JP2008206425A - Fine-flavor tea leaf with suppressed bitter and astringent taste, and prepared product of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a fine-flavor packaged tea beverage with suppressed bitter and astringent tastes, or a tea-containing food by reducing the bitter and astringent tastes derived from polyphenol contained in tea leaves while retaining an original flavor of tea, and using the tea leaves or a liquid extracted from the tea leaves. <P>SOLUTION: The fine-flavor crushed tea leaves with the suppressed bitter and astringent tastes are produced by applying warming treatment at 30-70°C for 1-40 hours after adding water 0.5-4 times heavier than the weight of the tea leaves to the dried tea leaves. In this method for reducing the bitter and astringent tastes of polyphenol, the original flavor of the tea leaves can be retained by virtue of treatment which does not depend on the addition of an additive etc.; and the tea beverage or the tea-containing food, which takes advantage of the original flavor of the tea leaves, can be produced when the tea beverage or the tea-containing food is prepared by using the tea leaves. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is a high-flavored tea leaf in which bitter and astringent taste is suppressed, a preparation such as a tea extract and a concentrated tea extract prepared using the high-flavored tea leaf, and further using the tea extract and the concentrated tea extract. The present invention relates to a containerized tea beverage or a food containing tea. In particular, dry tea leaves such as black tea leaves, oolong tea leaves, or green tea leaves are heated under specific moisture conditions to prepare high-flavored tea leaves that suppress the bitter taste of tea leaves, and the high-flavored tea leaves are used. In addition, the present invention relates to the production of highly flavored container-packed tea beverages or tea-containing foods with reduced bitterness and astringency.

  In recent years, the health functions of polyphenols have attracted attention, and beverages containing these in high concentrations have been developed. However, since the polyphenols have a strong bitter and astringent taste, the bitter and astringent taste becomes stronger and the drinking becomes harder as the concentration is increased. If the sweetness is increased, bitterness and astringency can be suppressed to some extent, but if the sweetness is increased, the original taste of the beverage will be diminished, and the health feeling of polyphenols such as tea will be impaired. .

  Therefore, various methods for reducing the bitter and astringent taste of polyphenols have been proposed. However, the conventionally proposed method for reducing the bitter and astringent taste of polyphenols, when applied to tea beverages, has an effect on the original taste of the beverage, reduces the bitter and astringent taste of polyphenols, and It is difficult to make a beverage that retains the original taste of the beverage, and it is difficult to apply it as a method for reducing the bitter taste of tea leaves themselves by applying them to tea leaves used in the production of tea-containing foods. There was also. Therefore, the conventional method for reducing the bitter and astringent taste of polyphenols is not necessarily satisfactory as a method for reducing the bitter and astringent taste of beverages and foods when applied to the production of container-packed tea beverages and foods containing tea. It wasn't.

  As a conventional method for reducing the bitter and astringent taste of polyphenols, for example, JP-A-10-4919, JP-A-3-16846, and JP-A-2006-115722 disclose cyclodextrins with respect to catechins such as green tea. It has been disclosed that bitterness and astringency of beverages and the like is reduced by containing sucrose. This method has been shown to reduce bitter and astringent taste of beverages and the like, and as a result, it is possible to consume a large amount of catechins, but the cyclodextrin used here can suppress bitter and astringent taste However, since the scent component is also included, the scent is weakened. When this method is applied to a beverage containing polyphenols at a high concentration, the original flavor of the beverage may be lost.

  JP-A-2006-67895, JP-A-2006-136244, JP-A-2006-174748 include cyclodextrin (cyclodextrin), cyclofructan, glucan having a polymerization degree of 50 to 5000, thaumatin, and the like. A method for suppressing the bitter and astringent taste of polyphenol by adding each blended product to a tea extract is disclosed. However, this method also has the same problem as described above by using cyclodextrin, and it has an influence on the taste of the tea extract itself due to the compounding components, and it is difficult to maintain the original flavor of tea. There's a problem.

  Furthermore, JP-A-2006-42625 and JP-A-2006-42728 disclose a method of adding glutamic acid or glutaminase to increase the glutamic acid content of the tea extract to suppress the astringent taste of catechin. JP-A-7-27429 and JP-A-11-253102 disclose a method for improving the bitter taste of tea by adding a sugar alcohol in the production of tea beverages. Methods for suppressing the bitter and astringent taste of catechins by adding 3-4 saccharides having a branch structure are disclosed. However, since all of these are additives, there is a problem that it is difficult to maintain the original taste of tea and adjust its flavor when preparing a tea beverage or the like.

