JP2003061579A - Streamer for raw tea leaf - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a steamer with which green tea having desired flavor, taste and fresh savor free from an immature smell can be obtained. SOLUTION: Fresh raw tea leaves fed to a rotary drum steamer are brought into contact with steam for several seconds to tens seconds in the same manner as that of the conventional method and heated. A fermentation enzyme contained in the raw tea leaves is inactivated and then the tea leaves are heat-treated with the steam and hot air or humidified hot air at >=100 deg.C, preferably 200-400 deg.C.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a steamer for fresh tea leaves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional green tea is produced by first steaming fresh green tea leaves for about 30 to 90 seconds to inactivate the fermentation enzymes contained in the fresh green tea leaves and steaming them. Rubbing, kneading, and rubbing are added to process into rough tea, and this rough tea is further processed by hot air drying, burning, sieving, combination, etc. to make finished tea (green tea). is there. The steamer for raw tea leaves (a steaming heat treatment device for raw tea leaves) includes a rotary barrel steamer and a feeding steamer. The rotary cylinder type steamer has a main part composed of a fixed cylinder, a rotary mesh cylinder, and a stirring shaft penetrating through both, and these are mounted on a support frame. The support frame is attached to the machine frame with adjustable tilt angle,
By adjusting the inclination angle of the support frame, it is possible to adjust the inclination angle of the main part (rotating mesh cylinder). A ring gear is fitted to the rear end of the fixed barrel, which is connected to a drive motor via a transmission mechanism (not shown) so as to rotate at a predetermined speed. On the other hand, the rotary mesh cylinder is formed in a tubular shape by using a ventilation plate such as a wire mesh or punching metal, and when it is connected to the ring gear, it becomes continuous with the inner peripheral surface of the fixed cylinder, and the ring gear rotates. Is configured to rotate at a predetermined speed. The stirring shaft has several to ten or more feeding blades attached to the portion located inside the fixed barrel, and feeds the raw tea leaves introduced into the fixed barrel together with steam into the rotary net barrel. A large number of stirring blades are attached to the portion located inside the rotary net cylinder. The fixed barrel is provided with a raw tea leaf input port at its tip, and is connected with a material raw tea leaf quantitative supply device (not shown), from which the raw raw tea leaf is quantitatively charged into the fixed barrel. It has become so. The fed raw tea leaves are sent to the rotary mesh cylinder by the rotation of the stirring shaft, and further, in combination with the rotation of the stirring shaft and the rotary mesh cylinder, are stirred in the rotary mesh cylinder by the stirring blades,
The leaves are softened and softened, and gradually move backward. Further, a steam inlet is formed in the fixed barrel, and a boiler is connected to the steam inlet so that a predetermined amount of steam can be fed from this. This steam contacts and heats the raw tea leaves that have been charged into the fixed barrel, then moves to the rotary net cylinder and contacts the raw tea leaves that are agitated in the barrel, and further heats this and contains it in the raw tea leaves. It is designed to inactivate the fermentation enzyme that is used and steam it up. The rotary mesh cylinder is covered by a cover cylinder to prevent the steam sent from the fixed cylinder from escaping and to retain a predetermined amount of steam in the mesh cylinder. The belt steamer is a net conveyor type continuous steamer, in which a pair of left and right sprockets are attached to the front and rear ends of the beam of the machine frame, a chain is hung on this, and a conveyor net is stretched over it. There is. A cover plate is attached above the feed surface of the conveyor, and a cover plate is attached below the convey surface, whereby steaming chambers are formed above and below the feed surface. And, in the steaming chamber, a plurality of steam discharge pipes are arranged orthogonally to the traveling direction of the conveyor, each of which is connected to a steam supply raw pipe piped to one side of the steaming chamber, and further Is connected to an iller, and steam is sprayed onto the tea leaves to be transferred that are placed on a conveyor net and the steaming chamber is filled with the steam, so that the tea leaves to be processed are heated and steamed. ing.

