JP7054928B2 - Tea extract manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for producing a tea extract obtained by pressing tea leaves.

Conventionally, as a method for producing this kind of tea extract, as shown in, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, fresh tea leaves are steamed, cooled, shredded, and then squeezed, and then squeezed. A method is known in which the resulting liquid tea extract is appropriately dried and pulverized.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-275903 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-56243

Regarding the production of tea extracts as described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a more efficient production method has been required.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a tea extract capable of efficiently producing a tea extract.

The method for producing a tea extract according to claim 1 is to steam the raw branches and leaves of tea to stop the activation of oxidase , shred the steamed branches and leaves before cooling, and shred the branches and leaves. It separates branches and leaves while cooling with wind power, and squeezes the separated leaves.

The method for producing a tea extract according to claim 2 is provided on a plurality of rotating bodies that rotate in opposite directions when the separated leaves are squeezed in the method for producing a tea extract according to claim 1. The squeezing gear squeezes the leaves by engaging them through the leaves.

The method for producing a tea extract according to claim 3 is the method for producing a tea extract according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the temperature of the leaves at the time of pressing is 30 ° C. or lower.

According to the present invention, since the steamed branches and leaves are shredded and then separated into branches and leaves while being cooled by wind power, the branches and leaves can be separated and cooled in the separation step, and the tea extract can be efficiently used. Can be manufactured.

It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the tea extract which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the squeezing machine used in the manufacturing method of the tea extract of the same as above. It is a top view which shows the rotating body in the same squeezing machine. It is a top view which shows the screen body in the same squeezing machine.

Hereinafter, the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the raw branches and leaves, which are the leaves with branches of the plucked tea, are divided into a juice squeezing process for producing tea extract and a crude tea process for producing crude tea after steaming with a steamer. Will proceed.

In the juice squeezing step, steamed branches and leaves are shredded with a tea leaf cutter, and the shredded branches and leaves are separated into branches and leaves by wind power using a wind power sorter based on the difference in their respective specific densities. The fine branches separated from the leaves are supplied to the rough tea process and processed.

The separated leaves are supplied to the squeezing machine 11 shown in FIG. 2 and squeezed, and a liquid substance (tea extract) of about 15 to 20% with respect to the supplied leaves is obtained.

The tea extract after squeezing can be used as a raw material for tea beverages such as green tea, for example, as a liquid extract for tea beverages added to tea beverages by appropriately concentrating and sterilizing, or as powder for instant tea beverages by drying. Become.

Here, when steaming the branches and leaves, it is important that the longer the steam hits the leaves, the higher the temperature of the leaves, and the activation of the oxidase is stopped.

When shredding steamed branches and leaves, keeping the branches and leaves separated makes it easier to separate them by wind power, but for example, if cutting to less than 20 mm, the cut branches and leaves will be separated. May be more likely to be mixed, and cutting larger than 40 mm may result in inadequate separation of branches and leaves. Therefore, when shredding branches and leaves, it is preferable to shred them to 20 mm or more and 40 mm or less.

When squeezing, if the temperature of the leaves exceeds 30 ° C, the color of the juice may change, so it is preferable to control the temperature of the leaves to 30 ° C or lower.

As shown in FIG. 2, the squeezing machine 11 includes a squeezing machine main body 13 provided with wheels 12, and a driving unit 14 provided with a motor or the like (not shown) on the squeezing machine main body 13 and the driving unit 14 A squeezing section 15 for squeezing the leaves by the driving force of the squeezed portion and a separating section 16 for separating the tea extract which is a liquid after squeezing and the squeezed lees which is a solid substance are provided.

The pressing portion 15 is formed in a box-shaped receiving member 21 having an open upper portion and two rotating bodies 22 fixed to a shaft (not shown) connected to a motor in the driving portion 14 and rotatably supported by the receiving member 21. It is composed of a gear portion 23 which is a squeezing portion.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gear portion 23 has a plurality of squeezing gears 24 parallel to each other provided so as to be inclined with respect to the axial direction of the rotating body 22.

The two rotating bodies 22 are installed so that the squeezing gears 24 of the respective gear portions 23 mesh with each other while rotating. Further, each squeezing gear 24 is arranged so that the tip side, which is the separation portion 16 side, faces outward with respect to the base end side, which is the squeezing machine main body 13 side.

Then, when the two shafts of the squeezing machine main body 13 rotate in opposite directions and the two rotating bodies 22 rotate in opposite directions, the meshing points of the squeezing gears 24 in the two gear portions 23 are the bases of the squeezing gear 24. It meshes sequentially so as to move from the end side to the tip side. At that time, the squeezing gears 24 mesh with each other through the leaves to squeeze the leaves. That is, the leaves are crushed and squeezed so that the leaves are crushed by the squeezing gears 24 meshing with the leaves so that the leaves are sandwiched between the squeezing gears 24 to be meshed with each other.