  Moreover, the method of reducing the bitter taste of tea leaves by storage management of tea leaves is disclosed. That is, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-145456 discloses a method of storing crude tea at a storage temperature of 10 ° C. to 20 ° C. in a low oxygen atmosphere to reduce the bitter taste of tea. However, this method is only for managing the conditions in storage of crude tea, and reduces the bitter taste of the crude tea that comes out of storage, and actively attempts to remove the bitter taste of the tea leaves themselves. It is not a thing.

  Thus, various methods for reducing the bitter and astringent taste of polyphenols have been proposed in the past, but the original flavor of tea leaves is maintained regardless of the addition of additives, etc. in the production of container-packed tea beverages and foods containing tea. Thus, a method for reducing the bitter and astringent taste of polyphenols contained in tea leaves is not disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-16846. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-274829. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-4919. JP-A-11-253102. JP 2001-145456 A. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-42625. JP 2006-42728 A. JP 2006-67895 A. JP 2006-115722 A. JP 2006-136244 A. JP 2006-174748 A. JP-A-2006-280254.

  An object of the present invention is to reduce the bitter and astringent taste derived from polyphenols contained in tea leaves while retaining the original flavor of tea by treatment that does not rely on additives etc., and using the tea leaves or the tea leaf extract Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a high-flavored container-packed tea beverage or tea-containing food with reduced bitterness and astringency. In particular, the object of the present invention is to reduce the bitter and astringent taste without modifying the flavor of the tea leaves, and to prepare a food or drink that does not feel the bitter and astringent taste even if the polyphenol derived from the tea leaves tea is contained at a high concentration. It is in providing the method of manufacturing the raw material tea leaf which can be performed.

  The present inventor has intensively studied to solve the above problems, and by adding a predetermined amount of water to the dried tea leaves and performing a heating treatment at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time, the polyphenol contained in the tea The present inventors have found that it is possible to reduce the bitter and astringent taste and produce tea leaves with a suppressed bitter and astringent taste, thereby completing the present invention. That is, in the present invention, 0.5 to 4 times the tea leaf weight is added to the dry tea leaf, and then heated at a temperature of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower for 1 to 40 hours. It consists in producing a high-flavored tea leaf that suppresses the above. The method for reducing the bitter and astringent taste of the polyphenol of the present invention is a treatment that does not depend on the addition of additives, etc., so that the original flavor of tea leaves can be maintained, and tea drinks and tea-containing foods are prepared using the tea leaves. In this case, it is possible to produce a tea beverage or a tea-containing food utilizing the original flavor of tea leaves.

  In the present invention, the dried tea leaves used as the raw tea leaves can be unmilled dried tea leaves, but it is preferable to use dry crushed tea leaves having a pulverization degree of 50% by weight or more in the 10 mesh pass fraction, Particularly preferred is a dried ground tea leaf having a pulverization degree of 50% by weight or more. In the present invention, particularly preferable conditions for the heating treatment include a heating treatment at 40 ° C. to 70 ° C. for 8 to 20 hours, and after the heating treatment, 10 to 90 ° C. to 100 ° C. Heat treatment for ˜30 minutes can be used in combination. In the present invention, ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate can coexist during the heating treatment.

  By the heating treatment of the present invention, it is possible to produce a high flavored tea leaf that suppresses bitterness and astringency. The highly flavored tea leaves produced by the method of the present invention can be extracted with hot water to obtain a tea extract, or the tea extract can be further concentrated to prepare a concentrated tea extract. Furthermore, in the present invention, the tea extract or concentrated tea extract can be used to produce a packaged tea beverage or a tea-containing food that retains the original flavor of tea as it is and that suppresses bitterness and astringency. The method for producing a packaged tea beverage or food containing tea of which bitter and astringent taste of the present invention is suppressed can also be applied to a method for producing a food or drink containing a high concentration of polyphenols. Even if it contains polyphenols, it is possible to produce foods and drinks that are easy to ingest. Further, the method for producing a high flavored tea leaf of the present invention can be applied to any dried tea leaf of black tea leaf, oolong tea leaf, and green tea leaf as a raw material dried tea leaf. Tea leaves can be produced.