[0003]

In the conventional method for producing green tea, the raw tea leaves must be steamed by steam. Based on this technical idea, the conventional rotary barrel steamer feeds steam from the steam inlet formed in the fixed barrel, preheats the raw tea leaves with this steam, and transfers the steam to the steaming barrel to preheat it. It was configured to perform steaming heat treatment of the prepared tea leaves, and the feeding steamer is configured to fill the steaming chamber with the steam and perform steaming heat treatment such as preheating of raw tea leaves, inactivation of fermentation enzyme, and steaming. It had been. Therefore, the raw tea leaves are treated at a temperature of 95 to 100 ° C or lower, and this steam inevitably causes dew condensation when it comes into contact with the raw tea leaves. Shall be covered with a layer of water or shall be treated in a steam atmosphere at a supersaturation temperature of 100 ° C or less while being wet with water. Therefore, the green tea obtained by the conventional method has a weak flavor and umami and has a blue odor. An object of the present invention is to provide a steamer which has a desired flavor and umami and is capable of producing a refreshing green tea having no blue odor.

[0004]

According to the present invention, fresh raw tea leaves put into a tea leaf steamer are steamed for a few seconds to a few dozen seconds as before, and then the tea leaves are steamed with the steam.
The above-mentioned problems are solved by the constitution in which the heat treatment is performed by hot air having a temperature of 00 ° C. or higher, preferably 200 to 400 ° C. or hot air of high temperature and high humidity mixed with humidified hot air.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a boiler 4 can be connected to a tea leaf steamer having substantially the same structure as a conventional rotary barrel steamer or a belt-type steamer so that the same operation as the conventional tea leaf steamer can be performed. In addition to being able to do so, the hot air or humidified hot air generating furnace 5 is connected to the cover cylinder 21 or the steaming chamber 7, and a predetermined amount of hot air or humidified hot air is sent to the rotary net cylinder 2 or the steaming chamber 7 as necessary, Here, the tea leaves to be treated can be heated by hot air of high temperature and high temperature of 100 ° C or higher.

[0006]

[Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, the steamer for fresh tea leaves according to the present invention will be specifically described based on an embodiment in which it is applied to a rotary barrel steamer. In this embodiment, the rotary cylinder type steamer comprises a rotary cylinder type steamer having substantially the same structure as a conventional rotary cylinder type steamer, and a cover 21 of the rotary cylinder type steamer is provided with a hot air blowing port.
22 is formed and the hot air generating furnace 5 is connected to this. That is, the main part of the rotary cylinder steamer is a fixed cylinder 1 and a rotary mesh cylinder 2 and a stirring shaft 3 which is mounted so as to penetrate both of them, and these are mounted on a support frame. The support frame is attached to a machine frame (not shown) so that the tilt angle can be adjusted, and the tilt angle of the main portion (rotary mesh cylinder 2) can be adjusted by adjusting the tilt angle of the support frame. There is. A ring gear 13 is fitted on the fixed barrel 1 and is connected to a drive motor via a gear mechanism (not shown) so as to rotate at a predetermined speed. On the other hand, the rotary mesh cylinder 2 is formed in a cylindrical shape by using a ventilation plate such as a wire mesh or punching metal, and when it is connected to the ring gear 13, the rotary mesh cylinder 2 is in a continuous state with the inner peripheral surface of the fixed cylinder 1 and the ring gear As 13 rotates, it is configured to rotate at a predetermined speed. The stirring shaft 3 is
In the part that is located inside the fixed barrel 1, several to ten or more feed blades
31 is attached, and the raw tea leaves fed to the fixed barrel 1 are sent to the rotary mesh drum 2 together with steam,
Further, a large number of stirring blades 32 are attached to a portion located inside the rotary net cylinder 2. The fixed barrel 1 is provided with an inlet 11 for raw tea leaves at the tip thereof, and a fixed amount supply device for raw tea leaves (not shown) is connected to the fixed drum 1.
The raw tea leaves are put into the inside quantitatively. The introduced raw tea leaves are sent to the rotary net cylinder 2 by the rotation of the stirring shaft 3, and further, in combination with the rotation of the stir shaft 3 and the rotary net cylinder 2, are stirred in the rotary net cylinder 2 by the stirring blades 32. It is beaten and softens, gradually shifting to the rear, and eventually discharged from the rear end. Further, a steam inlet 12 is formed in the fixed barrel 1, and a steam supply pipe 42 of the boiler 4 is connected to the steam inlet 12, through which a predetermined amount of steam is sent. This steam contacts and heats the raw tea leaves introduced into the fixed barrel 1, inactivates the fermentation enzyme contained in the raw tea leaves, and then moves to the rotary net barrel 2 to be stirred in the barrel. It comes in contact with tea leaves and steams them. The rotary mesh cylinder 2 is a cover cylinder
It is covered with 21 to prevent steam and hot air from escaping from the rotary mesh cylinder 2 and to maintain a predetermined amount of temperature and humidity inside the mesh cylinder. Further, a hot air blowing port 22 is formed in the cover body 21, to which the hot air generating furnace 5 is connected,
If necessary, a predetermined amount of hot air is blown into the cover drum 21 so that the tea leaves to be treated can be heat-treated at a temperature of 100 ° C. or higher by the rotary mesh drum 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the hot-air generating furnace 5 can also generate humidified hot air by taking in the steam sent from the boiler 4, so that the tea leaves to be treated can be heated to a desired temperature and humidity in the rotary net cylinder 2. It is configured so that heat treatment can be added. That is, the hot air generating furnace 5 is the mixing tank in this embodiment.
It consists of 51, a burner 52, and a steam intake 53, and the boiler 4 is connected to the steam intake 53 via a steam supply pipe 43, and a part of the steam sent out from the boiler 4 is taken in from here. You can do it. Further, an air supply port 54 is formed at the other end of the mixing tank 51, and the temperature and humidity of the humidified hot air and the amount of the generated air are the intensity of the flame ejected from the burner 52 and the air supply port.
The amount of air supplied from 54 to the mixing tank 51 and the amount of steam taken in from the steam intake port 53 can be adjusted appropriately. Further, in the mixing tank 51, a delivery port 55 is formed at an appropriate position, and the delivery port 55 is connected to the hot air blowing port 22 of the cover body 21 via a heat-resistant blower 56 and a delivery duct 57, so that The hot and humid hot air generated in 1 is supplied to the cover cylinder 21 (to the rotary mesh cylinder 2).

[0007] When steaming heat treatment of raw tea leaves by a conventional method (a steaming heat treatment using only steam) which has been conventionally performed, the hot air generating furnace 5 is not operated and steam is fed into the steam inlet.
Only send from 12. Further, when the heat treatment is performed at a high temperature, an appropriate amount of steam is sent from the steam inlet 12 and the hot air generating furnace 5 is operated to send hot air to the covering cylinder 21. still,
At this time, if the steam control valve 41 is opened and steam is sent also to the hot air generating furnace 5, hot air of high temperature and high humidity is generated in the hot air generating furnace 5, and it is sent to the covering cylinder 21. In the rotary net cylinder 2, the steam introduced from the fixed cylinder 1 and the hot air blown from the hot air blowing port 22 or the hot and humid hot air are mixed to form hot and humid hot air, which comes into contact with the tea leaves to be treated. Then, heat treatment is performed.

[0008]

