JP7709301B2 - Packaged tea-flavored alcoholic beverage - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a packaged tea-flavored alcoholic beverage.

Alcoholic beverages containing tea leaf extracts (i.e., tea), such as green tea, oolong tea, and black tea (hereinafter referred to as "tea-flavored alcoholic beverages"), have a strong following because, compared to fruit-flavored alcoholic beverages, they are not as sweet and go well with meals, and are healthy, with fewer calories and sugar.
Some of these tea-flavored alcoholic beverages contain powdered tea in order to enhance the tea flavor. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an alcoholic beverage in which powdered tea having an average particle size of 10 to 20 μm is added to a tea extract in order to impart the original tea flavor and color tone.

JP 2007-244310 A

However, the container of an alcoholic beverage may affect the flavor perceived by the drinker. The present inventors have studied alcoholic beverages packed in bottle cans and found that the alcoholic stimulation is more easily felt when drinking from bottle cans than when drinking from stay-on-tab cans, which are commonly used as containers for alcoholic beverages.
This is thought to be because the mouth of a bottle can is larger than that of a stay-on-table can, which affects the amount consumed in one sip and the force (flow rate) of the drink into the mouth. This tendency was particularly noticeable with tea-flavored alcoholic beverages that are less sweet. It was also found that if a tea-flavored alcoholic beverage is simply packaged in a container with a large mouth area, the alcohol will be too strong.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a technology that can reduce the irritation caused by alcohol in tea-flavored alcoholic beverages packed in containers with a large drinking spout area.

The present inventors have found that the above problems can be solved by the following means.
[1] A bottled tea-flavored alcoholic beverage sealed in a container with a drinking mouth area of 500 ^mm2 or more, comprising a tea leaf extract, a distilled liquor, and powdered tea having an average particle size of 10.0 μm or less.
[2] The beverage described in [1], wherein the average particle size of the powdered tea is 5.0 μm or more.
[3] The beverage described in [1] or [2], wherein the container is a bottle can.
[4] The beverage described in any one of [1] to [3], having a sweetness of 3.0/100 ml or less.
[5] A beverage according to any one of [1] to [4], which does not contain sugar.
[6] A beverage according to any one of [1] to [5], which does not contain a sweetener.
[7] The beverage described in any one of [1] to [6], wherein the content of the powdered tea is 0.01 to 0.1 wt %.
[8] The beverage according to any one of [1] to [7], wherein the ethanol concentration is 3 vol% or more.

The present invention provides a technology that can reduce the irritation caused by alcohol in tea-flavored alcoholic beverages packed in containers with large drinking spouts.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. The tea-flavored alcoholic beverage according to this embodiment is a bottled tea-flavored alcoholic beverage sealed in a container with a drinking spout area of 500 ^mm2 or more. This alcoholic beverage contains tea leaf extract, distilled liquor, and powdered tea with an average particle size of 10.0 μm or less. By adopting such a configuration, a tea-flavored alcoholic beverage with an appropriately suppressed alcohol irritation sensation can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the container in which the beverage is filled is not particularly limited as long as the area of the mouth is 500 ^mm2 or more. A container with such a mouth has a larger mouth than a stay-on-tab can, which is often used as a container for alcoholic beverages. A container with such a mouth has a larger liquid amount and flow rate in one sip, and a different feeling is obtained from a stay-on-tab can, etc., and there is a certain need for it. On the other hand, as mentioned above, the stimulating feeling due to alcohol is likely to be strong. Therefore, in order to obtain a moderate alcohol stimulating feeling, it is necessary to suppress the alcohol stimulating feeling.
The area of the drinking spout is, for example, 600 ^mm2 or more, 700 ^mm2 or more, or 750 ^mm2 or more, and, for example, 1000 ^mm2 or less, 900 ^mm2 or less, or 800 ^mm2 or less.
In a preferred embodiment, the container is a bottle can.

In this specification, "tea leaf extract" refers to a liquid obtained by extracting tea leaf components with water (hot water), which is commonly known as "tea."
The tea leaf extract is preferably made from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis), but is not limited thereto. The tea leaves used in the tea leaf extract can be any type, regardless of the treatment method (heat treatment or not, fermentation or not, etc.). Preferred tea leaf extracts include green tea (matcha, sencha, roasted green tea, etc.), oolong tea, and black tea, with green tea being preferred.
The temperature of the water during extraction is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 50 to 90°C, preferably 50 to 80°C.
The amount of tea leaves used during extraction is, for example, 0.5 to 5 g, preferably 1.0 to 4.0 g, per 100 ml of water.
The content of tea leaf extract in the tea-flavored alcoholic beverage can be, for example, 500 ml/L or more, 600 ml/L or more, 700 ml/L or more, or 750 ml/L or more, or can be 950 ml/L or less, 930 ml/L or less, 910 ml/L or less, or 900 ml/L or less.
The amount of tannins derived from the tea leaf extract in the tea-flavored alcoholic beverage is, for example, 10 mg/100 ml or more, 20 mg/100 ml or more, or 40 mg/100 ml or more, and for example, 100 mg/100 ml or less, 90 mg/100 ml or less, or 80 mg/100 ml or less.

