JP2019097568A - Production method of tea leaf - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a tea leaf having aged flavor.SOLUTION: In a flavor improvement method of tea leaves, ozone is subjected to contact treatment to processed tea leaves. In a production method of tea leaves, ozone is subjected to contact treatment with processed tea leaves.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of producing tea leaves having ripening incense.

  Gyokuro and senior sencha are said to have better taste if stored in a cool dark place such as a storehouse than many years after their production. Specifically, the ripening of tea by storage has been reported to have an effect such as the disappearance of bluish taste and the mellow flavor (Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  With regard to post-ripening of green tea, storage at 20 ° C. is good for storage for about 21 to 35 days (Non-Patent Document 1), and the method of storing tea in the cool environment of green tea, semi-fermented tea, black tea It is reported that there is a difference in the storage method of the Fuji Top Peak stored tea of Kraft stored for 41 days with semi-fermented tea compared to frozen stored tea for 41 days, but there is no particular difference between green tea and black tea (Non-patent document 2).

  On the other hand, ozone treatment technology is generally used for sterilization, sterilization, deodorization and the like. As the use for tea leaves, oxidation method of tea polyphenol by bringing ozone into contact with heated wet leaves (patent document 1), sterilization by bringing fresh leaves into contact with ozone and decomposition and removal method of residual pesticides (patent document 2) Is disclosed. In addition, the ozone treatment method was mentioned as flavor development of fresh tea leaves, and it was reported that bluening (hexanal) was greatly reduced by ozonating fresh tea leaves, and the decrease of linalool, geraniol and nerolidol was slight. (Non-Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 04-258255 JP, 2001-057846, A

Shizuoka Prefecture Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Bureau, Research Coordination Section, New Agriculture Technology No. 611 "Aging effect of tea stored at the summit of Mt. Fuji" March 2016 Hiroshi Saito, Shuichi Fukatsu, Gengoro Iwahori, Research on the later ripening of green tea (1st report), Abstract of the lecture of the Japan Tea Industry Association p3, 1962 Hirokazu Kobayashi, Takeshi Ogawa "Effects of Ozone Treatment in the Withering Process of Tea" Development of New Generation Tea Beverages and Materials Connecting the World from Shizuoka 2011 Summary of Research Results Presentation p9

In the conventional methods (Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2), there is a problem that productivity is poor because long-term storage is required to obtain an incense aroma of tea leaves. Moreover, since it is a natural product, it is difficult to control to a certain quality because of variation.
On the other hand, although treatment with ozone with strong oxidizing power is carried out for fresh tea leaves and wet tea leaves, the purpose is to sterilize and oxidize polyphenols, so tea leaves were kept for a long time under certain conditions. It has not been elucidated until the matured incense which is generated is obtained.
Although non-patent document 3 discloses ozone treatment during the process of withering tea leaves, the reaction by ozone treatment is different when comparing fresh tea leaves undergoing fermentation with tea leaves already inactivated by the tea making process. Is clear. Moreover, in the ozone gas processing method of the fresh tea leaf of nonpatent literature 3, there is a possibility that it may affect the component which influences the flavor of a tea leaf so that there is a statement that caffeine content decreases.

  Accordingly, it has been desired to provide a production method which can stably obtain tea leaves having ripening aroma in a short time by overcoming the above problems.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventor of the present invention has reduced the ripening aroma referred to in the present invention, that is, the blue smell, by contacting ozone with tea leaves such as finishing tea and rough tea. It has been found that it is possible to obtain a tea leaf which enhances or expresses a ripe fruit-like flavor having a fresh flavor and a floral mellowness, and to complete the present invention.

That is, the present invention provides a method for improving the flavor of tea leaves, which comprises contacting ozone with the tea leaves produced in [1].
[2] A method for improving the flavor of tea leaves, characterized in that the ozone concentration at the time of contact treatment with ozone is 1 mg or more per 1 kg dry tea leaf weight,
[3] A method for producing tea leaves, which comprises contacting ozone with tea leaves which have been made,
[4] A method for producing tea leaves, wherein the water content of the tea leaves obtained is at most 10% by weight,
[5] The method for producing tea leaves according to [3] or [4], wherein the ozone concentration is 1 mg or more per 1 kg dry tea leaf weight,
[6] A method for producing powdered tea leaves, which comprises grinding the tea leaves obtained by the production method according to any one of the above [3] to [5],
[7] The method for producing a tea leaf according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the tea leaf obtained by making the tea is a crushed tea leaf.
[8] Tea leaves having the following aroma component groups (A) to (E): (A) blue odor component n-hexanal, and dimethyl sulfide (B) floral component α-ionone, β-ionone, and 5,6-epoxy -β-ionone (C) Oxidizing odor component (E, Z) -2,6-nonadienal, (E, Z) -3,5-octadien-2-one, and (E, E) -3,5-octadiene -2-one (D) (E, Z)-2, 6-nonadienal (E) dimethyl sulfide was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC / MS analysis) and the total peak area in each group was Tea leaves having a ratio of [(B) / (A)] of 3.5 or more, [(C) / (A)] of 1.4 or more, and (E) / (D) of 15 or less,
To provide

