JP6073091B2 - Method for producing instant drink tea beverage - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a tea product. More particularly, it relates to a method for producing instant drink tea products that do not require additional flavoring.

  Tea is a very popular beverage that is very refreshing and can be served hot or cold. Many consumers prefer instant drink teas, that is, those that have been prepared and sold in bottles or other packages in advance. Instant drink teas must be sterilized to prevent microbial growth and therefore have a long shelf life. However, the sterilization process can affect the aroma and flavor of the tea product. Furthermore, when tea is preserved, especially when it is preserved at high temperatures, the flavor may deteriorate. In particular, instant drink milk tea suffers from this problem due to the presence of the milk. Therefore, to counter this, flavors are often added to instant drink teas. However, the use of added flavors can detract consumers from consuming tea because it detracts from the natural and healthy image of the product. Thus, an instant drink tea product is produced that has the same flavor, stability, and color as that contained in tea prepared by roasting leaves, at the same time it does not contain added flavoring It is hoped that.

  It is known from WO 2010/137575 to roast oolong (ie semi-fermented) tea in a product of instant drink milk tea packed in a container. This oolong tea beverage has been found to maintain a rich flora aroma even after sterilization (by heat). It has also been found that flavor reduction is suppressed during storage. The roasting temperature used is 150 to 250 ° C. and 3 to 10 minutes.

WO2010 / 137575

  This invention is providing the method of manufacturing the tea product of an instant drink as a 1st aspect. The present invention provides, as a second aspect, an instant drink tea product obtained or obtained by the method of the first aspect of the present invention.

The present inventors have found that by using tea leaves that have been roasted at a very high temperature for a short time, instant drink tea products can be produced that do not require the addition of flavorings. As a result, the method is
(A) roasting tea leaves at a temperature exceeding 250 ° C. for 60 to 180 seconds;
(B) extracting the roasted tea leaves using an aqueous liquid;
(C) sterilizing and packaging the extract.

  We have found that instant drink tea products prepared by this process have good flavor, color, and stability when stored at room temperature.

  Preferably, the tea leaves are roasted at 250 to 350 ° C, more preferably roasted at 300 to 350 ° C, and most preferably at 320 to 340 ° C.

  Preferably, the tea leaves are roasted at these temperatures for 90 to 150 seconds, more preferably 100 to 120 seconds.

  Preferably, milk or milk solids are added to the above extract to produce an instant drink milk tea product. We have found that instant drink tea products prepared by this process have good flavor, color, and stability when stored at room temperature, even when formulated with milk. I found. The milk or milk solids may be in any suitable form such as whole milk, condensed milk, whole milk powder, or skim milk powder.

  All percentages and ratios included herein were calculated by mass unless otherwise indicated. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art (eg, insoluble beverage manufacture). Have.

  The term “instant drink tea product” refers to a packaged, tea-based beverage, ie, a substantially aqueous drinking composition suitable for human consumption. The beverage contains at least 0.01 wt% tea solids per beverage. Preferably, the beverage contains 0.04 to 3 wt% tea solids, more preferably 0.06 to 2 wt% tea solids, most preferably 0.1 to 1 wt% tea solids. Contains solids. Preferably the beverage comprises at least 85% water by weight of the beverage, more preferably 90% water. In addition to tea solids and water, the beverage may contain other food ingredients such as milk solids, sugar, salt, and sweeteners.

  Preferably, the beverage is substantially free of preservatives and / or additive flavors and / or flavors and / or colorants. That is, the beverage comprises less than about 0.05% combined solids, and preferably about 0.001 to about 0.04% combined, based on the total weight of the beverage composition. Contains solids and most preferably does not contain preservatives, additive flavors, flavors or colorants. “Addition” means not derived from a roasted tea leaf extract.

  For the purposes of the present invention, “tea leaves” are substances from Camellia sinensis var. Sinensis and / or Camellia sinensis var. Assamica plant leaves and / or stems. . The leaves and / or stems are exposed to a so-called “fermentation process” that is oxidized by certain endogenous enzymes released during the early stages of the production of “tea”. This oxidation may be supplemented by the action of exogenous enzymes such as oxidases, laccases and peroxidases. The term “tea solids” is a dry extractable substance from leaves and / or stems of Camellia sinensis var. Sinensis and / or Camellia sinensis var. Assamica plants. . Black tea is distinguished from green tea whose leaves are substantially unfermented and also from oolong tea whose leaves are partially fermented.

  The term “roast” means exposing the tea leaves to high temperatures, such as in an oven. In the process of the present invention, the tea leaves are roasted at a temperature higher than 250 ° C, preferably roasted at 250 to 350 ° C, more preferably roasted at 300 to 350 ° C, most preferably roasted at 320 to 340 ° C. . The tea leaves are roasted at these temperatures for 60 to 180 seconds, preferably 90 to 150 seconds, more preferably 100 to 120 seconds.

