JP2012019708A - Process for producing semi-fermented tea beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bottled oolong tea beverage that has improved drinkability.SOLUTION: The process for producing the tea beverage includes the step 1 for obtaining an extract (A) from tea leaves having a low fermentation degree, the step 2 for obtaining an extract from semi-fermented tea leaves or fermented tea leaves, and further obtaining a purified product (B) of polymerized catechin therefrom, and the step 3 for mixing the extract (A) with the purified product (B) of the polymerized catechin.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a semi-fermented tea beverage with enhanced drinkability.

Oolong tea is known to have a function of flowing fat, as used in finger bowls, and has a physiological function such as lipase inhibitory activity, as well as a refreshing and refreshing property when taken with a greasy meal. Because it has, it is often taken with meals. In recent years, many container-packed tea beverages filled in containers such as cans and plastic bottles have been developed and marketed, and many container-packed oolong tea drinks have also been developed.
As a method for producing a container-packed oolong tea beverage, for example, as a method for producing a semi-fermented tea extract having a high catechin content, a high flavor and a good aftertaste, 80 to 5 to 20 times the weight of the semi-fermented tea leaves. Extracted with hot water of ~ 100 ° C (step A), and extracted separately with hot water of 80-100 ° C, which is 25-60 times the weight of the semi-fermented tea leaves (step B), obtained in step A A method of producing a semi-fermented tea extract (Patent Document 1) in which the obtained extract and the extract obtained in step B are mixed at a mixing weight ratio (A / B) of 1/1 to 1/6, or oolong tea leaves When reducing the caffeine content of oolong tea extract extracted from water with water and bringing the oolong tea extract into contact with a hydrogen ion exchange resin, the salt concentration and electrical conductivity are sufficiently reduced, and the pH is weakly acidic. Caffeine is contained more than before by passing the liquid after neutralization. And a method of manufacturing a small amount oolong tea Oolong extract (Patent Document 2) are disclosed. In addition, as a method for producing a oolong tea beverage with a good balance between taste and fragrance and excellent taste and body, the semi-fermented tea leaf that has not been subjected to a heating step to stop the fermentation of the semi-fermented tea leaf that is the raw material of oolong tea beverage Pre-heating oolong tea extract obtained by hot water extraction and oolong tea extract after heating process obtained by hot-water extraction of the semi-fermented tea leaves that have undergone the above heating process, thereby retaining the taste of the tea leaves Also disclosed is a method for producing oolong tea drink, which is characterized by being made possible (Patent Document 3).

JP 2008-206455 A JP 2007-068465 A JP 2005-137265 A

  Consumer preference for packaged tea-based beverages is increasing, and recently, tea-based beverages with improved drinkability tend to be preferred. Beverages with an increased content of non-polymerized catechins are beverages that can be expected to have physiological effects of non-polymerized catechins, but have a strong bitterness and astringency and are not suitable for drinking large quantities at once. In order to enhance the drinkability, it is necessary to keep the non-polymerized catechin concentration low, but in this case, the beverage taste becomes thin and watery, which is not satisfactory in terms of taste.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a container-packed oolong tea beverage with improved drinkability.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the inventors of the present invention have a purified polymerized catechin obtained from semi-fermented tea or fermented tea that has an action of suppressing bitterness and astringency caused by non-polymerized catechins. In particular, by mixing a purified product of polymerized catechins obtained from semi-fermented tea with an extract of tea leaves with a low degree of fermentation, bitterness caused by non-polymerized catechins and caffeine can be rounded and drunk. It was found that high oolong tea drinks can be manufactured.

That is, the present invention relates to the following.
(1) Step 1 for obtaining an extract (A) from tea leaves with a low degree of fermentation, Step 2 for obtaining an extract from semi-fermented tea or fermented tea leaves, and further obtaining a purified product (B) of polymerized catechin, Extract (A) And the manufacturing method of a tea drink including the process 3 which mixes the refined | purified substance (B) of polymerization catechin.

  (2) The method for producing a tea beverage according to (1), wherein some or all of the tea leaves having a low degree of fermentation are golden katsura.

  According to the production method of the present invention, a container-packed oolong tea beverage with improved drinkability can be obtained without requiring a special device or a complicated process.

  The present invention is based on the finding that polymerized catechins derived from semi-fermented tea or fermented tea have the effect of rounding bitterness caused by non-polymerized catechins and caffeine in tea-based beverages. Here, bitterness refers to the bitterness that is felt unfavorable in terms of the quality of bitterness, and rounding the bitterness means that sharp bitterness is turned into soft bitterness (moderate bitterness with a sense of efficacy, clean feeling). It means changing.

