Physical property assessment of coffee based cappuccino powder during storage

Abstract

Instant cappuccino powder is commonly used in households all over the World nowadays. It is made from varying percentages of instant coffee, sugar, milk powder and different emulsifiers and anti-caking agents and represents a complex mixture of different food powders with different physical and chemical properties. During storage, quality of the powder mixture decreases with increasing levels of moisture or increasing storage temperatures. The objective of this work was to investigate the change in physical properties of cappuccino powder during 4 months of storage. Cappuccino powder was stored at ambient temperature of 20 °C and a relative humidity of 50 - 55%. Changes in particle size, color, moisture, bulk density, cohesion and caking properties were monitored. Significant correlation was found between all parameters of particle size distribution, as well as a significant influence of the moisture content on bulk density values. Color changes based on CIELab L, a, b scale and cohesion property changes were slight and statistically insignificant. However, a significant dependence was found between cake strength and cohesion index - an increase in cohesion index was followed by an increase in cake strength.

Keywords

• cappuccino
• physical properties
• storage
• powder