Process for preparing bitter beverages

A process for the production of a bitter beverage comprising the steps of adding to an aqueous beverage solution, to impart a bitter taste to said beverage, cynaropicrin in a substantially pure and stable form, said cynaropicrin being in an aqueous medium maintained at a pH of 5.7, or below, and said cynaropicrin concentration in said beverage being at least about 10 mg/liter.

In the process of preparing a beverage comprising preparing a bittering composition by extraction of a vegetable material containing cyaropicrin and adding said composition to a beverage solution;

• the improvement consisting of stabilizing a substantially pure cynaropicrin from said vegetable material by maintaining an acid pH of less than 7 during the extraction step whenever said cynaropicrin is in contact with water, and adding said substantially pure and stable cynaropicrin to said beverage in an amount sufficient to impart to said beverage a cynaropicrin concentration of at least about 10 mg of cynaropicrin per liter of said beverage and in the presence of a physiologically safe amount of an edible acid for maintaining said beverage at a pH of 5.7 or below.

A substantially stable and colorless cynaropicrin solution comprising said cynaropicrin dissolved in a solvent selected from the group consisting of water and mixtures of water and alcohol, said solution containing an acid in an amount sufficient to impart to said solution a pH of 5.7 or below and said cynaropicrin being dissolved in said solution in an amount sufficient to impart to said substantially stable and colorless solution a cynaropicrin concentration of at least about 10 mg cynaropicrin per liter of said solution.