The polymerized catechins of the present invention are non-polymerized catechins ((+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, (+)-gallocatechin, (−)-epigallocatechin, (−)-catechin gallate, (−) — Epicatechin gallate, (−)-gallocatechin gallate, (−)-epigallocatechin gallate) has a structure in which a plurality of tea-derived enzymes, enzymes, light, etc. are linked together. Specifically, the following HPLC It is a component analyzed by the above, and refers to a component having the same elution time (reference elution time: 24 minutes) as theaflavin (manufactured by Kurita Research Center).
・ Column: TSK-gel ODS-80TsQA (4.6mmφx150mm, Tosoh Corporation)
-Mobile phase: A: Water: Acetonitrile: Trifluoroacetic acid = 900: 100: 0.5
B: Water: Acetonitrile: Trifluoroacetic acid = 200: 800: 0.5
・ Flow rate: 1.0ml / min
・ Column temperature: 40 ℃
-Gradient condition: B solution 0% until 5 minutes after the start of analysis,
From 5 minutes to 11 minutes, B liquid 8%,
From 11 minutes to 21 minutes, B solution 10%,
From 21 minutes to 22 minutes, solution B is 100%,
100% hold from 22 to 30 minutes,
0% from 30 to 31 minutes
・ Detection: A280nm (data collection time is 30 minutes), quantified by peak area.
・ Injection volume: 10μL
The amount of polymerized catechin is determined by creating a calibration curve using OHBF-B as a standard substance. In addition, OHBF-B which is a standard substance is described in, for example, the method described in Chem. Pharm. Bull 37 (12), 3255-3563 (1989) or JP 2005-336117 A (Example 3). Those synthesized according to the method (preferably purified to a purity of 98% or more), those isolated from tea leaves, and the like can be used.

  The purified product of the polymerized catechin of the present invention uses oolong tea that is semi-fermented tea or black tea that is fermented tea as a raw tea leaf, and one or more solvents selected from water or hot water, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, and ethyl acetate Concentrated or purified extract extracted from the above, selectively removed components other than polymerized catechins (non-polymerized catechins, caffeine, etc.) from the solvent extract of tea leaves to increase the content of polymerized catechins Examples include those containing polymerized catechins at a concentration 4 times or more that of non-polymerized catechins described in WO2005 / 077384.

  The present invention is characterized in that a oolong tea drink is produced by mixing a purified tea catechin (B) with a tea leaf extract (A) having a low degree of fermentation. In this specification, for convenience of fermentation of tea leaves, the content of non-polymerized catechins (i) and the content of polymerized catechins (10 g) of tea leaves extracted with 30 times the amount of water (90 ° C.) for 4 minutes ( ii) refers to a value ((i) / ((i) + (ii))) expressed by using “the tea leaf having a low degree of fermentation” as used in this specification means (i) / ((i) + (Ii)) represents tea leaves satisfying> 0.6. Examples of the tea leaves having a low degree of fermentation include golden katsura, and an embodiment in which golden katsura is preferably blended at 45% by weight or more based on the total amount of the raw tea leaves of the extract (A) is exemplified.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. First, in Step 1, a tea leaf having a low degree of fermentation, preferably a tea leaf containing 45% by weight or more of golden katsura is extracted with 20 to 30 times the amount of solvent to obtain an extract (A). A preferred solvent is water, and its temperature is about 75 to 98 ° C, preferably about 80 to 95 ° C. The extraction time may be appropriately set depending on the desired flavor, but is usually about 1 to 10 minutes.

  In step 2, fermented tea leaves (Darjeelin, Assam, Sri Lanka, etc.) or semi-fermented tea leaves (Iron Kannon, color, golden katsura, wushuiwa tea, etc.) are subjected to an extraction treatment with 10 to 30 times the amount of solvent. (B ′) is obtained. From the viewpoint of taste, the preferred raw tea leaves of the extract (B ′) are semi-fermented tea leaves. A preferable extraction solvent is water, and its temperature is about 70 to 98 ° C, preferably about 75 to 95 ° C. The extraction time is appropriately set depending on the type and amount of tea leaves used, but is usually about 1 to 30 minutes. Next, the extract (B ′) is brought into contact with an adsorbent at a liquid temperature of 50 ° C. or higher, preferably 55 ° C. or higher, more preferably 60 ° C. or higher, and non-polymerized catechin and caffeine are selectively removed to polymerize catechin. To obtain a purified product (B).

  In step 3, the extract (A) and the purified product of polymerized catechin (B) are mixed. The mixing ratio of the purified product (B) of the polymerized catechin to the extract (A) is 1: 0.0008 to 0.27, preferably 1: 0.008 to the Brix10 of the polymerized catechin purified product (B). 0.08. Here, the Brix10 equivalent of the purified product of polymerized catechin (B) is obtained by diluting to become Brix10 when the target polymerized catechin purified product (B) is a dried product or a concentrated solution of Brix10 or less. The ratio of the diluted solution refers to the ratio of the concentrated solution obtained by removing the water so that the purified product (B) of the polymerized catechin as a target exceeds the concentrated solution of Brix 10 or less to become Brix 10.

