JP7440238B2 - Processed tea leaves, processed tea products, and manufacturing methods thereof - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a novel processed tea leaf product obtained by processing raw tea leaves, a processed tea leaf product obtained by further flavor-adjusting the processed tea leaf product, and a method for producing these products.

Green tea has been a favorite drink in Japan since ancient times and is one of the widely popular foods. To drink green tea, purchase commercially available dried green tea leaves, put the required amount into a teapot, and extract with hot water for a specified period of time to obtain a green tea leaf extract. Pour this into a teacup, etc. and drink. This was the typical way to drink it.

However, as the times change, consumer needs for green tea are becoming increasingly diverse. For example, as mentioned above, in the method of obtaining green tea leaf extract using a teapot and drinking it, it is necessary to dispose of the green tea leaves, that is, used tea leaves, after extraction, but there is a need to avoid this hassle. be. In order to meet this need, we used paper or nylon packaging with a handle and encapsulated dried green tea leaves (so-called tea bags) to pour hot water into teapots, teacups, etc. There is a method of obtaining an extract of green tea leaves by steeping, and this method is also widely used.

Furthermore, in response to the diversification of drinking situations, when you want to drink cold green tea in the summer, etc., use water as the extraction solvent and soak green tea leaves or tea bags to obtain an extract as so-called cold brew green tea. methods have also come into use. However, with conventional tea leaves, they are repeatedly rolled and dried, resulting in the tea leaves becoming tight and twisted. This phenomenon becomes even more pronounced and inconvenient when ice water or the like is used in order to cool down the drink, rather than in a ready-to-drink form that is time-consuming and easy to prepare.

In addition, to meet the need for convenience in drinking green tea, there are products that are industrially packaged with green tea leaf extract that can be drunk immediately after opening (so-called RTD), and We have responded by providing products such as green tea leaf liquid that is obtained by industrially drying the extract into a powder and pouring hot water or water into a teacup (so-called instant tea).

In order to respond to such diverse market needs, various technical developments and improvements have been made. However, on the other hand, there are ambitions to create new market needs that go far beyond the scope of long-standing conventional technologies, and to aim for significant improvements in flavor, extraction efficiency, and production efficiency, since existing technologies can currently meet these needs. It cannot be said that there are many such attempts.

Most of the green tea in Japan is made by steaming the picked fresh leaves to inactivate the oxidative enzymes contained in the fresh leaves (green killing), and then rolling them in various steps such as coarse rolling, rolling, medium rolling, and fine rolling. , and further drying (Non-Patent Document 1).

Edited by Shizuoka Prefecture Tea Industry Chamber, 1988, "New Tea Industry Complete Book", Shizuoka Prefecture Tea Industry Chamber, p275-276

Conventionally, whether green tea leaves are used in packaged beverages, powdered tea, or stored as frozen tea leaves, raw tea leaves are bleached as described above, and then coarsely rolled, rolled, medium rolled, and refined. Dried tea leaves produced through a series of steps of rolling and then drying were often used as raw material tea leaves.

However, the series of processes of rough rolling, rolling, medium rolling, and fine rolling require fine adjustments depending on the type and conditions of the raw materials and climate conditions such as temperature and humidity, which is a heavy burden for the operator. Alternatively, large and complex manufacturing equipment was required for industrial production.

Further, when producing a packaged beverage using the raw material tea leaves, it is desirable to increase the extraction strength in order to increase the extraction efficiency, but if the extraction strength becomes excessive, the taste will be undesirable. Therefore, there are certain limits to the components that can be obtained by extracting tea leaves.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an unprecedented tea leaf processed product and its manufacturing method by reviewing the conventional manufacturing method in tea leaf processing.
In one aspect, the processed tea leaves are so-called "tea without used tea leaves" and can be drunk without separating the tea liquid and used tea leaves.
Further, the processed tea leaves are subjected to a flavor adjustment process and the like to provide products (processed tea leaves) in various forms.

The present invention involves separating killed green tea leaves into a tea leaf extract part and a non-tea leaf extract part, sorting the obtained non-tea leaf extract part into a tea leaf solid part and a non-tea leaf solid part (also referred to as "used tea leaf part"), A method for producing processed tea leaves is proposed, in which a tea leaf extract part and the tea leaf solid part are mixed.

