Publication Date

2023

Journal or Book Title

Foods

Abstract

Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage consumed for its probiotics and functional properties. It has a unique sensory profile driven by the properties of tea polyphenols and fermentation products, including organic acids. Fermentation temperature and sucrose content affect the fermentation process and the production of organic acids; yet less is known about their impacts on the sensory profile and consumer acceptance. Thus, we aimed to examine the impact of sucrose concentration and fermentation temperature on sensory attributes and liking. For this study, kombucha tea was fermented at three different concentrations of sucrose and fermented at two temperatures for 11 days. Fermentation was monitored by pH, brix, and titratable acidity, and consumers (n = 111) evaluated the kombucha for sensory attributes and overall liking. The fermentation temperature resulted in significant differences in titratable acidity, with higher temperatures producing more organic acids, resulting in higher astringency, and suppressed sweetness. The lower fermentation was reported as significantly more liked, with no difference in liking between the 7.5% and 10% sucrose kombucha samples. Fermentation temperature had the greatest impact on the sensory profile rather than sucrose concentration, which had a greater effect on the fermentation rate and production organic acids.

ORCID

Cohen: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8270-6451; Sela: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3354-7470; Nolden: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9525-5580

Comments

Accompanying data can be found here: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/data/172

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12163116

Volume

12

Issue

16

License

UMass Amherst Open Access Policy

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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