JP7226886B2 - thick tea drink - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to concentrated tea beverages, and more particularly to packaged concentrated tea beverages.

In recent years, consumer tastes have diversified, and tea beverages having various flavors and functions have been developed accordingly. A rich tea beverage has a high concentration of various components contained in the tea beverage, and its flavor is strongly expressed. For example, amino acids contained in tea beverages are components that impart umami to beverages, and thick tea beverages rich in amino acids are characterized by their strong umami. On the other hand, polyphenols contained in tea beverages are also a factor responsible for the bitterness and astringency of beverages.

Until now, a technique for alleviating the heat-deteriorated odor of tea beverages containing amino acids at high concentrations (Patent Document 1) is known, but a thick tea beverage that achieves a good taste is not known.

JP 2011-97905 A

An object of the present invention is to provide a concentrated tea beverage which is satisfying to drink and imparted with moderate bitterness and astringency.

The present inventors have found that reducing the content of non-polymerized catechins in concentrated tea beverages results in insufficient drinking response and bitter and astringent taste, and that the concentration of caffeine in concentrated tea beverages with reduced content of non-polymerized catechins is adjusted within a predetermined range. By doing so, it is possible to realize a thick tea beverage that is satisfying to drink and has a moderate bitterness and astringency. The present invention is based on these findings.

According to the present invention, the following inventions are provided.
[1] A tea beverage that satisfies the following (a) and (b):
(a) The concentration of non-polymerized catechin in the beverage is 10-80 mg/100 mL. (b) The concentration of caffeine in the beverage is 40-100 mg/100 mL.
[2] (c) The tea beverage according to [1] above, wherein the beverage has a viscosity of 1.05 mPa·s or more.
[3] (d) The tea beverage according to [1] or [2] above, wherein the soluble solids content (Brix) of the beverage is 0.45 or more.
[4] (e) Any of the above [1] to [3], wherein the ratio of viscosity to non-polymerized catechin concentration (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "viscosity/non-polymerized catechin concentration ratio") is 0.013 or more The tea beverage described in Crab.
[5] The tea beverage according to any one of [1] to [4] above, which is a green tea beverage.
[6] The tea beverage according to any one of [1] to [5] above, which is a packaged beverage.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the thick tea drink which is satisfying to drink, and was given moderate bitterness and astringency is provided. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The tea beverage of the present invention is a thick tea beverage, yet has a good taste, and is advantageous in that it satisfies various taste needs of consumers.

Specific description of the invention

The tea beverage of the present invention is a tea beverage with strong tea beverage ingredients, that is, a concentrated tea beverage. In the present invention, the degree of richness of the tea beverage can be determined using the viscosity and soluble solids content (Brix) of the beverage as indices.

The lower limit (or more or more) of the viscosity of the tea beverage of the present invention can be 1.05 mPa·s, preferably 1.07 mPa·s, more preferably 1.08 mPa·s. The upper limit value (below or less than) of the viscosity of the tea beverage of the present invention is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, 1.30 mPa·s, preferably 1.25 mPa·s. These lower and upper limits can be combined arbitrarily. The viscosity of tea beverages can be measured using a commercially available falling ball microviscometer.

The lower limit (or more or more) of the soluble solids content (Brix) of the tea beverage of the present invention can be 0.45, preferably 0.60. The upper limit of the soluble solids content (below or less than) of the tea beverage of the present invention is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, 1.8, preferably 1.57. These lower and upper limits can be combined arbitrarily. The soluble solids content of tea beverages can be measured using a commercially available refractometer.

The tea beverage of the present invention is characterized in that the non-polymerized catechin concentration in the beverage is a predetermined value. The upper limit of non-polymerized catechin concentration in beverages (below or below) is 80 mg/100 mL. The lower limit (above or above) of the non-polymerized catechin concentration in the beverage is 10 mg/100 mL, preferably 40 mg/100 mL, more preferably 60 mg/100 mL. These upper and lower limits can be combined arbitrarily. The concentration of non-polymerized catechins in tea beverages is the sum of the respective concentrations of catechin, gallocatechin, catechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate, and is determined by high-performance liquid chromatography ( HPLC) method.

The tea beverage of the present invention is characterized in that the caffeine concentration in the beverage is a predetermined value. The upper limit for caffeine concentration in beverages (below or below) is 100 mg/100 mL. The lower limit (above or above) of caffeine concentration in the beverage is 40 mg/100 mL, preferably 60 mg/100 mL, more preferably 80 mg/100 mL. These upper and lower limits can be combined arbitrarily. The caffeine concentration of tea beverages can be measured by the HPLC method.

