JPH07110197B2 - How to improve the quality of green tea - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a green tea quality improving agent obtained by activating a plant humus mud.

Plant humus mud is the present, or for many years, the seabed,
It is a plant-based fermentation substance that was deposited in water such as the bottom of a lake.

(Prior Art) The applicant of the present application has previously filed Japanese Patent Application No. 55-94563 to air-oxidize a vegetable humus mud and dry it to obtain gas adsorption, deodorization,
A patent application was filed for an invention relating to a bactericidal composition, and this application was published and registered (Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-2362). (Patent 1393474
issue).

Various uses of this composition have been developed in the form of powder, water extract, granules or the like depending on the use. The present invention relates to the use of the water extract of the above shapes. Hereinafter, this water extract will be referred to as Humas El Rabin (or simply El Rabin).

The inventor of the present application proceeded with research for the purpose of obtaining a composition having stronger bactericidal power, deodorizing property and gas adsorbing property when air-treating plant humus mud, and Japanese Patent Application No. 57-1
No. 44615, "Method for activating plant humus mud" was filed.

In summary of the gist, activation of humus mud is an integrated expression of deodorizing action, gas adsorbing property, enhancement of bacteriostatic action, etc. of humus mud. It was found that the oxidization by oxygen in the air seems to be involved in the action of aerobic bacteria in addition to the oxidizing action of oxygen in the air, and at the temperature and humidity at which the microbial reaction by aerobic bacteria proceeds appropriately. It has been found that the activation condition is a treatment condition in which the contact with air is performed as sufficiently as possible. Thus, Japanese Patent Application No. 57-144615 "Method of activating plant humus mud" which defines the conditions for activating humus mud was announced on August 10, 1987 (see Japanese Patent Publication No.
-37003), registered as Patent No. 1431877 on March 24, 1988. The scope of the claims is as follows.

Plant humus mud with a water content of 50-80% is crushed to a particle size of 10
After making the mesh pass, 80 mesh on become 60 to 80%, set this to a layer thickness of 20 cm to 30 cm and let it stand,
Or, sometimes it is necessary to switch back and forth to switch it up and down to keep it in contact with air and keeping 50 to 80% of water,
A method for activating plant humus mud, characterized by combining with a step of aging until pH = 3.0 or less and Brix degree of 0.4 or more. This is referred to in the claims of the present invention as "...
It is the content of "vegetative humus mud ... activated, ...". The thus activated humus mud has remarkably improved gas adsorbability, deodorant power and bacteriostatic action, but at the same time, unexpected new effects have been newly found one after another.

That is, in the case of the water extract (Humus erbilan), it was found that this solution improves the landing of cut flowers and has an excellent flower-maintaining effect.
No. 6 "Cut flower preservative" was applied. Thus, Huma
Attention was paid to the physiologically active effect of elrabine on plants, and it was found that it had an excellent effect as a foliar spray, and a patent application was filed for Japanese Patent Application No. 62-313140 “foliar spray”. Furthermore, it was confirmed that Humus Elrabin has an excellent effect on improving the flavor of food, and Japanese Patent Application No. 63-122
053 "Food processing aid with flavor improving effect" and Japanese Patent Application No. 1
-55030 Filed for "Amanori quality improver".

The inventions of the above-mentioned applications are all related to applications in which the unique physiologically active effect of HUMAS ELRABIN was utilized. Since the results were higher than expected, we further expanded the fields of study and proceeded with application development. The present invention has been found to have an unexpected effect in improving the quality of green tea.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) Most of the tea production in Japan is green tea, but the production amount has been flat since 1980. This is because, in accordance with the demand for high-quality tea, conversion to superior quality and adjustment of plucking are being performed in order to produce high-quality tea.
As the cultivation techniques have improved, tea picking is becoming more mechanized than hand picking.

Along with the improvement in productivity, technological improvements in the tea manufacturing process are progressing, but the current situation is that we still rely on our experience to improve product quality.

