Identifying sensory drivers of liking for plant‐based milk coffees: Implications for product development and application

Abstract

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.

Description

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Identifying sensory drivers of liking for plant‐based milk coffees: Implications for product development and application. Journal of Food Science 87, 12 p5418-5429 (2022)], which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.16373. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions: https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/licensing/self-archiving.html#3.

Keywords

alternatives, coffee, dairymilk, sustainability

Citation

Chung, Y.-L., Kuo, W.-Y.,Liou, B.-K., Chen, P.-C., Tseng, Y.-C., Huang, R.-Y.,& Tsai, M.-C. (2022). Identifying sensory drivers ofliking for plant-based milk coffees: Implications forproduct development and application.Journal ofFood Science,87,5418–5429.https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.16373
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