  Specifically, in the present invention, (1) 0.5 to 4 times the weight of tea leaves is added to dry tea leaves, and then added at a temperature of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower for 1 to 40 hours. A high-flavored tea leaf production method that suppresses bitterness and astringency, characterized by heat treatment, and (2) the dried tea leaf is a crushed dried tea leaf having a pulverization degree of 50% by weight or more of a 20 mesh pass fraction And (3) after heating the dried tea leaves at 40 ° C. to 70 ° C. for 8 to 20 hours, followed by 10 to 30 at 90 ° C. to 100 ° C. It consists of the method for producing a high-flavored tea leaf according to the above (1) or (2), wherein the heating treatment is performed for a minute.

  The present invention also provides (4) a method for producing a high-flavored tea leaf according to any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate is allowed to coexist during the heating treatment. (5) High flavored tea leaves with reduced bitter taste produced by the method for producing high flavored tea leaves according to any one of (1) to (4) above, and (6) High flavored tea leaves according to (5) above High-flavored tea with reduced bitter and astringent taste, which is produced by extracting tea with hot water to obtain a tea extract or by further concentrating the tea extract to obtain a concentrated tea extract It consists of an extract or a high-flavored concentrated tea extract, or (7) a containerized tea beverage or a tea-containing food with a bitter and astringent taste produced using the tea extract or concentrated tea extract described in (6) above.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to produce a highly flavored tea leaf by reducing the bitter and astringent taste derived from polyphenols contained in the tea leaf while maintaining the original flavor of tea by treating the tea leaf without using an additive or the like. Using tea leaves or an extract of the tea leaves, it is possible to provide a high-flavored container-packed tea beverage or tea-containing food that retains the original flavor of tea and has a reduced bitter taste. The method of the present invention can be applied to the production of foods and drinks containing a high concentration of polyphenols, and is excellent in flavor when applied to the production of health-oriented foods and drinks containing high concentrations of polyphenols. Food and drinks can be provided.

  In the present invention, dry tea leaves such as black tea leaves, oolong tea leaves, or green tea leaves are added to the dry tea leaves at a temperature of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower after adding water of 0.5 to 4 times the tea leaf weight. High-flavored tea leaves with reduced bitter and astringent taste, characterized by being heated for 1 to 40 hours, a tea extract obtained by extracting the high-flavored tea leaves with hot water, or a concentration obtained by further concentrating the tea extract It consists of a tea extract, a packaged tea beverage or a tea-containing food with a bitter and astringent taste produced using a tea extract or a concentrated tea extract, and a method for producing the same.

(tea leaf)
If the tea leaves used in the present invention are tea leaves obtained from Camellia sinensis, so-called non-fermented tea (green tea), semi-fermented tea (Oolong tea), and fermented tea (black tea) are all targets. Especially when applied to black tea, an excellent effect can be achieved. The tea leaves used in the present invention may be unground tea leaves, but preferably ground and dried tea leaves. The term “dried tea leaf” as used herein refers to a tea leaf in a generally circulating state having a water content of about 6% by weight or less. In the present invention, the pulverization degree of the pulverized and dried tea leaves is preferably 50% by weight or more in the 10 mesh pass fraction, and particularly preferably tea leaves in which the 20 mesh pass fraction accounts for 50% by weight or more. Further, the 20 mesh pass fraction is most preferably 85% by weight or more. A pulverizer such as a hammer mill, a cutter mill, or a high-speed rotary impact pulverizer, which is generally used for pulverization, can be used. As a pulverizer to be used, a dry pulverizer is preferable, but it is also possible to pulverize with a wet pulverizer after adding a predetermined amount of water.

(Additional moisture)
In the present invention, the amount of water added is preferably 0.5 to 4 times, most preferably about 1 to 2 times the tea leaf weight. Outside this range, the effect is weak or no effect is seen at all. In the heating treatment of the present invention, the reaction proceeds effectively when alcorbic acid or sodium ascorbate is added. A larger amount is preferable, but if it exceeds 10% by weight, it is not preferable in terms of flavor. More preferably, it is about 3 to 8% by weight of the tea leaf weight.

(Heating conditions)
The heating treatment condition in the present invention is a temperature condition of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less, and if it is less than that, the effect cannot be expected, and if it is more, deterioration of the flavor is noticeable. Preferably they are 50 degreeC or more and 60 degrees C or less.

(Heating / heating time)
The longer the heat treatment time in the present invention, the more effective, but if it is too long, flavor deterioration occurs. Although it is determined in consideration of the temperature, it may normally be 1 to 40 hours, and preferably about 8 to 20 hours. In particular, about 15 to 20 hours at 50 ° C. is most preferable. In the present invention, it is desirable to perform heat treatment at 90 to 100 ° C. for 10 to 60 minutes after the heating treatment. Preferably, it is about 100 ° C. for 10 to 30 minutes. By this treatment, the effect of the heating treatment of the present invention can be further enhanced.