The tea beverages of the present invention can also be identified by the ratio of viscosity to non-polymerized catechin concentration. Since the non-polymerized catechin concentration is an index of the bitterness and astringency components of the tea beverage, and the viscosity is also an index of the umami components of the tea beverage, it can be said that this ratio indicates the ratio of the umami components in the tea beverage of the present invention. The lower limit (or more or more) of the viscosity/non-polymerized catechin concentration ratio of the beverage of the present invention can be 0.013. The upper limit (below or less than) of the viscosity/unpolymerized catechin concentration ratio of the beverage of the present invention can be 0.13.

The tea beverage of the present invention is not particularly limited, but examples of tea beverages applicable to the present invention include non-fermented tea (e.g., green tea, rooibos tea) beverages, fermented tea (e.g., black tea) beverages, and semi-fermented tea beverages. Tea (eg, oolong tea) beverages, post-fermented tea (eg, pu-erh tea) beverages and grain tea (eg, barley tea) beverages, and blended tea beverages of some or all of these are included.

The tea beverage of the present invention can be prepared from a tea extract produced using a method commonly used for preparing tea extracts, or a concentrate or dilution thereof. For example, by mixing and contacting tea leaves and water (0 to 100 ° C.), or by mixing or dissolving a concentrate or purified product of tea extract such as tea extract or tea powder in water (0 to 100 ° C.) , the tea extract used in the present invention can be obtained. A mixture of the tea extract obtained by mixing and contacting the above tea leaves and water with the above tea extract or tea powder may be used as the tea extract in the tea beverage of the present invention. When the tea leaves and water are brought into contact with each other, separation means such as centrifugation or filtration can be used to separate the tea leaves and the tea extract. Any raw materials other than tea leaves may be blended in preparation of the tea extract.

The raw materials used for the preparation of the tea extract are not particularly limited, but include grains (wheat, rice, etc.), leguminous plants (rooibos, etc.), and evergreen tea tree Camellia sinensis var. ) can be used. The tea leaves used in the production of the tea beverage of the present invention are not particularly limited as long as the effects of the present invention are achieved, and are represented by green tea such as sencha, gyokuro, matcha, kamairicha, bancha, and hojicha. Not only tea leaves but also semi-fermented tea leaves such as oolong tea, fermented tea leaves such as black tea, and post-fermented tea leaves such as pu-erh tea can be used. The tea leaves used in the present invention are preferably green tea leaves. Multiple types of ingredients and tea leaves may also be used in the present invention. In the present invention, "green tea" includes jasmine tea, which is green tea flavored with the fragrance of matsurika (matsurika) flowers.

In the present invention, "tea extract" means an extract obtained by subjecting tea leaves to extraction treatment. The tea extract used in the present invention includes the extract itself from tea leaves, its processed products (e.g., concentrated liquid extract, powder extract), etc. Conventionally, tea extracts used in the production of tea beverages The raw material is not particularly limited and can be selected as appropriate.

The extraction treatment of tea leaves is not particularly limited, and various extraction methods commonly used in the food processing field can be used. Further processing such as solid-liquid separation such as precipitation or filtration, concentration, centrifugation, drying (eg, spray drying, freeze drying) or pulverization may be performed.

Here, water (for example, hard water, soft water, ion-exchanged water, and natural water) is desirable as the extraction solvent used in the solvent extraction. The amount of extraction solvent can be appropriately selected by those skilled in the art and is not particularly limited. For example, when the extraction solvent is water, the amount is 1 to 100 times the amount (mass) of tea leaves.

The extraction temperature and time can be appropriately selected by those skilled in the art and are not particularly limited. For example, when the extraction solvent is water, the temperature and time are 10 to 120° C. for 1 minute to 12 hours.

An example of the extraction treatment includes immersing and stirring tea leaves in water at 0-90° C. for 1 minute to 24 hours, and then filtering or centrifuging the tea leaves. Here, conditions such as temperature and time for extraction are not particularly limited, and can be arbitrarily selected and set by those skilled in the art according to the type and amount of tea leaves.

In the preparation of the tea extract, a concentrate or purified tea extract such as tea extract or tea powder may be used. Commercially available products such as Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd.) and Theafuran (Itoen Co., Ltd.) can be used. In addition, these tea concentrates and purified tea products may be used alone or after being dissolved or diluted with water, may be used as a mixture of a plurality of types, or may be used after being mixed with a tea extract. good too.

