In the beverage industry, an alternative to add nutritional quality or simply to develop new tastes is the blending of different kinds of fruit juices. The objective of this work was the development of blends consisting of coconut water and clarified cashew apple juice with the addition of caffeine so as to provide stimulating properties to the beverage. Five formulations with different concentration of clarified cashew apple juice and previously standardized for pH, total soluble solids and caffeine concentration were evaluated. The formulations were submitted to physiochemical characterization (pH, soluble solids, acidity, total sugar, and vitamin C), microbiological analysis and sensory evaluation (color, taste, overall acceptability and purchase intent). All samples showed good acceptability and no difference among the averages of the evaluated attributes. In the purchase intent, the most accepted formulation was ACC 20 (20% clarified cashew apple juice and 80% coconut water). The vitamin C incorporation in the beverage through the addition of the clarified cashew apple juice was more evident up to formulation ACC 20. The results indicated that the formulation ACC 20 was more viable for elaboration of the mixed drink. All formulations presented satisfactory microbiological standard.
non-alcoholic beverages; vitamin C; clarified cashew apple juice; caffeine; sensory evaluation; tropical fruits