The present invention is as follows.
(1) Separate the killed green tea leaves into a tea leaf extract part and a non-tea leaf extract part, sort the obtained non-tea leaf extract part into a tea leaf solid part and a non-tea leaf solid part, and separate the tea leaf extract part and the tea leaf solid part. A method for producing processed tea leaves by mixing.
(2) A method for producing processed tea leaves that does not include one or more treatments selected from the group consisting of coarse rolling, rolling, medium rolling, and fine rolling.
(3) Adjusting the amount or content ratio of one or more selected from the group consisting of fiber content, protein amount, sugar content, catechin content, theanine content, and water content in killed green tea leaves or processed products thereof; A method for producing processed tea leaves.
(4) A processed tea leaf product that adjusts the ratio of two combinations selected from the group consisting of fiber content, protein content, sugar content, catechin content, theanine content, and water content in killed green tea leaves or processed products thereof. Production method.
(5) further flavor-adjusting the processed tea leaves obtained by the method for producing processed tea leaves according to any one of 1 to 4 above to obtain processed tea leaves (referred to as the "flavor adjustment step"); A method for producing processed tea leaves.
(6) According to claim 5, in the flavor adjustment step, one type of treatment selected from the group consisting of freezing, cooling, concentration, drying, powdering, and granulation or a combination of two or more types of treatment is performed. A method for producing processed tea leaves.
(7) Deactivate the enzymes in the raw tea leaves by greening the raw tea leaves (this process is referred to as the "enzyme deactivation process"),
The obtained enzyme-inactivated tea leaves are crushed (this process is referred to as the "pulverization process"),
The obtained crushed enzyme-deactivated tea leaves are squeezed and separated into a liquid part (also called "tea leaf extract part") and a non-liquid part (also called "non-tea leaf extract part") (this process is called " (referred to as "classification process"),
Sorting the non-tea leaf extract part into a tea leaf solid part and a non-tea leaf solid part (this process is referred to as a "sorting process"),
Mixing the tea leaf extract portion and the tea leaf solid portion to obtain a processed tea leaf product (this step is referred to as a “mixing step”);
A method for manufacturing a processed tea leaf product characterized by the following.
(8) A processed tea leaf product containing (1) a tea leaf extract part and (2) a tea leaf solid part, and (3) not containing a non-tea leaf solid part.
(9) The processed tea leaf product according to claim 8, having a water content of 1 to 80% by mass.
(10) A processed tea leaf product obtained by flavor-adjusting the processed tea leaf product described in 8 or 9 above.
(11) Processed tea leaves that are either frozen tea leaves, powdered tea leaves, raw materials for packaged beverages, or additives for tea leaves in packaging materials.

The present invention also proposes a processed tea leaf product that contains (1) a tea leaf extract part and (2) a tea leaf solid part, and (3) does not contain a non-tea leaf solid part (used tea leaves part), and the processed tea leaf product We propose processed tea leaf products obtained by adjusting the flavor.

By the method for producing a processed tea leaf product proposed by the present invention, a processed tea leaf product containing, for example, (1) a tea leaf extract part and (2) a tea leaf solid part, and (3) not containing a non-tea leaf solid part (used tea leaves) can be obtained, and the above problem can be solved.
Further, the processed tea leaves that can be produced by the production method proposed by the present invention can be used as they are, or can be used as processed processed tea leaves. For example, it can be used as an additive for frozen tea leaves, powdered tea leaves, raw materials for packaged beverages, and tea leaves in packaging materials (tea bag products).

An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to one example of the embodiment below.

<Tea leaf processed products/Tea leaf processed products>
The processed tea leaf product in the present invention contains (1) a tea leaf extract part (also referred to as "liquid part"), (2) a tea leaf solid part (also referred to as "solid part"), and (3) a non-tea leaf solid part ( It does not contain any used tea leaves.
Furthermore, the water content of the processed tea leaf product in the present invention is preferably 1 to 80% by mass, more preferably 20 to 80% by mass, and even more preferably 30 to 80% by mass.
Moreover, the processed tea leaf product in the present invention refers to a product obtained by flavor-adjusting a processed tea leaf product.

The "processed tea leaves" in the present invention are those obtained by artificially processing plucked raw tea leaves, and preferably consist only of components derived from the raw tea leaves.
"Tea leaf extract part" refers to the liquid part obtained by artificially processing steam-treated raw tea leaves, and "non-tea leaf extract part" refers to the non-liquid part obtained by the above-mentioned processing. means. Such artificial processing is not particularly limited as long as the "tea leaf extract part" and the "tea leaf solid part" can be separated, and examples include a juice extraction process.
In addition, the "non-tea leaf extract part" is artificially processed to separate it into a "tea leaf solid part" (soluble solid part) and a "non-tea leaf solid part" (used tea leaves part). Here, "tea leaf solids" (soluble solids) refers to drinkable tea leaves that contain soluble solids, and "non-tea leaf solids" (used tea leaves) include insoluble solids (dietary fiber). It refers to something that is not suitable for drinking as it is.
In the present invention, the "processed tea leaf product" refers to a part of tea leaves that is suitable for drinking, that is, a "tea leaf extract part" and a "tea leaf solid part" (a soluble solid part), and is not suitable for drinking as it is. It does not contain "non-tea leaf solids" (used tea leaves).

