Mixed tropical fruit nectars with added energy components

The purpose of this work was to develop energy drinks from mixed tropical fruit nectars with added caffeine or guarana. The nectars were formulated from puree blends, consisting of cashew apple, acerola, papaya, passion fruit and guava. Firstly, a mixture design was carried out by varying the puree proportions, in order to establish the most accepted formulation of the mixed nectar. Higher proportions of guava and papaya purees resulted in better acceptance scores, while passion fruit puree impaired the product acceptance. The most accepted formulation was that with the following puree contents: passion fruit, 3.9%; papaya, 5.7%; guava, 5.7%; and acerola, 5.7%. This formulation was defined as the control for the difference-from-control sensory tests, conducted to compare the control added with energy components (guarana or caffeine) with the control itself. Although both energy drinks were significantly different from the control, they were well accepted, indicating their potential for being commercialised.