Sencha has five quality grades: shape, luster, light blue, aroma, and taste.
It is determined by the score of the sensory examination consisting of items, but in terms of transactions as products, it is often expressed in high, intermediate, low or kg per price in the bidding system, and the price difference depending on the quality grade is very large.

The inventor of the present invention has previously focused on the efficacy of el-rabin in the food processing stage because it succeeded in upgrading the grade of seaweed products by using el-rabin in the process of collecting and processing cultured laver (Japanese Patent Application 1-55030). By chance, fresh tea leaves of El Rabin
We found that what was dipped in 500 times diluted solution for about 2 hours had the effect of preventing cut discoloration and emitted a fragrance similar to loquat, and with the aim of improving the grade to aromatic high-quality sencha, el-rabine in the tea making process Entered into consideration of use.

(Means to solve the problem) Green tea production begins with tea picking. Depending on the time of tea picking, they are called the first tea (early May), the second tea (early July), the third tea (mid August), and the fourth tea (early September), but generally the fourth tea is not picked. The process from picking tea to dry finishing is illustrated below using sencha as an example.

The details will now be described in detail below.

The freshly picked leaves are alive and contain various oxidases.
Contains 75-80% water. Therefore, it is undergoing biochemical changes from moment to moment, and if left unattended, it decays and loses its green color.

Steaming is performed in order to inactivate the activity of oxidase contained in the fresh leaves, remove the green odor of the fresh leaves, increase the flexibility of the tea leaves, generate a flavor peculiar to green tea, and facilitate the drying operation.

Uses low pressure rich saturated steam, and makes good contact with tea leaves,
Steam evenly for a short time and cool quickly.

The purpose of quenching is to prevent the destruction of chlorophyll, and if the cooling operation is not complete, the color quality of tea leaves will be poor and this will contribute to the deterioration of tea quality (light blue).

After steaming and cooling, this is a delicate technique in which water is gradually diffused to the outside by sending hot air while diffusing the water inside the tea leaf cells in the process of drying while watching the steamed leaves.

The quality of aroma, taste, etc. depends on the waiting time from plucking to the start of processing, steaming time, heating of other processes, and blowing conditions.

Now, paying attention to the powerful physiologically active effect of HUMAS Elrabin, we tried various Elvirans in the tea making process of sencha, and it was possible to obtain sencha excellent in all items such as color luster, light blue, aroma, and taste. I understand. For example, select No. 2 tea as the test target, and as the first step, soak the freshly picked leaves in an el-rabine diluted solution for about 2 hours, centrifuge and dehydrate them, then spread them to the storage area and send the semi-dried ones to the steamer by a leaf feeder . In the second stage, steam from the boiler is blown into the steamer, and here, the el-rabine diluent is used as the boiler feed water.

When using the el-rabine diluent as the boiler feed water, the boiling time is faster and more difficult to cool than the case of normal (non-el-rabin) boiler water. The steamed tea leaves are good and kneaded well. Steamed leaves are soft and sticky. The effect of El Rabin is already apparent in the steaming process, such as the appearance of a fragrant odor.

In the subsequent kneading process, the finish was excellent in shape and color, and the quality of Nibancha was comparable to that of most tea.
Similarly, the third tea is upgraded to the same quality as the second tea.

Conventionally, it is common sense in sencha production that fresh leaves that are not subjected to rain or dew are steamed immediately (within 2 to 3 hours) as raw leaves that are put into the steaming step.

This is because fresh leaves undergo biochemical changes from moment to moment due to oxidase, and when leaves are wet they deteriorate more rapidly. Therefore, tea picking is usually not done after rain or when it is wet with morning dew.

However, before the plucked raw leaves were subjected to the steaming step, the one soaked in the diluted solution of el-rabine was warped to bring about a good effect. That is, the effect of washing by immersion and the effect of preventing the outflow of nutrients and maintaining freshness were obtained because the cut edge did not discolor.