<Production method for processed tea leaves>
The processed tea leaf product of the present invention is produced by separating the killed green tea leaves into a tea leaf extract part and a non-tea leaf extract part, and sorting the obtained non-tea leaf extract part into a tea leaf solid part and a non-tea leaf solid part (tea leaf part). It can be obtained by mixing the tea leaf extract part and the tea leaf solid part.
At this time, a specific method for separating the killed green tea leaves into a tea leaf extract portion and a non-tea leaf extract portion, and a specific method for separating the obtained non-tea leaf extract portion into a tea leaf solid portion and a non-tea leaf solid portion (used tea leaves portion). Also, the specific method of mixing the tea leaf extract part and the tea leaf solid part is not particularly limited as long as the processed tea leaf product of the present invention can be obtained.

In addition, the processed tea leaves in the present invention are selected from the group consisting of rough rolling, rolling, medium rolling, and fine rolling from the viewpoint of maintaining quality by shortening processing time and reducing heat history (cumulative heat damage during the processing stage). It can be obtained by a manufacturing method that does not include one or more types of treatments.

Furthermore, in the production of the tea leaf processed product in the present invention, the fiber content, protein amount, sugar content, catechin content, theanine content, and water content in the killed green tea leaves or the processed product thereof are determined. It is also possible to adjust the amount or content ratio of one or more selected from the group consisting of:
Such component adjustment can be carried out using each component as an indicator when performing essential treatments in the production of processed tea leaves in the present invention, or an additional adjustment step can be provided in addition to the essential treatments. Among these, from the viewpoint of maintaining quality by shortening processing time and reducing heat history (cumulative heat damage during processing steps), it is preferable to adjust each component using as an index when performing essential processing in the production of processed tea leaves. .

In addition, the ratio of two combinations selected from the group consisting of fiber content, protein content, sugar content, catechin content, theanine content, and moisture content in killed green tea leaves or processed products thereof, i.e., fiber content, protein content , fiber content, protein amount, sugar content, catechin content, theanine content, which is different from the above, with respect to one amount or content ratio selected from the group consisting of sugar content, catechin content, theanine content, water content, The amount or content ratio of one selected from the group consisting of water content may be adjusted.

Specific examples of the above amount, content ratio, or ratio include the content of dietary fiber, the content ratio of dietary fiber and protein (dietary fiber /protein), content ratio of dietary fiber and sugars (dietary fiber/sugars), content ratio of dietary fiber and catechins (dietary fiber/catechins), content ratio of dietary fiber and theanine (dietary fiber/theanine) , the content ratio of dietary fiber and water (dietary fiber/water), etc.

For example, based on the characteristic that the processed tea leaves of the present invention has a low thermal history, the protein content, the content ratio of dietary fiber and protein (dietary fiber/protein), the content ratio of dietary fiber and saccharides ( Dietary fiber/sugars), content ratio of dietary fiber and catechins (dietary fiber/catechins), content ratio of dietary fiber and theanine (dietary fiber/theanine), content ratio of dietary fiber and water (dietary fiber/moisture) ), etc.

<One aspect of the manufacturing method>
As a specific embodiment of the production of processed tea leaves according to the present invention, for example, the enzymes in the raw tea leaves are deactivated by blue-killing the raw tea leaves (this process is referred to as the "enzyme deactivation process"). The enzyme-deactivated tea leaves are crushed (this process is called the "grinding process"), and the resulting crushed enzyme-deactivated tea leaves are squeezed to separate the liquid part (also called the "tea leaf extract part") and the non-liquid part. (this process is also referred to as a "classification process"), and the non-tea leaf extract part is separated into a tea leaf solid part and a non-tea leaf solid part (tea leaf part). This step is also referred to as a "selection step"), and the tea leaf extract part and the tea leaf solid part are mixed to obtain a processed tea leaf product (this step is referred to as a "mixing step").

In addition, in the present invention, a "process" does not have to be carried out in a series of production lines, and may be carried out intermittently, and in that case, the process may be performed at a later time, by changing the equipment, or by changing the location. It may also be done intermittently.

