Coffee Craze: Wheat Protein Products Used as Coffee Creamer 5/16/02

MANHATTAN, Kan. – A little wheat with your coffee? The idea may become a reality if a researcher at Kansas State University has anything to say about it.

More than 100 million Americans drink an estimated 350 million cups of coffee each day, according to the National Coffee Association. And, the organization says, 62 percent of coffee drinkers enhance the taste, texture, color and other characteristics with additives, such as sweeteners or creaming agents.

K-State Research and Extension food scientist Karen Schmidt has found that wheat proteins can be used as an ingredient in coffee creamers. Compared to the dairy and soy-based products currently on the market, the wheat protein could be used at a much lower cost.

Fueling the Fever: Coffee Consumption Facts

An annual survey by the National Coffee Association measured trends in coffee consumption among Americans. The 2001 National Coffee Drinking Trends survey included more than 3,000 men and women. Results include:

* Fifty-two percent of the adult population over 18 years of age drink coffee every day, representing 107 million daily drinkers.

* Thirty-five percent of coffee drinkers drink their coffee black; while more than 62 percent add a sweetener or creaming agent.

* Coffee drinkers consume on average 3.3 cups of coffee per day.

* Sixty-four percent of all coffee is consumed at breakfast, 28 percent between meals and 8 percent at all other meals.

* More than 100 million Americans drink a total of 350 million cups of coffee a day.

* The United States annually imports 2.5 million pounds of coffee, representing one-third of all coffee exported. That makes it the world’s largest consumer of coffee.

"Creamer alternatives originally came from the soy industry," said Schmidt, an associate professor in dairy food processing. "However, markets are becoming more open to incorporating wheat into other value-added products, such as a non-animal based creamer."

Along with Anke Golde, K-State graduate student working on her masters research project, Schmidt said final results of the year-long study will be released in August 2002. Funded by the Agricultural Product Utilization Forum, the research would bring added value to the wheat industry.

For centuries, coffee earned a reputation for use by European pharmacists to attempt to cure illness. American revolutionists viewed it as a symbol of freedom and currently as a part of everyday life.

To fuel consumer demand and enhance taste, creamers were introduced to offer additional choices and broaden the variety of flavors.

"Originally, creamers were dairy based and purely cream," Schmidt said. "Then in the 1970s, consumers wanted coffee creamers without refrigeration requirements and enhanced shelf life such as powder products of milk solids and dry condensed milk."

The 1990s brought a flurry of flavored creamers with franchised chain coffee houses.

"This renewed an interest in the uses wheat proteins to make a high-quality creamer ," she said.

Beginning with examinations of coffee, Golde dissected the beans and brew to find the core components of the product.

"We started to look at what is brewed coffee by taking the top three selling brands to examine color, acidity, temperature changes and other characteristics," she said. "Basically, we defined a cup of coffee."

The study then looked into different approaches to meet consumer demands for coffee creamer. Consumer concerns centered on whiteness, thickness and stability. With these priorities, researchers compared soy, dairy and wheat products to determine differences. The products were evaluated for color, viscosity, stability and acidity.

"Not all proteins stabilize in the same environments," she said. "Feathering is the condition of proteins seemingly curd after left standing. Different coffee creamers feather at different times with different patterns."

Researchers discovered wheat protein formulas that remained stable without feathering and also maintained a pleasant taste.

Schmidt and Golde said they hope to publish their results and update scientific literature about current coffee trends and coffee creamer ingredient selections.

"Coffee has changed," Schmidt said, "yet this has not been reflected in scientific journals and documentation. Some of the data we found still referred to percolators instead of the popular drip style pots used predominately in the U.S."

Schmidt said the research could open opportunities to examine other liquid products.

"There are not many wheat-based liquid products,"she said. "This is a totally new area to see what kind of possibilities exist."

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.