JPH0579289B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a green tea beverage packaged in a sealed container such as a can. [Conventional technology and problems] In recent years, with the diversification of consumer tastes, various canned beverages have been sold mainly through vending machines.
Canned green tea beverages have also recently appeared on the market. There are the following technical problems when making green tea into canned beverages. In other words, green tea has a unique flavor and its bright green color appeals to consumers' eyes and stimulates their appetite. Browning occurs due to oxidation during the manufacturing process from filling and sealing to heat sterilization, and during storage in vending machines and other cases after manufacturing, and the unique flavor of green tea is also lost. Furthermore, when a green tea beverage is stored for a long period of time, the ester bond between catechin and gallic acid in the tea liquid breaks, liberating gallic acid and lowering the pH, resulting in discoloration and a pale green color. The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems when producing a green tea beverage in a sealed container, and to create a sealed container that does not lose its characteristic color and flavor even under severe heat treatment conditions and long-term storage in vending machines. The purpose is to provide packaged green tea beverages. [Means and effects for solving the problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present inventors conducted repeated research and experiments and found that when flavonoids derived from natural products such as flavonoids extracted from green tea are added to green tea drinks, visual A green tea beverage that has a deep yellow-green color characteristic of green tea, is beautiful, has a flavor typical of green tea, is extremely delicious, and does not turn brown even when stored at high temperature in a vending machine for a long period of time. The present invention was achieved by discovering that the following can be obtained. That is, the sealed green tea beverage that achieves the object of the present invention is characterized by the addition of flavonoids derived from natural products. The flavonoids added to the green tea beverage of the present invention are:
In addition to catechins extracted from green tea, flavones,
It is selected from flavonols and their derivatives that darken the yellow-green color of green tea. The amount added is appropriately adjusted within the range of 20 mg% to 40 mg% depending on the type and concentration of green tea. If the amount of flavonoid added is less than 20 mg%, the desired effect cannot be sufficiently obtained, and if it exceeds 40 mg%, the astringency and bitterness will be too strong and the taste will be impaired, which is not preferable. Flavonoids are added to tea liquid after heating and extracting tea leaves and filtering the used tea leaves. Ascorbic acid and sodium bicarbonate may be added to green tea along with flavonoids to maintain the pH of the tea liquid. In the case of canned beverages, green tea to which flavonoids have been added to prevent oxidation is hot filled using a conventional method, rolled up and then retort sterilized. Also, during hot filling, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-42580,
The internal pressure of the can can also be adjusted by blowing nitrogen gas into the head space of the can using an undercover gashing method or the like. The green tea beverage of the present invention is not limited to canned beverages, but can also be packaged in other sealed containers such as plastic bottles, paper containers, and bottles. [Example] Tea leaves (manufactured by Yamamotoyamasha, Sencha) were heated to 80°C.
Extraction was carried out for 3 minutes with 100 times ion-exchanged water, and tea leaves were filtered from the extract using a filter (400 mesh). Next, from this extract, flavonoids (green tea extract) were extracted at 25 mg%, 35 mg%, and 35 mg%, respectively.
A sample to which 50 mg% of flavonoids were added and a sample to which no flavonoids were added (control) were prepared. Each sample was also supplemented with 15 mg% L-ascorbic acid and 15 mg% sodium bicarbonate. Approximately 190 g of each sample was filled into a 200 g can at a filling temperature of approximately 90° C., and nitrogen gas was blown into the head space of the can at a rate of 25 min by the undercover gashing method, and the can was immediately sealed. Each sample was subjected to retort sterilization at 120°C for 7 minutes and cooled to obtain a canned green tea beverage. Control is A, sample with 25mg% of flavonoids added, B, sample with 35mg% of flavonoids added, C, 50mg%.
If the added sample is D, the degree of vacuum of each sample,
The following table shows the measurement results of PH, sugar content, color tone, and sensory evaluation (flavor) based on a panel of 10 people.

【table】

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by adding 20 mg% to 40 mg% of natural product-derived flavonoids to green tea beverages, the yellow-green color characteristic of green tea becomes darker, which is visually beautiful, and which improves the taste of green tea beverages. An excellent green tea beverage in a sealed container is obtained which has a natural richness and is extremely delicious, and which does not brown even when stored in a vending machine for a long period of time. Furthermore, flavonoids are known to have the effect of preventing bad breath and tooth decay, and by adding flavonoids, the green tea beverage of the present invention has extremely high commercial value as an excellent beverage that also has these effects. be.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A green tea beverage in a sealed container, characterized in that 20 mg% to 40 mg% of flavonoids derived from green tea are added.