky leaves into flavorful premium quality powders infused with aqueous tea aroma. Microbial and analytical labs monitor entire process

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