In the tea beverage of the present invention, beverage additives that are commonly used in the production of beverages, such as acidulants, flavors, pigments, fruit juices, sweeteners (including high-intensity sweeteners), food additives (e.g. , foaming/foam retention improver, bittering agent, preservative, antioxidant, thickening stabilizer, emulsifier, dietary fiber, pH adjuster) and the like may be added.

The tea beverage of the present invention can be provided in the form of a packaged beverage. Containers for packaged beverages refer to closed containers that can cut off contact between the contents and the outside air, such as metal cans, barrels, plastic bottles (e.g., PET bottles, cups), paper containers, and bottles. , pouch containers and the like.

The production of the tea beverage of the present invention should be carried out according to a normal method used for producing beverages, except that the viscosity, soluble solids content, non-polymerized catechin concentration, and caffeine concentration of the beverage are adjusted to predetermined values. can be done. A typical method for preparing tea beverages is known, for example, a tea extract can be prepared and a tea beverage can be produced through a blending process. In the production of the beverage of the present invention, beverage additives that are commonly used in formulating and designing beverages may be added, and the timing of addition of these additives is not particularly limited.

Here, the tea beverage of the present invention is characterized by being a concentrated tea beverage. The viscosity of the beverage and the soluble solids content (Brix) of the beverage can be adjusted within a predetermined range. In addition, the tea beverage of the present invention is characterized in that the concentration of non-polymerized catechins is reduced while being rich. By increasing the concentration, the concentration of non-polymerized catechin in the tea beverage can be reduced to a predetermined value (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-220055). Furthermore, the tea beverage of the present invention is characterized by having a caffeine concentration within a predetermined range. can do.

The tea beverage of the present invention can be produced using production techniques known in the art, for example, "Revised New Edition Soft Drinks" (Kourin Co., Ltd.) can be referred to.

The tea beverage provided by the present invention can be provided as a packaged beverage through processes such as an extraction process, a preparation process, a filling process and a sterilization process. For example, the tea beverage obtained in the preparation process can be sterilized by a conventional method and filled into a container. Sterilization may be before or after filling the container.

When sterilization is performed in the production of the tea beverage of the present invention, various sterilization methods commonly used in the food field can be used, typically heat sterilization can be used. Sterilization methods that can be used include, for example, retort sterilization, UHT sterilization, pasteurization, HTST sterilization, and the like. These heat sterilization methods can be carried out under conditions normally used for the production of beverages.

The present invention will be described more specifically based on the following examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Example 1: Preparation of green tea beverage and sensory evaluation (1) Preparation of sample beverage Green tea leaves and water at 70 ° C. that is 10 times the weight of the dry weight of the green tea leaves are used as an extraction solvent for 6 minutes. was separated and the extract was cooled to 20°C. Next, 0% by mass, 1% by mass, 2% by mass or 4% by mass of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (manufactured by ISP Japan) is added to the extract and contacted for 15 minutes, followed by centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes. After separating and removing solids such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, coarse ground tea tissue, and tea particles, the remaining solids are completely removed by filtration, and extract liquid A (non-polymerized catechin concentration: 494 mg / 100 mL, caffeine concentration : 169 mg / 100 mL), extract B (non-polymerized catechin concentration: 135 mg / 100 mL, caffeine concentration: 138 mg / 100 mL), extract C (non-polymerized catechin concentration: 35 mg / 100 mL, caffeine concentration: 156 mg / 100 mL) and An extract D (non-polymerized catechin concentration: 6 mg/100 mL, caffeine concentration: 146 mg/100 mL) was obtained. Next, these extracts are diluted and / or mixed at an arbitrary ratio, and in some cases, a non-polymerized catechin preparation (Polyphenon 70A, manufactured by Mitsui Norin Co., Ltd.) is added to obtain a predetermined caffeine concentration and Green tea sample beverages (sample numbers 1 to 30) with predetermined catechin concentrations were prepared.

(2) Analysis of sample beverages

The caffeine concentration (mg/100 mL) of the beverage prepared in (1) above was measured by the HPLC method. Specifically, the sample solution was subjected to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) under the HPLC analysis conditions shown in Table 1 to measure the caffeine concentration.