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a ripening aroma, that is, a tea leaf having a ripe fruit-like flavor having both a fresh flavor and a floral mellowness regardless of the reduction of the unpleasant green odor. By finely grinding the tea leaves, it is possible to provide finely ground tea leaves that can be provided with ripening incense to food and drink. Moreover, a matured tea extract can be provided by extracting with hot water etc. Furthermore, by using these tea leaves, it is possible to provide a tea beverage which has a ripening aroma and in which bitterness and bitterness is suppressed.

The present invention will be described in detail below.
The matured aroma referred to in the present invention is a flavor like a ripe fruit which has a reduced green odor and a combination of fresh flavor and floral mellowness.

The raw material tea leaves used for the production of the present invention can be obtained from Chinese species (var. Sinensis), Assam species (var. Assamica) of Camellia sinensis, which is an "anemone tree" that is an evergreen tree of the camellia family Camellia sp. Use fresh leaves, fresh stems, or tea leaves manufactured using them as primary raw materials.
For example, infermented tea such as sencha, gyokuro, overturned tea, bancha, stem tea, green tea and so on, as well as weakly fermented tea such as flower tea such as jasmine tea and sinter flower tea in which unfermented tea is transferred A semi-fermented tea such as oolong tea, a fermented tea such as black tea, or a fermented microbial fermented tea such as puar tea may be used as a raw material tea leaf. Among these tea leaves, it is preferable to use pre-flavored tea leaves, and it is particularly preferable to use tea leaves before fermentation, so-called green tea. Moreover, you may utilize the tea leaf stored for 1 month or more.
Furthermore, ozone treatment may be carried out after grinding the tea leaves produced. As the pulverizing method, the method described later may be used.
The particle size of the crushed tea leaf is preferably 1.0 μm to 30.0 μm, more preferably 3.0 μm to 20.0 μm, and more preferably 4.0 μm to 10.0 μm. Is more preferred. In the present invention, the average particle size can be measured by a commercially available laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring apparatus. For example, a laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring apparatus (LMS-350 Co., Ltd. Seishin Co., Ltd.), laser diffraction / scattering A particle size distribution measuring apparatus (LA-960 manufactured by Horiba, Ltd.) can be used.

10 weight% or less is preferable and, as for the water content of the raw material tea leaf used for this invention, 5 weight% or less is more preferable. In the case of tea leaves exceeding 10% by weight, the oxidative power by ozone works strongly and oxidative deterioration tends to occur, so that sufficient ripening aroma can not be obtained. The water content of tea leaves was measured by the loss on drying method. Specifically, the weight before and after drying at 105 ° C. for 4 hours was measured and calculated.

In the method for producing tea leaves of the present invention, tea leaves made into tea are put into a closed container and filled with ozone, whereby contact treatment of tea leaves with ozone is carried out for a certain period of time.
Although ozone can be generated by an ozone generator, the ozone generator is not particularly limited, and a method of irradiating oxygen with light of high energy such as an electron beam, radiation, ultraviolet light, a chemical method, an electrolytic method, a discharge method There is an example of using the like. Examples of commercially available ozone generators include general-purpose ozone generators (for example, Ecodesign Co., Ltd. "ED-OG-AP1"). The shape and the like of the processing container is not particularly limited as long as the processing container can be sealed, but it is preferable to have a rotatable mechanism because uniform processing can be performed.