Therefore, it is possible to extend the steaming heat the next day by plucking El Rabin treatment, and also picking leaves that are wet with rain or dew, and putting them on the normal tea making process by El Rabin treatment. Has a great economic effect.

Humus Elrabin contains appropriate amounts of minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, aluminum and iron, and the presence of various other amino acids and several vitamins has been confirmed. Etc. are estimated to be contained. The effect of elrabine as a quality enhancer of green tea is considered to be due to the comprehensive physiologically active effect of these components.

Humus Elrabin is an extract obtained by immersing activated humus mud in warm water, stirring it, and passing it at a normal pH.
= 3 or less, and Brix degree = 0.4 or more.

It is tasteless and odorless and can be used as a mineral water by diluting it with tap water. Of course, there is no concern about toxicity. When used in the tea making process, the standard dilution ratio is 500 times, but it may be appropriately used in the range of 300 times to 1000 times.

(Example 1) Humus Elrabin stock solution (pH = 3.0 Brix degree = 0.6)
Was diluted 500 times with water and placed in a steam boiler.

At the end of June, machine-picked bancha was put into the steamer 3 hours after the picking. The amount of fresh leaves charged is 300 kg / Hr, the boiler capacity is 90 to 150 kg / Hr, and the steam pressure is 0.1 kg / cm ^2. Steaming steam amount is 0.3 kg per 1 kg of fresh leaves Steam transit time is 30 seconds. Steamed leaves are soft and sticky with a good aroma.

After the steaming process, cooling, rough kneading, kneading, medium kneading,
I went through the refining process, but the tea leaves are sticky, fragrant,
Excellent color and luster.

Finally, the rough tea that came out of the dryer had a good shape, had a clear color and had a glossy appearance, and was clearly different in appearance from the conventional steam-heat treated product (without using El Rabin). The result of sensory quality examination was evaluated as the best tea.

(Example 2) After collecting tea leaves that had been soiled with volcanic ash, Humus El Rabin
It was soaked in a 500-fold diluted solution for 2 hours to remove stains, and then drained (1 to 2 minutes) with a centle. The Elrabine Diluent was stained black.

After draining the fresh leaves, spread them in the storage area and make them semi-dry,
In the same manner as in (Example 1), a steaming process using elurabine vapor was performed.

The steamed leaves were soft and sticky and gave off a good aroma, which was exactly the same as in (Example 1).

After the steaming step, the same treatment as in (Example 1) was performed, and the quality of the obtained crude tea showed almost no significant difference.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plant humus mud having a water content of 50 to 80% is crushed to have a particle size of 10 mesh pass and 80 mesh on of 60 to 80%.
After making it so that it has a layer thickness of 20 cm to 30 cm, it is allowed to stand still, or sometimes it is turned upside down and replaced up and down, a step of making sufficient contact with air and a pH of 50 to 80% while maintaining water content. = 3.0 or less Activated in combination with a step of aging until the Brix degree is 0.4 or more, then extract this with water and extract the extract, or if necessary, extract to obtain solids , A method for improving the quality of green tea, which is characterized by being used in a steaming process of tea making. 2. A plant humus mud having a water content of 50 to 80% is crushed to obtain a particle size of 10 mesh pass and 80 mesh on of 60 to 80%.
After making it so that it has a layer thickness of 20 cm to 30 cm, it is allowed to stand still, or sometimes it is turned upside down and replaced up and down, a step of making sufficient contact with air and a pH of 50 to 80% while maintaining water content. = 3.0 or less Activated in combination with a step of aging until the Brix degree is 0.4 or more, then extract this with water and extract the extract, or if necessary, extract to obtain solids A method for improving the quality of green tea, which is characterized in that it is used for a raw leaf dipping treatment before steaming step of tea making, and then used for steaming step.