The non-polymerized catechin concentration (mg/100 mL) of the beverage prepared in (1) above was measured by the HPLC method. Specifically, the sample solution was subjected to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) under the HPLC analysis conditions shown in Table 2 to measure the non-polymerized catechin concentration.

The soluble solid content (Brix) of the beverage prepared in (1) above was measured using a refractometer (RX-5000α, manufactured by ATAGO). The viscosity (mPa·s) of the beverage prepared in (1) above was measured using a falling ball micro viscometer (manufactured by Anton Paar). Using the viscosity values obtained above, the ratio of viscosity to non-polymerized catechin concentration (viscosity (mPa·s)/non-polymerized catechin concentration (mg/100 mL)) was calculated. Furthermore, the beverage prepared in (1) above was stored at 5 ° C. for 2 days, and the absorbance of OD660 was measured using a spectrophotometer (U-3900H, manufactured by Hitachi High-Tech Science) to evaluate the turbidity. .

(3) Sensory Evaluation The beverage obtained in (1) above was subjected to sensory evaluation. There were two evaluation items: "Drinkability" and "Bitter and astringent taste". Here, the term "drinkability" refers to the texture of a strong tea feeling felt in the mouth and throat, and the term "bitter and astringent taste" refers to an astringent flavor felt on the tongue. The sensory evaluation was carried out by four trained panelists according to the following procedure. Regarding the response to drinking, a sensory evaluation was performed with the sample beverage 11 as a reference product and a fixed score of 2 points. After sharing the flavor and score among the panelists, sensory evaluation was performed on the other sample beverages. In addition, regarding the bitterness and astringency, a sensory evaluation was performed with the sample beverage 11 as a reference product and the score was fixed at 1 point. After the flavor and the score were shared among the panelists, sensory evaluation was performed on the other sample beverages. rice field. The average score of the panelists for each evaluation item was calculated. The evaluation criteria are as shown below.

<Drinking response>
5 points: Feels very strong compared to the standard product 4 points: Feels stronger than the standard product 3 points: Feels slightly stronger than the standard product 2 points: Equivalent to the standard product and feels a little more filling 1 point: Standard <Bitterness and astringency>
4 points: Feels very strong compared to the standard product 3 points: Feels strong compared to the standard product 2 points: Feels slightly stronger than the standard product and is just right 1 point: Same as the standard product, weak bitterness and astringency

Based on the scores obtained in the evaluation of the response to drinking, "A" indicates an average value of 4.5 or more, "B" indicates an average value of 3.5 or more and less than 4.5, and the average value is 2.5. Those with an average value of 5 or more and less than 3.5 were evaluated as "C", those with an average value of 1.5 or more and less than 2.5 were evaluated as "D", and those with an average value of less than 1.5 were evaluated as "E". In addition, based on the scores obtained in the evaluation of bitterness and astringency, "++" indicates an average value of 3.5 or more, "+" indicates an average value of 2.5 or more and less than 3.5, and "+" indicates an average value of 3.5 or more. Those with an average value of 1.5 or more and less than 2.5 were evaluated as "⊚", and those with an average value of less than 1.5 were evaluated as "-".

(4) Results Table 3 shows the analysis values of the sample beverages obtained in (1) above.

Sensory evaluation results are shown in Tables 4 and 5.

From the results of Tables 4 and 5, in a thick green tea beverage that satisfies a predetermined viscosity and Brix, by adjusting the non-polymerized catechin concentration within a predetermined range and adjusting the caffeine concentration within a predetermined range, the drinkability is improved. It was confirmed that a green tea beverage imparted with moderate bitterness and astringency can be realized. In addition, a sample beverage having a non-polymerized catechin concentration of 10 to 80 mg / 100 mL and a caffeine concentration of 40 to 100 mg / 100 mL was stored at 5 ° C. for 2 days. It was confirmed that the absorbance (OD660) was 0.2 or less, and the turbidity was comparable to a packaged tea beverage.

Claims (3)

A packaged green tea beverage that satisfies (a), (b) and (d) below:
(a) the non-polymerized catechin concentration in the beverage is 10-80 mg/100 mL (b) the caffeine concentration in the beverage is 40-100 mg/100 mL
(d) The soluble solids content (Brix) of the beverage is 0.45 or more. (c) The green tea beverage according to claim 1, wherein the beverage has a viscosity of 1.05 mPa·s or more. 3. The green tea beverage according to claim 1, wherein (e) the ratio of viscosity to non-polymerized catechin concentration (viscosity/non-polymerized catechin concentration ratio) is 0.013 or more.