(Processing of tea leaves after heating and heat treatment)
The high-flavored tea leaves prepared by the production method of the present invention may be extracted as they are, or may be dried once when producing the extract. For drying, a normal apparatus such as a vacuum dryer, a conical dryer, or a freeze dryer can be used as appropriate.

(Extraction, preparation of container-packed beverages, production of tea extract)
The method for extracting tea leaves is not particularly limited, and at an industrial level, extraction is performed with water or hot water 10 to 100 times the tea leaf weight in an extraction tank or kneader for about 5 to 10 minutes. After extraction, the tea leaves are removed by solid-liquid separation, and then an extract is obtained through a centrifugation step. The extract is diluted as necessary and mixed with other raw materials, and then sterilized-filled with a container or filled with a container and sterilized to produce a stuffed tea beverage. Further, the tea extract can be produced by subjecting the extract as it is or after concentrating, to sterilization-container filling, or container filling-sterilization after blending with other raw materials. This tea extract can be used as a raw material when producing beverages or other foods and drinks.

(Tannin amount)
In the examples of the present invention, the iron tartrate method (referred to by Toshiro Nakabayashi et al., “Chemistry and Functions of Green Tea, Black Tea, Oolong Tea”, Kogaku Publishing, page 137), which is a standard for evaluating the amount of polyphenols in teas. Refers to the value measured using. That is, the purple component produced by reacting the polyphenol and iron tartrate reagent in the liquid is measured for absorbance (540 nm), and quantified using a calibration curve prepared using ethyl gallate as a standard substance. The final value obtained by multiplying the quantitative value by 1.5 is defined as “tannin amount”. In the case of beverages, when the amount of tannin is 60 mg / 100 ml or more, the bitter and astringent taste is strongly felt, so the bitter and astringent taste reducing effect of the tea leaves of the present invention becomes clear. Preferably it is 100 mg / 100 ml or more, most preferably 120 mg / 100 ml or more.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example demonstrates this invention more concretely, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to these illustrations.

[Example 1-5, Comparative Example 1-4]
Under the conditions shown in Table 1, warming treatment and heat treatment were performed on 10 g of tea leaves (Dimbra species; 10 mesh pass fraction of 50% by weight or more). The tea leaves subjected to the pulverization treatment had a 20 mesh pass fraction of 85% by weight or more. The mixing ratio of water is per dry tea leaf weight. The treatment was performed in a sealed condition so that moisture did not fly. The heating process was performed in a thermostatic bath.

<Evaluation example>
To each of the obtained tea leaves, 300 ml of hot water at 95 ° C. was added and extracted for 8 minutes with occasional stirring. After the tea leaves were solid-liquid separated with a mesh, the mixture was cooled to a liquid temperature of 10 ° C. and then subjected to centrifugation to obtain a clear extract. These extracts were diluted and adjusted with ascorbic acid and sodium bicarbonate so that the amount of tannin was 120 mg / 100 ml and the pH was 6. These extracts were subjected to sensory evaluation by a skilled panel. About evaluation of bitterness and astringency, the comparative example 1 was 10-point comprehensively evaluated about the intensity | strength of the postscript (convergence discomfort) and the badness of a post-break. In other words, the lower the score, the more effective the bitterness and taste reduction. Other comments were also compiled. The results are shown in Table 2. As shown in the results of Table 2, the bitter and astringent taste reducing effect of the heat-treated tea leaves of the present invention was confirmed.

[Examples 6-17, Comparative Example 5]
In the same manner as in the above example, heating treatment and heat treatment were performed under the conditions shown in Table 3. In addition, the compounding rate of ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate is also a value with respect to the tea leaf weight.

<Evaluation example>
An extract was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1-5 and scored with bitterness and astringency. At this time, for the examples using ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate at the time of the heating treatment, the amount of ascorbic acid was finally reduced by reducing the amount used during preparation in consideration of the amount used during the treatment. Adjusted to the amount. The results are shown in Table 4.

[Example 18, Comparative Example 6]
Except for changing the tea leaf variety to Nuwara area, the tea leaves of Example 18 and Comparative Example 6 were obtained in exactly the same manner as in Example 6 and Comparative Example 2. The 20 mesh pass fraction was 70% by weight or more by pulverization. When the extract was similarly prepared and evaluated by sensory evaluation, the bitter and astringent taste score of Comparative Example 6 was 10.0 points, whereas Example 18 was 6.0 points, confirming the bitter and astringent taste reducing effect. . The effect was confirmed even in tea leaves of different varieties.