(Raw tea leaves)
The above-mentioned "raw tea leaves" and "fresh leaves" refer to tea leaves that have not been subjected to enzyme deactivation treatment (green killing).

The tea to be picked is not limited to its variety, cultivation method, or time of picking. For example, it is possible to use covered tea leaves that are harvested after being covered for a certain period of time before harvesting, or it is also possible to use tea leaves that are not covered. Moreover, first tea, second bancha, third bancha, fourth tea, fall/winter bancha, etc. can also be used.
Furthermore, it is also possible to use a combination of two or more types of tea leaves that differ in tea varieties, tea cultivation methods, and harvesting times.

The picked tea leaves consist of tea leaf stems and tea leaf non-stem parts. Usually, two to five tea leaves are attached to one stem.
The tea leaf stem part is a stem and a petiole, and the tea leaf non-stem part is a part other than the tea leaf stem part.

(Enzyme deactivation process)
In the enzyme deactivation step, the raw tea leaves may be heated to deactivate the enzymes to obtain enzyme-deactivated tea leaves, and any method currently known or to be developed in the future may be employed.
For example, in addition to steaming using a steamer or roasting, there are also methods of blue killing such as hot air drying that generates steam, direct fire heating such as pot roasting, and hot air blue killing that uses hot air. Moreover, these can also be performed in combination. For example, after steaming using a steamer, hot air killing may be performed by applying hot air.

(Crushing process)
In the pulverization step, enzyme-inactivated tea leaves may be pulverized to obtain pulverized enzyme-inactivated tea leaves.
Here, pulverization refers to making tea leaves into a finer state, and specific means include various treatments such as cutting, shredding, and pressing, and even if these are performed alone, Two or more of these treatments may be combined.
Specific methods of crushing include, for example, cutting using a fresh leaf cutter, food processor, slicer, mincing machine, rotor van, CTC machine, etc., using a crusher such as a stone mill, ball mill, jet mill, pin mill, airflow crusher, etc. An example of this method is to crush the powder by a known method.
Further, if necessary, fine pulverization may be performed using a high-pressure homogenizer, a planetary ball mill, a vibrating ball mill, an ultrasonic ball mill, a colloid mill, or the like.

(Classification processing)
In the classification process, the crushed enzyme-deactivated tea leaves are squeezed and separated into a liquid part (tea leaf extract part) and a non-liquid part (non-tea leaf extract part).
At this time, the liquid part of the crushed enzyme-inactivated tea leaves is squeezed and solid-liquid separated, and the liquid part is called the tea leaf extract part, and the other non-liquid part is called the non-tea leaf extract part or the tea leaf fiber part.

Here, solid-liquid separation refers to artificially processing the resultant product obtained by squeezing crushed enzyme-deactivated tea leaves to separate the liquid part (tea leaf extract part) and the other non-liquid part. (also called classification process).
Moreover, the classification process means a process of separating the tea leaf extract part and the other non-tea leaf extract part.

The specific method of solid-liquid separation is not particularly limited. For example, various types of juice extraction processing and extraction processing can be mentioned.
Specific classification methods include, for example, juice extraction, compression, filtration, centrifugation, sedimentation classification, mechanical classification, and the like.
These treatments may be performed alone or in combination of two or more of these treatments.

(Sorting process)
In the sorting process, the non-tea leaf extract part is sorted into a tea leaf solid part and a non-tea leaf solid part (used tea leaves) (also referred to as "sorting process").
Here, the solid part of tea leaves refers to the drinkable part that contains soluble solids, and the non-solid part of tea leaves (used tea leaves) refers to the part that contains insoluble solids (dietary fiber) and is not suitable for drinking as it is. .
Further, the specific method of the sorting process is not particularly limited as long as it is a method that can separate the non-tea leaf extract part into a tea leaf solid part and a non-tea leaf solid part (used tea leaves). Examples include processing, filtration, specific gravity sorting, mechanical classification, and straining.

(Mixing process)
In the next mixing step, the tea leaf extract portion obtained in the classification step and the tea leaf solid portion obtained in the sorting step are mixed to obtain a processed tea leaf product.
Incidentally, the tea leaf extract portion obtained in the classification step may be mixed in its entirety or in part.
Further, the tea leaf solids obtained in the sorting step may be mixed in whole or in part.

(Other processing steps)
As long as the processed tea leaves of the present invention can be obtained, the manufacturing method is not particularly limited. It is preferable not to include one or more treatments selected from the group consisting of rolling, rolling, medium rolling, and fine rolling.

