Maté beverage

Abstract

A process for preparing a clarified maté extract, a maté beverage base formulation and a maté beverage are disclosed. A maté extract, which is rich in natural caffeine, theobromine, theophylline and antioxidant compounds is clarified by adding gelatin and silica sol and freezing the resulting extract. The frozen extract is then thawed and a clarified liquid supernatant is separated from the solids to obtain a clarified maté extract. The clarified maté extract is used to make a maté beverage formulation which may be used to make maté beverages, such as carbonated maté beverages.

1 - 39 . (canceled) 
     
     
         40 : A clarified maté extract obtained from a plant of the species  Ilex  and comprising caffeine, theobromine and theophylline. 
     
     
         41 : The clarified maté extract according to  claim 40  produced by the process comprising the steps of
 (a) providing plant material from a plant of a single species of  Ilex;    
 (b) producing a raw extract from the plant material which comprises caffeine, theobromine and theophylline; 
 (c) adding gelatin to the raw extract; 
 (d) adding silica to the gelatin-treated extract of step (c) and allowing the mixture to settle; 
 (e) freezing the silica, and gelatin containing extract of step (d); and 
 (f) thawing the extract of step (e) and separating a clarified liquid supernatant from the solids to obtain a clarified maté extract and an extract cake. 
 
     
     
         42 : A maté beverage base formulation comprising:
 (a) clarified maté extract according to  claim 40 ; 
 (b) water; 
 (c) sugar; 
 (d) colour; and 
 (e) acid. 
 
     
     
         43 : The maté beverage base formulation of  claim 42  wherein the water is a maté cake wash. 
     
     
         44 : The maté beverage base formulation of  claim 42  wherein the acid is citric acid. 
     
     
         45 : The maté beverage base formulation of  claim 44  comprising 10%-30% clarified maté extract, 10%-25% water, 50%-65% sugar, 1%-10% colour and 1%-2% citric acid. 
     
     
         46 : The maté beverage base formulation of  claim 44  comprising 18%-22% clarified maté extract, 15%-18% water, 56%-60% sugar, 2%-5% colour and 1.2-1.4% citric acid. 
     
     
         47 : The maté beverage base formulation of  claim 44  comprising 20.03% clarified maté extract, 16.76% water, 58.4% sugar, 3.56% colour and 1.25% citric acid. 
     
     
         48 : The maté beverage base formulation according to  claim 42  wherein the base formulation is 65 brix. 
     
     
         49 : A maté beverage comprising the maté base formulation of  claim 42 . 
     
     
         50 : The maté beverage of  claim 49  which is carbonated. 
     
     
         51 : The maté beverage of  claim 50  comprising 5%-20% maté beverage base formulation and 80%-95% carbonated water. 
     
     
         52 : The maté beverage of  claim 50  comprising 10%-12% maté beverage base formulation and 86%-90% carbonated water. 
     
     
         53 : The maté beverage of  claim 50  comprising 11.23% maté beverage base formulation and 88.77% carbonated water. 
     
     
         54 : The maté beverage according to  claim 49  wherein the beverage comprises about 0.15 to about 0.3 mg/mL of caffeine. 
     
     
         55 : The maté beverage according to  claim 49  wherein the beverage comprises about 0.18 to about 0.22 mg/mL caffeine. 
     
     
         56 : The maté beverage according to  claim 49  wherein the beverage has an ORAC value of 6,000-7,000 μmol/TE/L. 
     
     
         57 : The clarified maté extract of  claim 40  where the caffeine, theobromine and theophylline are obtained solely from the maté plant  Ilex paraguariensis.    
     
     
         58 : The clarified maté extract of  claim 41  where the plant material comprises a mixture of green maté extract and toasted leaves and stems from the  Ilex  plant. 
     
     
         59 : The clarified maté extract of  claim 40  which does not contain any added chemical agents for preservation, acidification or augmentation of the extract. 
     
     
         60 : The clarified maté extract of  claim 40  which does not contain any added caffeine, theobromine or theophylline from any other natural or synthetic source. 
     
     
         61 : The clarified maté extract of  claim 40  where the clarified maté extract is certified organic.