The beverage according to this embodiment is an alcoholic beverage containing alcohol (ethanol). The ethanol concentration of the beverage is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 3 vol% or more, preferably 3 to 10 vol%, and more preferably 3 to 6 vol%.

The "distilled liquor" contained in the beverage according to this embodiment is not particularly limited.
Preferably, the distilled alcoholic beverage is at least one selected from the group consisting of continuously distilled shochu, spirits, and raw material alcohol. Such alcoholic beverages are preferable because they have a subdued flavor and do not impair the flavor of the tea leaf extract. In this specification, the definitions of "continuously distilled shochu,""spirits," and "raw material alcohol" are in accordance with the provisions of the Liquor Tax Act of Japan and related laws and regulations in effect on the filing date of this application.

The percentage of the ethanol concentration (vol%) derived from "distilled alcohol" in the total ethanol concentration (vol%) of the tea-flavored alcoholic beverage is, for example, 70% or more, preferably 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more, and even more preferably 95% or more.

Powdered tea is used to enhance the taste of tea. In this embodiment, the powdered tea used has an average particle size of 10.0 μm or less. By using powdered tea with such an average particle size, the alcohol irritation is appropriately reduced.
In this specification, the particle size of powdered tea means the arithmetic mean size based on volume, and is determined using a laser diffraction/scattering type particle size distribution measuring device.
The raw material for the powdered tea is not particularly limited, as is the case with the tea leaves used for the tea leaf extract, and examples thereof include green tea (matcha, sencha, gyokuro, roasted green tea, etc.), oolong tea, and black tea, with green tea being preferred.
The average particle size of the powdered tea is preferably 9.5 μm or less, more preferably 9.0 μm or less. The average particle size of the powdered tea is, for example, 5.0 μm or more, preferably 5.5 μm or more, more preferably 6.0 μm or more, and even more preferably 7.0 μm or more.

The content of powdered tea in the beverage is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of obtaining the taste of tea and a moderate bitterness, it is, for example, 0.01 to 0.1 wt%, preferably 0.01 to 0.05 wt%, and more preferably 0.02 to 0.05 wt%. If the content of powdered tea is high, the taste of tea is enhanced, and at the same time, the astringency and bitterness are also enhanced. If the mouth of the container is 500 ^mm2 or more, the astringency is easily felt. Within the above range, a moderate tea taste and a moderately strong astringency can be obtained.

In addition to the above-mentioned components, the tea-flavored alcoholic beverage according to this embodiment may contain other components as necessary, such as flavorings, acidulants, sweeteners, and colorings.
However, it is preferable that the tea-flavored alcoholic beverage is a beverage with reduced sweetness. A beverage with reduced sweetness is less likely to impair the flavor of tea. Specifically, even if a sweetener is used, the sweetness is preferably 3.0/100ml or less. The sweetness is more preferably 1.0ml/100ml or less, even more preferably 0.5/100ml or less, even more preferably 0.1/100ml, and most preferably zero (no sweetener used).
The "sweetness" of a tea-flavored alcoholic beverage is calculated by multiplying the "content (g/100 ml) of each sweetener in the beverage" by the "sweetness of each sweetener when sugar is taken as 1.00." The "sweetness of each sweetener when sugar is taken as 1.00" refers to the sweetness of each sweetener evaluated by a sensory test when the sweetness of sugar is taken as 1.00. The sweetness of a sweetener can be determined from values listed in "A Comprehensive Guide to Sweeteners" (published in May 1990) published by the Sugar Refining Association and "All about the High-Intensity Sweetener Sucralose" (published in May 2003) published by Korin Co., Ltd.

In addition, it is preferable that tea-flavored alcoholic beverages do not contain sugar so as not to impair the flavor of the tea.

The tea-flavored alcoholic beverage may be a carbonated beverage or a non-carbonated beverage. Preferably, the tea-flavored alcoholic beverage is a non-carbonated beverage.

The method for producing a tea-flavored alcoholic beverage according to this embodiment is not particularly limited. For example, the above-mentioned ingredients are mixed and sealed in a container. In this way, a tea-flavored alcoholic beverage can be produced.

In order to explain the present invention more specifically, examples carried out by the inventors are described below. However, the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the following examples.

Tea leaf extract, continuously distilled shochu, and powdered tea were prepared according to the methods below.

(Preparation of tea leaf extract)
Commercially available tea leaves (sencha) were extracted with hot water at 80° C. (2.5 g of tea leaves per 100 ml of hot water) and cooled to room temperature to prepare a tea leaf extract.