[Example 19]
Black tea leaves (dimbra) were pulverized to obtain crushed black tea leaves having a 20 mesh pass fraction of 90% weight or more. To 100 g of that, 200 ml of water containing 4 g of ascorbic acid was added. After mixing so as to be uniform, it was placed in a sealed container and left at 50 ° C. for 20 hours. Thereafter, a treatment at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes was performed to obtain a treated tea leaf of the present invention. To the total amount of tea leaves, 3000 g of hot water (90 ° C.) was added, and extraction was performed for 6 minutes with occasional stirring. After extraction, the tea leaves were removed by solid-liquid separation, and the liquid temperature was cooled to 10 ° C. or lower. After the cooled extract was centrifuged, final filtration was performed to obtain a clear black tea extract. Using this extract, a preparation was prepared so that the amount of tannin was 120 mg / 100 ml and the pH was 6 (using ascorbic acid and sodium bicarbonate).

  After heating this preparation liquid until the liquid temperature reached 90 ° C., 190 g each was filled into a metal can, and the can lid was wound up while blowing nitrogen. This was retort sterilized to produce a tea beverage. After leaving at room temperature for one week, sensory evaluation was performed. Despite having a high polyphenol content, the bitter and astringent taste was overwhelmingly less than when using untreated black tea leaves.

[Examples 20-24, Comparative Example 7-11]
<Processing of raw tea leaves>
10 g of each crushed green tea leaf and oolong tea were treated under the conditions shown in Table 5 and subjected to the following evaluation tests. In the table, “crude” in the “crushed” item indicates a 10 mesh pass fraction and a pulverization degree of 50% by weight or more, and “present” indicates a pulverization degree of 85% by weight or more of the 20 mesh pass fraction. The thing is shown.

<Evaluation example>
300 ml of hot water at 75 ° C. was added and extracted for 5 minutes with occasional stirring. After the tea leaves were solid-liquid separated, they were cooled to a liquid temperature of 10 ° C. and then subjected to centrifugation to obtain a clear extract. These extracts were diluted and prepared with ascorbic acid and sodium bicarbonate so that the tannin amount was 80 mg / 100 ml and the pH was 6. At this time, for the examples using ascorbic acid during the heating treatment, the amount of ascorbic acid was finally adjusted to an equal amount in consideration of the amount used during the treatment. The results are shown in Table 6. The sensory evaluation gave a bitter astringency score with 10 comparative examples as untreated products.

[Examples 25-26 and Comparative Examples 12-13]
<Processing of raw tea leaves>
Each 10 g of various tea leaves was processed under the conditions shown in Table 7 and subjected to the following evaluation test. The tea leaves used were all unground and the 10 mesh-on fraction was 70% by weight or more.

<Evaluation example>
The evaluation of the evaluation test was evaluated according to the evaluation method in “Example 20-24, Comparative Example 7-11”. The sensory evaluation gave a bitter astringency score with 10 comparative examples as untreated products. The results are shown in Table 8.

Claims (7)

  Suppresses bitter and astringent taste, characterized by adding 0.5 to 4 times the tea leaf water to dried tea leaves, followed by heating treatment at a temperature of 30 ° C or higher and 70 ° C or lower for 1 to 40 hours For producing high-flavored tea leaves.   The method for producing a high-flavored tea leaf according to claim 1, wherein the dried tea leaf is a pulverized dry tea leaf having a pulverization degree of 50% by weight or more in a 20 mesh pass fraction.   The high-flavored flavor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the dried tea leaves are heated at 40 ° C to 70 ° C for 8 to 20 hours and then heated at 90 ° C to 100 ° C for 10 to 30 minutes. Tea leaf manufacturing method.   The method for producing a high-flavored tea leaf according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate is allowed to coexist during the heating treatment.   A high-flavored tea leaf in which the bitter and astringent taste produced by the method for producing a high-flavored tea leaf according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is suppressed.   The bitter astringency produced by extracting the high flavored tea leaves according to claim 5 with hot water to obtain a tea extract, or by further concentrating the tea extract to obtain a concentrated tea extract. High flavor tea extract or high flavor concentrated tea extract with suppressed taste. A container-packed tea beverage or a food containing tea produced by using the tea extract or concentrated tea extract according to claim 6, wherein bitter astringency is suppressed.