“It's not hard to add flavorings to a beverage and make it taste great, but you must carefully simulate your customer's processing conditions to make a good final product,” says Stephen Wolf, director of flavor applications for a flavor supplier.
Flavors do not perform the same in all beverage bases—they can taste very different from one base to another. Shelf life is another issue—over time, the flavor may increase or decrease in intensity or change character.
Flavoring beverages seems like a mysterious process at times; however, understanding a few ingredient basics goes a long way towards success.