Coffee specialties like cappuccinos, latte macchiato and cafe au lait are all characterised by a creamy milk foam. Coffee drinkers generally are attracted by drinks which have stable foaming properties.
CAVAMAX® W6 cyclodextrin from WACKER improves the foaming properties of these barista toppings. Thanks to CAVAMAX® W6, the toppings whether dairy or plant-based, feature a high foam volume, uniform structure and long-lasting stability.
Coffee in all its variations is one of the most popular beverage not only for Europeans but also their Asian counterparts. Germans alone consume 162 litres of coffee per capita every year.
Coffee preparations vary according to culture, national customs and personal taste. Generally, coffee specialties served with a froth of milk are extremely popular. In fact, preparing the frothy crown has become an art in itself – “latte art”. This is the technique used by baristas – professionals skilled in coffee making – of creating individual pictures in the milk foam.
The challenge consists in creating a fine, homogeneous foam with a high volume and long-term stability. Alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-dextrin for short), which WACKER produces from starch and markets under the CAVAMAX® W6 brand, provides a diverse range of properties that greatly enhance the foaming of milk.
The ring-shaped oligosaccharide has a hydrophilic or water-loving exterior and a lipophilic or fat-loving cavity. “This cavity can interact with lipophilic components of the barista milk, and form particulate complexes, which stabilise the foam structure and limit the coalescence of the liquid phase. CAVAMAX® W6 thus provides a uniform foam structure and long-term stability of the topping,” said Ulrike Fischer-Nägele, Head of Technical Service in the Nutrition business team at WACKER. “The foam half-life – the time until the foam has shrunk to half its volume – can be significantly increased from 3 to about 15 minutes by the addition of CAVAMAX® W6.”
CAVAMAX® W6 is a water-soluble, odorless and tasteless powder that is easy to handle and incorporate into various preparations. “CAVAMAX® improves the foam properties of various toppings, either for dairy or plant-based milks or for powder products, which are reconstituted with water before use,” added Fischer-Nägele. It can thus be used to satisfy the demand for vegan coffee specialties. Market studies showed that more consumers are turning to milk substitutes such as soya or almond drinks. In the US alone, the demand is growing by 10% annually.
As starch fermentation products, cyclodextrins from WACKER are produced from renewable raw materials. They are cyclic oligosaccharides, based on glucose units and are differentiated into alpha-, beta- and gamma-cyclodextrin, depending on the size of the ring. Correspondingly, alpha-cyclodextrin, which WACKER markets under the CAVAMAX® W6 brand, is vegan, Kosher and Halal.
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Wacker Chemicals (South Asia) Pte Ltd
