JP2002095413A - Puer tea and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a musty smell characteristic of Puer tea. SOLUTION: Tea leaves subjected to accumulation fermentation are continuously fed to a pressure can 11 of high-pressure steam under 3.92 kPa to 245 kPa and taken out. A time from the feed to the passing out is 10 seconds. Consequently the numbers of live bacteria, Escherichia coli, fungi, and the like, existing before the fermentation are reduced and a musty smell is solved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a Pu-erh tea and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the process of producing Pu-erh tea, after fermentation due to oxidation is stopped, tea leaves with moisture remaining are deposited and left in a hot and humid place. During this deposition, bacteria in the air (Koji mold) and the like adhere to the tea leaves, thereby causing fermentation by the bacteria and the tea leaves become black. For this reason, Pu-erh tea is also called black tea.

[0003] Poor tea is said to have an effect of lowering cholesterol and neutral fats, and is also said to be effective against diabetes.

[0004]

However, the conventional Puer tea has a unique moldy odor. This odor is considered to be due to the aforementioned bacterial fermentation. For this reason, some people avoid the Pu'er tea despite the above advantages.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to eliminate mold odor.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a Pu-erh tea having at least a layer of fermented tea leaves sterilized by being put into high-pressure steam. It is characterized by.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the Pu'er tea according to the first aspect, the pressure of the high-pressure steam is 39.2 kPa to 245 kPa in gauge pressure. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the Pu-erh tea according to the first or second aspect, the sterilized tea leaves are placed in a triangular pyramid-shaped tea bag.

The gist of the present invention described in claim 4 is a method for producing Poor tea, which comprises sterilizing at least tea leaves that have been fermented by depositing in high-pressure steam. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method for producing a Pu-erh tea according to the fourth aspect, the pressure of the high-pressure steam is 39.2 kPa to 245 kP in terms of gauge pressure.
a.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The Pu'er tea according to claim 1 is sterilized by putting tea leaves into high-pressure steam. As a result, the fungi remaining on the tea leaves are almost extinguished, and the moldy odor peculiar to Poor tea is eliminated.

Further, the pressure of the high-pressure steam is set to a gauge pressure (that is, in addition to the atmospheric pressure).
The pressure is preferably set to 2 kPa to 245 kPa. 39.2 kPa
In the following, mold odor and unpleasant taste remain due to insufficient sterilization effect and the like. If the pressure is 245 kPa or more, the tea leaves may be altered or burnt odor may be generated. The sterilization time may be about 10 seconds.

The Pu-erh tea thus sterilized may be extracted as it is using a tea strainer, or may be put in a rectangular tea bag often used for black tea. Further, the present invention may be applied to a third aspect. In other words, the present invention described in claim 3 is one in which sterilized Pooh tea is put in a triangular pyramid-shaped tea bag. In this case, since the inner volume of the tea bag can be increased, the flavor of the Pu'er tea can be well extracted. Also, since the triangular pyramid shape can be easily formed, manufacturing is easy. The tea bag may be made of any material such as nylon gauze, paper, non-woven fabric, etc., as long as the extract can sufficiently exit the bag.

[0012] The method for producing a Pu-erh tea according to claims 4 and 5 corresponds to the method for producing a Pu-erh tea according to claims 1 and 3, respectively.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a package of a tea leaf 1 of Poor tea to which the present invention is applied. The packages 3a and 3b are each formed by forming a nylon gauze 5 into a triangular pyramid shape having a side of about 7 cm, into which the tea leaves 1 that have been sterilized are put. Since these have a large internal volume, the flavor of Pooh tea can be extracted well. Also, since the triangular pyramid shape can be easily formed, manufacturing is easy. Note that a tag 7 is attached to the package 3b. Package 3
a and 3b can be used to extract Poor tea for 2 to 3 persons by pouring boiling water into a teapot. At the time of shipment, they are further put in bags one by one and sealed in a vacuum.

This tea leaf 1 is sterilized by being put in a pressure can 11 shown in FIG. Pressure can 11
Is supplied with superheated high-pressure steam from three places.
Is sterilized while being stirred inside the pressure can body 11, and is continuously taken out from the outlet 15. The high-pressure steam is
The gauge pressure is 39.2 kPa to 245 kPa, and the time from when the tea leaves 1 are put in to when they are taken out is 10 seconds. In addition, in order to enable continuous input and output of the tea leaves 1, two butterfly valves are provided at the input port 13 and the output port 15, respectively. A hopper function is provided on each of the butterfly valves so that the tea leaves 1 are not directly stored in the butterfly valves. The tea leaves 1 taken out are further put into packages 3a and 3b through a process of drying and cooling.

Table 1 shows the effects of the sterilization.

[0016]

[Table 1] As is clear from this table, the number of viable bacteria, Escherichia coli, fungi, and the like, which existed before the sterilization, was drastically reduced by passing the tea leaves 1 through the pressure can 11. As a result, mold odor is eliminated.

As described above, the Pu-erh tea and the method for producing the same have been described as examples to which the present invention is applied. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples and can be implemented in various modes. For example, although the tea leaves 1 are placed in a triangular pyramid-shaped package, they may be placed in a rectangular tea bag such as black tea. This is disadvantageous in terms of flavor because the bag has a smaller volume than the packages 3a and 3b, but has no mold odor due to being sterilized by the pressure can body 11. The materials of the packages 3a and 3b may be changed. Any material can be used as long as the extract of the tea leaves 1 can come out of the bag.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of packages 3a and 3b containing tea leaves 1 of Poor tea to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a pressure can 11 used for sterilizing tea leaves 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tea leaf 3a, 3b ... Package 5 ... Nylon gauze 7 ... Tag 11 ... Pressure can body 13 ... Input port 15 ... Outlet

Claims (5)

[Claims] Claims 1. A Pu-erh tea, wherein at least the fermented tea leaves are sterilized by being put into high-pressure steam. 2. The Pu'er tea according to claim 1, wherein the high-pressure steam has a gauge pressure of 39.2 kPa to 245 kPa. 3. The Pu'er tea according to claim 1, wherein the sterilized tea leaves are placed in a triangular pyramid-shaped tea bag. 4. A process for producing Poor tea, wherein at least the fermented tea leaves are sterilized by being put into high-pressure steam. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the high-pressure steam has a gauge pressure of 39.2 kPa to 245 kPa.