[Embodiment 2] A concrete explanation will be given based on an embodiment in which a steamer for fresh tea leaves according to the present invention is applied to a feeding steamer in FIG. The belt steamer is a net conveyor type continuous steamer having a width of about 1000 to 2000 mm, and a pair of left and right sprockets 6 are attached to the front and rear ends of the beam of the machine frame, and a chain is suspended on this. . Further, an endless belt-like conveyor net 61 is stretched over this chain to form a net conveyor, which rotates as the chain rotates. And a cover plate 71 is provided on the feeding surface of the conveyor.
Is attached, and a cover plate 72 is attached below it, thereby forming steaming chambers 7 above and below the feed surface. A plurality of sets of steam discharge pipes 81, 82 are arranged in the steaming chamber 7 orthogonally to the traveling direction of the conveyor. It is connected. The steam supply pipes 44, 45 are connected to the boiler 4 via a valve, a flow meter, etc., which are not shown, and the steam discharge pipes 81, 82 are provided with a large number of discharge holes toward the conveyor net 61. Steam is sprayed onto the tea leaves to be processed which are placed on the net 61 and are transferred, and the steaming chamber 7 is filled with the steam. Further, a plurality of hot air blow-out pipes 58, 58 are arranged in the steaming chamber 7, and each of the sending ducts 57, 57 is arranged on one side of the steaming chamber 7.
It is connected to the hot air generating furnace 5 via the, and a predetermined amount of hot air is sent to the steaming chamber 7 if necessary, and the conveyor net 61
The above-mentioned tea leaves to be treated can be heat-treated at a temperature of 100 ° C or higher. In the illustrated embodiment, the boiler 4 and the hot air generating furnace 5 are the same as those shown in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 shows the steam discharge pipes 81, 82 in the steaming chamber 7.
And an example of piping of the hot air blowing pipes 58, 58.

The operation of steaming the raw tea leaves is basically the same as that shown in Example 1. When steaming the raw tea leaves by a conventional method, hot air is generated. The furnace 5 is not operated, and steam is sent only from the steam discharge pipes 81 and 82. Further, when performing heat treatment at high temperature, an appropriate amount of steam is sent from the preceding steam discharge pipe 81, and the hot air generating furnace 5 is operated to blow hot air or hot and humid hot air from the hot air blowing pipes 58, 58. Let them out.

[0010]

As described above, the steamer for raw tea leaves according to the present invention, as well as the conventional rotary barrel steamer and belt steamer, is capable of performing steaming heat treatment only with steam, and A hot air or humidified hot air generator is connected so that the tea leaves that have been initially heated can be heat-treated by hot and humid air of 100 ° C or higher. Appropriate processing conditions can be selected depending on the quality of the product to be used, and there is an advantage that high quality green tea suitable for the purpose of use can be obtained. By the way, the green odor and astringency of the product green tea decrease as the temperature of the humidified hot air rises, and almost disappear when the temperature reaches about 180 ° C. Also, when the temperature of the humidified hot air exceeds 200 ° C, the product green tea will have an aroma (kettle incense).

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment in which a raw tea steamer according to the present invention is applied to a rotary barrel steamer.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an example of a belt-steaming steamer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of piping of a steam discharge pipe and a delivery duct in a steaming chamber of a steam feeder.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 fixed body 1 2 rotating net 2 3 stirring shaft 4 boiler 5 Hot air generator 11 Input port 12 Steam inlet 13 ring gear 21 cover 22 Inlet 31 Sending feather 32 stirring blades 41 Steam control valve 42 Steam supply pipe 51 mixing tank 52 burner 53 Steam inlet 54 Air supply port 55 exit 56 heat-resistant blower 57 delivery duct 58 Hot air outlet pipe 6 sprockets 7 steaming room 61 Conveyor net 71 Cover plate 72 Cover plate 81 Steam discharge pipe

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A boiler is connected to a steam inlet of a fixed cylinder of a rotary cylinder type steamer so that steam is supplied from this boiler, and a hot air blowing port is formed on a cover of the rotary mesh cylinder. Connect a hot air or humidified hot air generating furnace to this, and send a predetermined amount of hot air or humidified hot air to the cover cylinder as needed, and heat the tea leaves to be treated at a temperature of 100 ° C or more with a rotating net cylinder. A steamer for fresh tea leaves, which is characterized in that 2. A plurality of steam discharge pipes 8 are provided in the steaming chamber of the feeding steamer.
1 and 82 are provided, and each is connected to a boiler via steam supply pipes 44 and 45 provided on one side of the steaming chamber so that steam is sent to the steaming chamber from here, A plurality of hot-air blowing pipes are arranged, and each is connected to a hot-air generating furnace via a delivery duct arranged on one side of the steaming chamber,
A steamer for raw tea leaves, characterized in that a predetermined amount of hot air is sent to the steaming chamber as needed to heat the tea leaves on the conveyor net at a temperature of 100 ° C or higher.