It is necessary to control the ozone concentration at the time of contact treatment of tea leaves and ozone within a certain range in order to obtain tea leaves rich in ripening incense.
For example, after injecting tea leaves, ozone is injected. 1 mg or more and 100 mg or less are preferable with respect to dry tea leaf weight 1 kg, and, as for the ozone concentration in a drum, 2 mg or more and 50 mg or less are more preferable. More preferably, it is 2.5 mg or more and 10 mg or less. When the ozone concentration is brought into contact with excess (for example, when it exceeds 100 mg with respect to 1 kg of tea leaves), an oxidative odor is generated, and the ripening aroma of the present invention can not be obtained as a single tea leaf.
In the contact treatment with tea leaves after being filled with ozone, the contact time is preferably 10 minutes to 2 hours. At that time, it is more preferable to rotate the drum to stir the tea leaves.
The ozonated tea leaves differ from the method for producing matured tea by long-term storage, in that it is not necessary to carry out a burning treatment particularly for finishing.
Moreover, the tea leaf after the ozone treatment may be used by being mixed with the tea leaf which is not subjected to the ozone treatment, and the ripening aroma can be imparted by mixing the tea leaf having the ripening aroma. In that case, you may burn as needed.

The tea leaf of the present invention is characterized in that it has a reduced green odor and provides a ripe fruit-like flavor having a fresh flavor and floral mellowness. The characteristics of the flavor are as follows: (A) blue odor component, n-hexanal and dimethyl sulfide, (B) floral component, α-ionone, β-ionone and 5,6-epoxy-β- Ionone, (C) Oxidizing odor component (E, Z) -2,6-nonadienal, (E, Z) -3,5-octadien-2-one and (E, E) -3,5-octadiene- Represents 2-on. Further, (D) (E, Z) -2, 6-nonadienal and (E) dimethyl sulfide are added, and tea leaves are analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC / MS analysis), and the peak of each aroma component From the area, for each of the groups (A) to (C), the total result and (D) and (E) are evaluated.
In the tea leaves obtained in the present invention, the ratio of (B) floral component to (A) blue odor component is [(B) / (A)] is 3.5 or more, and (C) oxidized odor component to (A) blue odor component The ratio is [(C) / (A)] is 1.4 or more, and (E) / (D) is 15 or less. By setting the above-mentioned aroma component to the above-mentioned range, it is possible to express blue odor, freshness and floral aroma in a well-balanced manner. These ratios are: [(B) / (A)] is 4.0 or more, [(C) / (A)] is 1.8 or more, and (E) / (D) is 9 or less More preferable.

The tea leaves of the present invention can be extracted to produce a tea extract having ripening incense.
Examples of the method for extracting tea leaves in the present invention include known methods such as a batch type extraction method using a kneader or a tank for extraction and a column type extraction method using an extraction tower and the like. The extraction conditions are appropriately selected according to the type of tea leaf, the type of extractor, flavor, etc. For example, 3 to 50 parts by weight of an extraction solvent may be used with respect to 1 part by weight of tea leaf, 4 to 30 Parts by weight are preferred in terms of extraction efficiency, production cost and quality. It is preferable to use water, warm water, or hot water as the extraction solvent because there is no safety problem. Although extraction temperature in particular is not restrict | limited, 10-100 degreeC is preferable and 15-40 degreeC is more preferable. The extraction time depends on the amount of extraction solvent and the extraction temperature, but it is preferably 30 seconds to 6 hours, preferably 3 minutes to 3 hours, and more preferably 4 minutes to 1 hour. At the time of extraction, stirring is carried out if necessary, and after the above extraction step, solid-liquid separation is carried out by filtration such as cartridge filter, filter cloth, filter plate, filter paper, filter press using filter aid together, centrifugal separation, etc. It is sufficient to obtain an extract. In addition, in the extraction step, an antioxidant may be added to suppress oxidation of the tea extract. Antioxidants include ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid or metal salts thereof which are recognized as food additives.

  The liquid extract obtained by extracting the tea leaves of the present invention can also be used as an additive material for various food and drink manufacturing applications, and the tea extract can be dried and used as it is as an instant tea beverage. Targets to which the matured tea extract of the present invention is added include tea beverages, sports beverages, carbonated beverages, fruit juice beverages, milk beverages, beverages such as beverages, ice creams, sherbets, ice candy such as ice candy, etc. Japanese and Western confectionery products, chewing gums, chocolates, breads, various snacks, etc. may be mentioned.