  The roasted black tea leaves are contacted with an aqueous liquid such as water, thereby releasing certain water soluble substances, such as flavor and / or fragrance molecules, into the liquid to provide a beverage. This process is represented as extraction. The extraction may be performed at any temperature, but is preferably performed at least 40 ° C, more preferably at least 55 ° C, more preferably at least 70 ° C, and preferably at less than 120 ° C. More preferably, it is performed at less than 100 ° C, more preferably, it is performed at less than 90 ° C, and most preferably, it is performed at less than 80 ° C.

  The beverage is preferably packaged in a bottle or can. The volume of the packaged beverage can be a single dose, for example, less than 1 L, and preferably 100 to 600 mL. Alternatively, the package may contain several doses, so it typically has a capacity of 2L. Sterilization is required to kill the microorganisms present in the beverage, so once packaged, the beverage is microbiologically stable and has a suitable shelf life. Sterilization is typically performed by applying heat. The “F0” value, which represents the heating time required for sterilization, is often used as a basis for sterilization time. The required sterilization time / F0 value depends on the formulation (eg, pH, sugar content, milk solids content, etc.). F0 values in the range of 30 to 40 are usually preferred for the present invention. The beverage can be sterilized before or after packaging.

  The invention will now be described in detail by reference to the following non-limiting examples. These examples demonstrate that roasting at high temperatures provides a benefit over roasting at low temperatures.

  An unflavored instant drink (RTD) tea beverage was prepared using the formulation shown in Table 1.

  The tea leaves consisted of roasted tea and, in some cases, mixed with standard (non-roasted) black tea. Table 2 shows the tea used in each example. Examples according to the invention (Examples 1, 2 and 3) were prepared using black tea roasted at high temperature. Comparative examples were prepared using leaves roasted at low temperature (Comparative Examples 1A, 2A and 3A) or leaves not roasted at all (Comparative Example 4A).

  High temperature roasted tea was prepared by placing black tea leaves in a drum-type rotating oven at 320-340 ° C. for 95-110 seconds. The tea roasted at low temperature was prepared by heating the tea leaves at 130 ° C. for 15 minutes and then heating at 150 ° C. for 11 minutes using a hot air dryer.

  The beverage was prepared as follows. Tea leaves were mixed with 90 ° C. water at a ratio of 1 part leaf to 30 parts water and extracted for 6 minutes with stirring. The liquid was then separated from the leaves, cooled to 25 ° C. and filtered through filter paper.

  Separately, the emulsifier was dissolved using a homogenizer in a sufficient amount of water at a temperature of 80 to 85 ° C. Thereafter, milk and starch were added thereto and the mixture was emulsified using a homogenizer for 10 minutes.

  The sodium bicarbonate and sugar were then dissolved in water and added into the tea liquid. The emulsified dairy mixture was then added to it. Finally, ascorbic acid was dissolved in water and added into the mixture.

  The beverage was placed in a can at 85 ° C. (hot pack filling) and sterilized (F0 = 40).

  Each sample was held at high temperature (60 ° C.) for 1 week. Each beverage sample was also stored at 5 ° C. Thereafter, the samples were tested and evaluated on a 10-point scale for the extent to which they deteriorated. “10” indicates no deterioration, that is, the same as the standard (sample stored at 5 ° C.), and “1” indicates that it is extremely deteriorated. The results are shown in Table 3.

  The results in Table 3 indicate that the taste of the sample stored at high temperature is worse than that of the sample stored at cold temperature (5 ° C.). However, according to the examples of the present invention comprising tea roasted at high temperature (Examples 1, 2 and 3), those containing tea roasted at low temperature (Comparative Examples 1A, 2A and 3A) and roasted The deterioration was less than that without any tea (Comparative Example 4A). Therefore, roasting at a high temperature kept the flavor closer to the standard. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the greater the proportion of roasted tea used, the less deterioration (ie Example 2> 3> 1).

Claims (5)

(A) roasting tea leaves at a temperature of 320 ° C. to 340 ° C. for 60 to 180 seconds;
(B) extracting the roasted tea leaves using an aqueous liquid;
(C) sterilizing and packaging the extract to produce an instant drink tea product. The method of claim 1, wherein the tea leaves are roasted for 90 to 150 seconds. The method of claim 2 , wherein the tea leaves are roasted for 100 to 120 seconds. The extract milk or milk solids addition, the production of milk tea products instant drink A method according to any one of claims 1-3. Beverages are substantially free of added flavors A method according to any one of claims 1-4.