(Preparation of continuous distilled shochu)
The raw material alcohol (ethanol concentration: 95%) was diluted with water to adjust the ethanol concentration to 35.0 vol. %, to give continuously distilled shochu.

(powdered tea)
A number of powdered teas with different average particle sizes were prepared. Specifically, powdered tea was obtained by grinding tea leaves of Sencha. In addition, powdered teas with different average particle sizes were prepared by changing the processing time of the grinding process.
For each powdered tea, the volume-based arithmetic mean diameter was measured using a laser diffraction/scattering type particle size distribution measuring device LA-960 (Horiba, Ltd.), and the measurement results were taken as the mean particle diameter.

(Experimental Example 1)
According to the composition shown in Table 1, tea leaf extract, continuously distilled shochu, and powdered tea were mixed to obtain tea-flavored alcoholic beverages according to Examples 1 to 5. The amount of tannin derived from the tea leaf extract was approximately 60 mg/100 ml. Each of the obtained beverages was filled into a bottle can with a mouth area of 743 ^mm2 . After filling into the bottle cans, five panelists performed a sensory evaluation to evaluate the alcohol stimulation and tea-like flavor, and the average value was recorded as the result. The evaluation criteria were as follows, based on Example 5.
(Alcohol stimulation)
5: Very strong feeling (same as example 5)
4: Strongly detectable 3: Detectable 2: Weakly detectable 1: Not detectable (tea-like flavor)
5: Very strong feeling (same as example 5)
4: Strongly felt 3: Felt 2: Weakly felt 1: Not felt

The results are shown in Table 1.

As shown in Table 1, Examples 1 to 4 had less of an alcohol irritating sensation than Example 5. This shows that the alcohol irritating sensation can be reduced by using powdered tea with an average particle size of 10.0 μm or less. In addition, as the average particle size of the powdered tea becomes smaller, the tea-like flavor tends to decrease. In the beverages of Examples 2 to 4, in which the average particle size of the powdered tea is 5.0 μm or more, the tea-like flavor was adequately maintained.

(Experimental Example 2)
The beverages of Examples 6 to 10 were obtained in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1, except that SOT (stay-on-tab) cans were used as containers instead of bottle cans. The SOT cans used had a drinking spout area of 367 ^mm2 . The compositions of the beverages of Examples 6 to 10 are shown in Table 2. The beverages of Examples 6 to 10 were evaluated for alcohol stimulation by sensory evaluation in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1.

The results are shown in Table 2.

Please refer to Tables 1 and 2. Comparing Example 5 and Example 10, the alcohol irritation was stronger in Example 5. Therefore, it was found that when the average particle size of the powdered tea exceeds 10.0 μm, the alcohol irritation is more easily felt in a bottle can than in an SOT can. On the other hand, comparing Examples 1 to 4 with Examples 6 to 9, there was no significant difference in the alcohol irritation sensation, or even if there was a difference, it was only slight. In other words, it can be seen that by using powdered tea with an average particle size of 10.0 μm or less, the alcohol irritation is reduced even in a bottle can, and the difference between SOT cans and bottle cans is reduced.

(Experimental Example 3)
Beverages according to Examples 11 to 15, each containing a different amount of powdered tea, were prepared according to the composition shown in Table 3. The prepared beverages according to Examples 11 to 15 were filled into bottle cans.
In addition, as the beverage of Example 16, a beverage having the composition shown in Table 3 was filled in a SOT can to prepare a beverage.
The resulting beverages according to Examples 11 to 16 were evaluated for astringency by a sensory evaluation conducted by five panelists. The evaluation criteria were as follows, based on those of Example 15.
(astringency)
5: Very strong feeling (same as Example 15)
4: Strongly felt 3: Felt 2: Weakly felt 1: Not felt

The results are shown in Table 3.

The results of Examples 11 to 15 show that increasing the amount of powdered tea increases the astringency. Comparing Examples 12 and 16, Example 12 was more astringent. Therefore, it was found that the astringency is more noticeable when using a container with a wider mouth. Examples 11 to 15 were all within the moderate astringency range, but Examples 11 to 13, in which the amount of powdered tea was in the range of 0.02 to 0.05 wt%, had a more moderate astringency than Examples 14 and 15.

Claims (7)

A bottled tea-flavored alcoholic beverage sealed in a container with a drinking mouth area of 500 ^mm2 or more,
A tea leaf extract;
Distilled alcohol and
Powdered tea having an average particle size of 9.5 μm or less;
Including,
The raw material of the powdered tea is green tea,
The content of the powdered tea is 0.01 to 0.1 wt %,
A beverage having an ethanol concentration of 3 to 10 vol % . The beverage according to claim 1, wherein the average particle size of the powdered tea is 5.0 μm or more. The beverage according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container is a bottle can. The beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, having a sweetness level of 3.0/100ml or less. The beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which does not contain sugar. The beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which does not contain a sweetener. The beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , having an ethanol concentration of 3 to 6 vol % .