  When a liquid extract is blended to produce a container-packed tea beverage, sterilization is carried out at any stage of the production process, and a metal can, a paper container combined with a metal foil or a plastic film, polyethylene terephthalate as a main component It can be provided in a normal state such as a molded container (so-called plastic bottle), a bottle or the like. If it can be heat-sterilized after being filled in a container like metal cans and bottles, it is manufactured by retort sterilization (110-140 ° C, for a few minutes), but it can not be retort-sterilized like plastic bottles or paper containers Before filling, for example, high temperature short time sterilization (UHT sterilization: 110 to 150 ° C, 1 to several seconds) with a plate type heat exchanger etc. before filling, and after cooling to a certain temperature, filling in a container that has been sterilized beforehand You can choose how to It is preferable to adjust the pH of the tea beverage to 5.5 to 7.0 in terms of 25 ° C.

Moreover, the tea leaf of this invention can be grind | pulverized and utilized. The pulverizing method is not particularly limited as long as it can be processed to a desired particle diameter, and pulverization is generally performed using a generally known pulverizer such as a pneumatic pulverizer, a mechanical pulverizer, a ball mill, a stone mill, etc. Just do it. The grinding method is not particularly limited, as it is dry grinding, wet grinding or freeze grinding.
The particle diameter of the finely ground tea leaf is preferably 1.0 μm to 30 μm, more preferably 3.0 μm to 20 μm, and still more preferably 4.0 μm to 10 μm. . If the average particle size is less than 1.0 μm, caking will be suppressed, but tea leaves will easily fly during production, resulting in poor workability such as increased adhesion to the production apparatus. When the average particle size exceeds 30 μm, graininess and astringency tend to remain, which is unsuitable for drinking. In the present invention, the average particle size can be measured by a particle size distribution measuring apparatus as described above. The ground tea leaves obtained can be used for instant powdered beverages, for tea bags, and for the addition of liquid beverages.

  The present invention will be described in more detail by way of the following examples. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

<Test Example 1>
<Method for producing ozonated tea leaves>
After adding 2.78 kg of rough tea (the second tea) with a moisture content of 5% to a manufacturing drum (volume 21.5 L), the ozone generator (ED-OG-AP1 manufactured by Ecodesign Co., Ltd.) is applied to the rough tea. Was filled with ozone gas. Thereafter, the drum was sealed and rotated with the drum to stir the tea leaves. Detailed test conditions etc. and evaluation results are shown in Table 1. The ozone treatment was carried out at room temperature.
Further, the ozone concentration in the drum was calculated by volume concentration.

About the tea leaf of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 and Examples 1 to 4 obtained by the above operation, the aroma component, the amount of tannin and the amount of caffeine were analyzed under the conditions shown below.

<Analytical method of aroma components>
In a 20 mL vial, 200 mg of tea leaves ground with a food processor and 3 g of sodium chloride were placed in a 20 mL vial, and 10 mL of water (Cycloheptanol (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) as an internal standard substance added to a final concentration of 500 ppb) was added . The sample solution was subjected to GC / MS analysis using Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME). Evaluation was determined by the ratio of the peak area of each aroma component to the peak area of the internal standard substance.

<SPME-GC / MS conditions>
GC: TRACE GC ULTRA (made by Thermo Fisher Scientific)
MS: TSQ QUANTUM XLS (manufactured by Thermo Fisher Scientific)
SPME fiber: 50/30 μm Divinylbenzene / Carboxen / Polydimethyl siloxane Stableflex
Extraction: 60 ° C., 30 minutes Column: SUPELCO WAX 10 (0.25 mm ID × 60 m × 0.25 μm, manufactured by Sigma Aldrich)
Oven program: Hold at 40 ° C for 2 minutes, then raise the temperature to 160 ° C at 3 ° C / min, and then raise it to 280 ° C at 10 ° C / min Carrier gas: Helium (100 kPa, constant pressure)
Injector: splitless, 240 ° C
Ionization: Electron Ionization Ionization voltage: 70 eV

<Method of measuring tannin>
The quantification of tannin was carried out according to the iron tartrate spectrophotometric method described on pages 252 to 254 of "Fifth edition commentary of Japanese food standard component analysis manual" (edited by the Japan Food Analysis Center, Central Law, July 2001). In addition, ethyl gallate (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) was used as a standard substance for quantification, and 32% methanol (v / v) to which 0.4% of 1 M hydrochloric acid was added was used as a preparation solution. In the present invention, tannin is a polyphenol contained in tea, and is treated as synonymous with terms such as tea polyphenol and tea tannin.

