Natural or added? What's really behind flavors and colors?
Anyone who deals with high-quality beverages will sooner or later come across the fine print on the label. Because that's where it's decided what's really in the glass. The terms on the ingredient list aren't marketing jargon – they adhere to clear legal definitions under food law.
Those who understand them can better assess quality.
The aroma hierarchy: From nature to the laboratory
Not every flavor is captured in a drink in the same way. There's a world of difference between real plants and laboratory formulas.
- Pure Botanicals (Extracts/Distillates): This is the highest level of refinement. Here, actual plant parts (flowers, roots, seeds) are macerated or distilled. The ingredient list will include terms like "Magnolia Flower Extract" or "Juniper Distillate." You obtain the full spectrum of the plant, including its essential oils and subtle bitter notes.
- Natural [X] flavoring: The "X" stands for a specific raw material (e.g., natural blackberry flavoring ). By law, at least 95% of this flavoring must originate from the stated source. The remaining 5% is usually used for standardization to compensate for harvest variations.
- Natural aroma – of natural origin, but not necessarily from the stated source : Here, the flavoring comes from natural raw materials (plant, animal, or microbiological), but not necessarily from the fruit it tastes like. A "natural flavoring" with peach flavor could therefore have been obtained using microorganisms or other plants.
- aroma – Pure laboratory development : This term refers to substances developed in a laboratory. They do not necessarily have a counterpart in nature. Their advantage lies in their price and stability, which makes them particularly attractive for mass-produced products.
And how does the color get into the glass?
There are also significant differences in approach to color. It's a choice between visual permanence and natural vibrancy.
- Coloring foods: Here, the color comes from concentrates of fruits and vegetables (e.g., black carrot, beetroot, or safflower). These extracts are treated like food and often bring with them a subtle, unique characteristic.
- Natural colorants: These are obtained by extraction from natural sources but are chemically isolated (e.g., anthocyanins or carotenes). They must be declared with an E number or their name.
- Artificial dyes & effects: Synthetic dyes offer an unnatural luminosity. Decorative additives such as glitter also fall into this category. They serve purely as a visual effect and contribute nothing to the sensory profile.
Why real plants make a difference
Pure plant extracts – that is, genuine botanicals – are the most elaborate form of flavor extraction. While industrial flavorings usually deliver an isolated flavor profile, natural extracts convey the entire "signature" of a plant.
And this is precisely where the sensory difference lies:
Natural extracts contain hundreds of accompanying substances that cannot be fully reproduced in the laboratory. They provide body, texture, and a complex mouthfeel. As a result, flavor becomes not just perceptible, but truly tangible.
This is particularly crucial in fine dining. Real botanicals react to temperature, dilution, or combination with food in a more complex and vibrant way than isolated flavorings.
Naturalness as an attitude
This philosophy also forms the foundation for LUST & FEAST . In the development of high-quality non-alcoholic aperitifs, the focus is consistently on the power of nature: the aromas and colors are created exclusively through elaborate extraction processes of the plants used.
This also means that there is natural variation. An extract from magnolia blossoms or blackberries can show slight differences in nuance or color intensity depending on the harvest time.
In the world of premium beverages, this isn't considered a flaw – but rather a mark of quality. It's a sign that what's in the glass isn't a standardized laboratory product, but a living, breathing one.
The conscious decision against artificial standardization or mere show effects is therefore also an attitude: quality does not arise from perfect reproducibility, but from the purity and depth of the raw materials used.