Further, the tea extract produced by squeezing flows as it is to the separating portion 16 side via the receiving member 21 below the squeezing portion 15, and the squeezed lees after squeezing moves to the separating portion 16 side so as to be pushed by the squeezing gear 24. do.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, a screw 25 is integrally provided on the tip side of the gear portion 23 in the rotating body 22 in the axial direction.

The separation portion 16 is composed of a screw 25, a screen body 26, and a recovery member 27 provided below the screw 25 and the screen body 26.

The screw 25 is gradually configured to have a smaller diameter from the gear portion 23 side, which is the base end side, toward the tip end side.

As shown in FIG. 4, the screen body 26 has a frame body 28 detachably attached to the squeezing machine main body 13, and a tubular screen member 29 attached to the frame body 28.

The screen member 29 is configured to have a gradually smaller diameter from the proximal end side to the distal end side, and the screw 25 can be inserted inside.

Further, in the state where the screw 25 is inserted into the screen member 29, the clearance between the screw 25 and the inner surface of the screen member 29 is gradually narrowed toward the tip end side in the axial direction.

The screen member 29 has a predetermined mesh width (for example, 0.15 mm or the like), allows a liquid such as tea extract to pass to the outside, and can hold a solid such as pomace inside.

Then, in the screen member 29, the screw 25 rotates, so that the squeezed cake from the squeezing portion 15 is pushed toward the tip side (downstream side) by the screw 25, and the squeezed cake is pressed by the screw 25 and the screen member 29. Squeeze the tea extract from the squeezed lees by sandwiching it.

Further, the tea extract thus produced from the lees passes through the screen member 29 and flows into the recovery member 27. The tea extract squeezed by the squeezing section 15 flows into the collecting member 27 via the receiving member 21 and is recovered.

That is, in the squeezing machine 11, the leaves are crushed and crushed by the squeezing gear 24 rotating in opposite directions in the squeezing portion 15, and the squeezed lees after squeezing are separated so as to be pushed by the squeezing gear 24. Moving to the portion 16 side, the tea extract is squeezed out by the screw 25 and the screen member 29 in the screen member 29.

When the tea extract thus obtained is dried into a powder, for example, a method of using a double drum dryer and passing the tea extract between the heated rotary drums to evaporate the water is preferable. ..

In the rough tea process, the steamed branches and leaves are cooled by a hot air treatment machine. The fine branches separated from the leaves in the juice squeezing step are mixed with the leaves after cooling by, for example, a hot air treatment machine, and the pomace produced by the pressing in the juice squeezing step is also mixed with the leaves after cooling. ..

In addition, leaf beating, first rough kneading, and second rough kneading are sequentially performed to reduce the water content to about 1/4, and then kneading to make the water content uniform.

Then, rough tea is obtained by kneading the leaves in a medium manner, twisting the leaves, and kneading the leaves, stretching the leaves, and drying them.

Next, the effect of the above embodiment will be described.

According to the above method for producing a tea extract, the steamed and shredded branches and leaves are separated into branches and leaves by wind power, so that the leaves can be cooled by the wind power while separating the branches and leaves in the separation step. Therefore, the separated leaves can be squeezed as they are to efficiently produce a tea extract.

In addition, conventionally, after heating, the leaves are often cooled to prevent deterioration, but in the above method for producing tea extract, after steaming, the branches and leaves are separated by wind power, and the separated leaves are squeezed. Therefore, the cooling action of the wind force has an effect of preventing deterioration, the time from the steaming step to the squeezing step can be shortened as compared with the conventional method, and a tea extract having good quality can be efficiently produced.

By setting the temperature of the leaves at the time of pressing to 30 ° C. or lower, discoloration of the juice can be prevented.

When squeezing, the leaves are crushed and crushed by a squeezing machine 11 having a squeezing gear 24 to obtain a dark green and good-colored tea extract, and the hue of the tea extract can be improved.

When the tea extract is dried into a powder, the aroma and flavor can be improved by passing between heated rotary drums to evaporate the water content.

In the above embodiment, the separated leaves are crushed and squeezed so as to be crushed by the gear portion 23, but the squeezing method is not limited to such a method, and the steamed leaves are squeezed. Any method may be used as long as it can be squeezed to obtain a tea extract.

22 rotating body
24 squeezing gear

Claims (3)

Steam the raw branches and leaves of tea to stop the activation of oxidase ,
Shred the steamed uncooled branches and leaves,
The shredded branches and leaves are separated into branches and leaves while being cooled by wind power.
A method for producing a tea extract, which comprises pressing the separated leaves. The first aspect of claim 1, wherein when the separated leaves are squeezed, the squeezing gears provided on a plurality of rotating bodies rotating in opposite directions squeeze the leaves by engaging with the leaves. How to make tea extract. The method for producing a tea extract according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the temperature of the leaves when squeezed is 30 ° C. or lower.

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