<Method of measuring caffeine>
Caffeine was quantified by HPLC analysis under the following conditions.
Reference substance: caffeine (Kanto Chemical Co., Ltd.)
Equipment: Alliance HPLC system (made by Waters)
Column: Poroshell 120 EC-C18 (4.6 x 100 mm, particle size 2.7 μm, manufactured by Agilent)
Column temperature: 40 ° C
Mobile phase: A solution 0.05% phosphoric acid water / acetonitrile = 1000/25 (volume ratio), B solution methanol gradient program: 0 to 1 minute (B solution 0%), 1 to 11 minutes (B solution 0 to 33%) 11 to 1.25 minutes (Liquid B 33 to 95%), 11.25 to 13.25 minutes (G 95%), 13.25 to 13.5 minutes (Liquid B 95 to 0%), 13.5 to 15.5 minutes (Liquid B 0%)
Flow rate: 1.5 mL / min
Detection: UV 275 nm

  The measurement results of the aroma component are shown in Table 2.

<Sensory evaluation of invention and comparison products>
The tea leaves obtained in the Comparative Example and Example of Test Example 1 are diluted 60 times with ion-exchanged water, and five panelists aged as a matured incense bluish odor, freshness and floral mellowness, and tea-specific bitter and astringent taste The sensory evaluation was performed on Evaluation criteria are shown below.

(Evaluation standard of green odor)
We evaluated the smell of blue when drinking.
Evaluation points: 4 (not felt), 3 (not felt much), 2 (feeled) 1 (strongly felt)
Evaluation: An average score of 5 persons gave 3.4 or more as ◎, 2.7 to 3.3 as ○, 1.7 to 2.6 as Δ, and 1.6 or less as x.

(Evaluation criteria for floral mellowness)
The floral roundness felt at the time of drinking was evaluated.
Evaluation points: 4 (feeling strong), 3 (feeling), 2 (feeling little), 1 (I hardly feel)
Evaluation: The average score of 5 persons was 3.5 or more, ◎, 2.7 to 3.4 を, 1.5 to 2.6 △, and 1.5 or less as x.

(Evaluation criteria for freshness)
We evaluated the feeling of freshness when drinking.
Evaluation points: 4 (feeling strong), 3 (feeling), 2 (feeling little), 1 (I hardly feel)
Evaluation: The average score of 5 persons was 3.5 or more, ◎, 2.7 to 3.4 を, 1.5 to 2.6 △, and 1.5 or less as x.

(Evaluation criteria for bitterness and bitterness)
It was evaluated whether it felt the bitterness inherent to tea.
Evaluation points: 4 (feeling strong), 3 (feeling), 2 (feeling little), 1 (I hardly feel)
Evaluation: The average score of 5 persons was 3.5 or more, ◎, 2.7 to 3.4 を, 1.5 to 2.6 △, and 1.5 or less as x.

(Aging aroma overall evaluation)
As the evaluation of ripening incense, bluish odor, floral mellowness, when there is at least one x in the evaluation of freshness, there is no x, when there is at least one △, there is 、, x and が, there is only ○ In the case where there is no ○, × and Δ, and there is one or more ◎, it is ◎.

(Comprehensive evaluation)
Overall evaluation of the aging aroma, bitter and astringency, evaluation of the aroma component was comprehensively evaluated. If there is at least one, there is no x, if there is at least one, there is no Δ, if there is only one, then there is no ○, if there is only ○. did.

  The evaluation results are shown in Table 3.

In Examples 1 to 4, a floral mellow ripening incense was felt, and there was no green odor. The floral flavor remained in the mouth, especially after drinking, and the natural bitterness of the tea was felt mellow. In Comparative Products 1 and 2, ripening incense was not sufficiently felt. Comparative product 1 felt a strong blue odor. Example 4 showed a slight oxidation odor as compared to Example 3.
In addition, ozone treatment did not lose bitterness, which is a unique flavor of tea.

In addition, 150 mL of hot water is poured into 3 g of the tea leaves of Test Example 1 for extraction for 3 minutes, and tannins by the above-mentioned iron tartrate method are used. As a result of analyzing the amount of caffeine, there was no difference by the presence or absence of ozone treatment. In the method of the present invention, it was found that the inherent bitterness of tea leaves was maintained without decreasing tannin and caffeine.

Test Example 2
The ozone treatment was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 of Test Example 1 except that the tea leaf was changed to finished tea (water content of tea leaf 3%). As a result, tea leaves having a fruity flavor and a mellow flavor and floral mellowness are obtained.