  In the oolong tea beverage, the non-polymerized catechin and the polymerized catechin have a low drinking content and a high drinking ability that can be drunk in large quantities, and by containing caffeine at a relatively high ratio, It has been confirmed that it is a oolong tea drink with a good aftertaste. Here, “drinkability” in this specification means the capacity of a beverage that is drunk at the time of a single drink, and a beverage with enhanced drinkability is a large amount at a stretch to heal thirst. It means that it can be drunk, that is, it can be drunk without being tired of drinking a large amount of tea-based beverages. Specifically, the term “large amount” as used herein means that the dose per adult male is 350 mL to 100 mL, preferably 500 mL to 1000 mL. In addition, “drinking response” in this specification means having a non-watery mouthfeel that is perceived at the time of drinking, that is, a so-called “koku” taste, and “good aftertaste” is perceived after drinking. Taste that has no aftertaste such as bitterness and has a very clean aftertaste.

According to the production method of the present invention, a non-polymerized catechin and polymerized catechin content is low, and a highly drinkable oolong tea beverage containing caffeine at a relatively high concentration can be easily produced. That is, in the production method of the present invention, it contains (a) non-polymerized catechin, (b) polymerized catechin, and (c) caffeine, and the content weight thereof per 100 mL of beverage,
(I) (a) + (b) = 10-50 mg
(B) (c) = 6.5-29 mg
(C) (c) / ((A1) + (B)) = 0.5 to 1.3
This is a production method suitable for producing a container-packed oolong tea beverage having a capacity of 350 mL to 2000 mL, preferably 500 mL to 1000 mL.

  Examples of containers for container-packed beverages include PET bottles, cans, paper, retort pouches, and bottles. The container-packed beverage is preferably drinkable without dilution. In addition, the heat sterilization of the mixed solution is manufactured under the sterilization conditions defined in the Food Sanitation Law if the heat sterilization can be performed after filling the container like a metal can. For PET bottles and paper containers that cannot be sterilized by retort, sterilization conditions equivalent to the above, for example, after sterilizing at high temperature and short time in a plate heat exchanger, cooling to a certain temperature and filling the container Is adopted.

[Example 1] Production of tea-based beverage (1)
(1) Production of purified polymerized catechin Using 7800 kg of baking soda solution in which 0.15% by weight of baking soda was added to warm water (95 ° C.), 600 kg of oolong tea leaf was subjected to extraction treatment to obtain about 7000 kg of oolong tea extract. While maintaining the liquid temperature of this extract at 60-65 ° C., it was passed through 400 kg of granular activated carbon (GW-H32 / 60 manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.) to remove non-polymerized catechins and caffeine. The passing liquid (liquid after the activated carbon treatment) was concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain about 900 kg of Brix 11 polymer catechin-containing oolong tea concentrated liquid (hereinafter, purified product B). The obtained purified product B was filtered through a filter (0.45 μm), and the concentrations of polymerized catechin, non-polymerized catechin and caffeine were measured by HPLC. The analysis conditions of HPLC are as follows. As a result, the weight basis was 12,000 ppm for polymerized catechin, 800 ppm for non-polymerized catechin, and 20 ppm for caffeine.
HPLC conditions:
-Mobile phase: A: Water: Acetonitrile: Trifluoroacetic acid = 900: 100: 0.5
B: Water: acetonitrile: trifluoroacetic acid = 200: 800: 0.5
・ Flow rate: 1.0ml / min
・ Column temperature: 40 ℃
・ Gradient condition: B solution 0% until 5 minutes after the start of analysis,
From 5 minutes to 11 minutes, B liquid 8%,
From 11 minutes to 21 minutes, B solution 10%,
From 21 minutes to 22 minutes, solution B is 100%,
100% hold from 22 to 30 minutes,
0% from 30 to 31 minutes
・ Detection: A280nm
(2) Production of Oolong Tea Beverage Mixed tea leaves containing 45% by weight or more of golden katsura as low-fermented tea leaves were prepared and extracted with 30 times the amount of water (90 ° C.) for 4 minutes to obtain Extract 1. To this, the purified product (purified product B) of the polymerized catechin obtained in (1) above was mixed in the ratio of extract A: purified product B = 840: 1, and an antioxidant (ascorbic acid) and a pH adjuster ( (Multilayer) was added to adjust the pH to 6.1 (product 1 of the present invention). As a target, a tea beverage having a pH adjusted to 6.1 with only the extract A without adding the purified product B was manufactured (target product).

  When the sensory evaluation of the target product and the product 1 of the present invention was performed by four professional panelists, all the panelists evaluated that the bitterness of the product 1 of the present invention was rounded and was a highly drinkable oolong tea drink. In addition, when component analysis of the product 1 of the present invention was performed, it was 200 ppm of non-polymerized catechin, 95 ppm of polymerized catechin, and 115 ppm of caffeine.

Claims (2)

Step 1 for obtaining an extract (A) from tea leaves having a low degree of fermentation, Step 2 for obtaining an extract from semi-fermented tea or fermented tea leaves, and further obtaining a purified product (B) of polymerized catechin, extract (A) and polymerized catechin The manufacturing method of a tea drink including the process 3 which mixes with the refined | purified substance (B). The method for producing a tea beverage according to claim 1, wherein some or all of the tea leaves having a low degree of fermentation are golden katsura.