<Test Example 3>
The ozone treatment was carried out in the same manner as in Test Example 1 except that the target tea leaf was changed to ground tea leaf. After grinding the same tea leaves as in Test Example 1 with a jet mill (manufactured by Seishin Enterprise Co., Ltd.), the ground tea leaves having an average particle diameter of 10.0 μm obtained by removing uncrushed substances and foreign substances with a 100 mesh sieve are carried out. Used in Examples 5 to 7.
Pulverized tea leaves having an average particle diameter of 20.0 μm and 30.0 μm prepared in the same manner were used in Examples 8 to 13. The non-ozone treated ones were referred to as Comparative Examples 3 to 5 and also ground with a tornado mill (manufactured by Mitaka Ind. Co., Ltd.) to produce ground tea leaves having an average particle diameter of 40.0 μm prepared in the same manner as described above. To 9 were used.
The particle diameter is measured using a laser diffraction / scattering particle diameter distribution measuring apparatus (particle size distribution) LA-960 (manufactured by Horiba, Ltd.) using water as a dispersion medium, and the accumulation on a volume basis 50 The% diameter is shown as the average particle size. The treated tea leaves obtained were subjected to ozone treatment under the conditions shown in Table 4.

The ozone-treated ground tea leaf obtained in Test Example 3 was diluted 90 times with ion-exchanged water, and the sensory evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Test Example 1. The sensory evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in the examples also in Comparative Examples 3 to 6 in which the ozone treatment was not performed. The evaluation results are shown in Table 5.
From this result, it was found that the effect of the ozone treatment was sufficiently obtained also in the ground tea leaves.

Production Example 1 Instant Powdered Tea After grinding the tea leaves obtained in Example 1 with an air tag mill (manufactured by Micro Pau Tech Co., Ltd.), the uncrushed product and foreign matter are removed with a 100 mesh sieve, and finely pulverized. Tea leaves were produced. An instant powder tea was prepared by blending dextrin and vitamin C. The formulation is shown below.
1. Dextrin 74.0% by weight
2. Example 1 23.0 wt%
3. Vitamin C 3.0 wt%

Preparation Example 2 Container-packed Tea Beverage The tea leaves (100 g) obtained in Example 3 were extracted and charged into 3000 g of hot water (40 ° C.). After 10 minutes of stirring and extraction, the mixture was filtered with a production filter paper (No. 28, manufactured by Advantec Co., Ltd.) to obtain 2380 g of an extract. It adjusted with water so that it might become ascorbic acid concentration 30 mg / 100 mL and the amount of tannins 55 mg / 100 mL. Furthermore, baking soda was added so that it might be set to pH 6.8, and the preparation liquid was prepared. The mixed solution was subjected to retort sterilization (121 ° C., 10 minutes) to obtain a packaged tea beverage.
As a result of conducting sensory evaluation as described above, a container-packed tea beverage having a mellow ripening incense was obtained.

  According to the production method of the present invention, production of a tea leaf having a ripening aroma requiring a long time can be obtained in a short time. Moreover, the tea beverage which has mellow ripeness incense can be provided by utilizing an aging tea leaf for a tea beverage.

Claims (8)

A method for improving the flavor of tea leaves, comprising contacting ozone with the tea leaves produced. The method for improving the flavor of tea leaves according to claim 1, wherein the ozone concentration at the time of contact treatment with ozone is 1 mg or more per 1 kg of dry tea leaf weight. A process for producing tea leaves, which comprises contact treatment of ozone with the tea leaves produced. The method for producing tea leaves according to claim 3, wherein the water content of the tea leaves produced is at most 10% by weight. The method for producing tea leaves according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the ozone concentration is 1 mg or more per 1 kg dry tea leaf weight. The manufacturing method of the powder tea leaf characterized by grind | pulverizing the tea leaf obtained by the manufacturing method as described in any one of Claims 3-5. The method for producing tea leaves according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the tea leaves produced are tea leaves that have been ground. Tea leaves having the following aroma component groups (A) to (E).
(A) Blue odor component n-hexanal and dimethyl sulfide (B) floral component α-ionone, β-ionone and 5,6-epoxy-β-ionone (C) oxidative odor component (E, Z) -2, 6 -Nonadienal, (E, Z) -3,5-octadien-2-one, and (E, E) -3,5-octadien-2-one (D) (E, Z) -2,6-nonadienal ( E) Dimethyl sulfide The ratio of the total area of the peak areas in each group when analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC / MS analysis method) is [(B) / (A)] of 3.5 or more, Tea leaf whose (C) / (A)] is 1.4 or more and (E) / (D) is 15 or less.