(component adjustment)
The present invention can also be interpreted as a method of adjusting various components contained in tea leaves by focusing on them. This method can be suitably used from the viewpoint of quality stability of processed tea leaves. Examples of such components include the amount or content ratio of one or more selected from the group consisting of fiber content, protein content, saccharide content, catechin content, theanine content, and water content.
For example, by adjusting one or more selected from the group consisting of fiber content, protein content, sugar content, catechin content, theanine content, and water content in killed green tea leaves or processed products thereof, processed tea leaves can be improved. Alternatively, the ratio of two combinations selected from the group consisting of fiber content, protein content, sugar content, catechin content, theanine content, and water content in killed green tea leaves or processed products thereof can be adjusted. You can also do it.

(Processed tea leaves as manufactured products)
The tea leaf processed product obtained by the above production method differs from raw tea leaves or tea leaf processed products obtained by conventional techniques in its constituent elements and components in that the non-tea leaf solid part (tea leaf part) is removed.
Further, the water content of the processed tea leaf product may be 1 to 80% by mass.

<Tea leaf processed products>
The processed tea leaf product of the present invention, for example, the processed tea leaf product obtained by the above production method, can be provided as a product as it is, but by further adjusting the flavor (flavor adjustment step), it can be provided in a form closer to the final product. You can obtain certain processed tea leaves.
Here, the method for adjusting the flavor is to add temperature treatment, that is, one type of treatment selected from the group consisting of freezing, cooling, concentration, drying, powdering, and granulation, or a combination of two or more types of temperature treatment. It may be something that

Next, specific embodiments of the processed tea leaf product will be illustrated below. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described below.

(frozen tea leaves)
Frozen tea leaves can be cited as an example of processed tea leaves. By freezing the processed tea leaf product, frozen tea leaves in which the water contained in the processed tea leaf product is frozen can be obtained.

In recent years, the technology and market for frozen distribution have developed, and various types of frozen foods are now being distributed. Such distribution mode by freezing is suitable for distribution of vegetables and fruits because it can be preserved for a certain period of time and is advantageous in maintaining freshness.

As for tea, there was a practice of selling packaged green tea drinks frozen in their containers. However, to date, no tea leaves have been frozen as they are. This is thought to be because tea leaves contain a part that contains a lot of fiber, which corresponds to used tea leaves, so it was not possible to drink the tea leaves even if they were frozen.

For example, if frozen tea leaves are dissolved naturally or artificially by adding a solvent and placing them in a personal bottle, etc., a high sense of freshness is maintained, but the above-mentioned problem of used tea leaves does not occur, making it an unprecedented type of green tea. can be enjoyed.

(green tea extract powder)
An example of a processed tea leaf product is green tea extract powder. By drying the processed tea leaves, water contained in the processed tea leaves evaporates, and green tea extract powder can be obtained as dried tea leaves.

In recent years, the market for green tea powder (powdered tea), so-called instant tea, has continued to grow due to its ease of handling, and a variety of products have been released on the market. Conventionally, green tea powder on the market is made by steaming picked fresh leaves with steam to inactivate the oxidative enzymes contained in the fresh leaves (greening), and then coarsely rolling and rolling them. Tea leaves that are produced through a series of steps including rolling, medium rolling, and fine rolling, and further drying are usually used as raw materials. However, as a result, a considerable amount of heat is applied in the tea leaf manufacturing process (high heat history), which not only limits the improvement in the quality of green tea powder but also may impair the quality in some cases.

Green tea extract powder is obtained by drying processed tea leaves obtained by the above-mentioned method for producing processed tea leaves, so as mentioned above, there is less damage caused by heat during the manufacturing stage (low heat history), so green tea extract The quality of powder improves dramatically.

Furthermore, when producing existing instant tea, for example, dextrin is often used as a binder to bind tea granules. On the other hand, green tea extract powder can be prepared by adding dextrin, etc., but it is also possible to use natural binders derived from tea leaves (for example, proteins derived from tea leaf cells) in the flavor adjustment process described above. Therefore, "green tea extract powder" can be prepared with a reduced amount of binder used or even without the use of a binder at all.

(Raw materials for packaged beverages)
An example of a processed tea product is a raw material for packaged beverages. The green tea extract powder can be used as a raw material for packaged beverages (RTD) (referred to as "raw material for packaged beverages").

Raw materials for packaged beverages are dried processed tea leaves obtained by the process for producing processed tea leaves, so as mentioned above, there is less damage caused by heat during the production stage (low heat history), so heat treatment is not required. Even if it is subjected to a beverage-making process that includes, the heat history does not increase excessively in the process as a whole.

Green tea extract powder as a raw material for packaged beverages is lighter and easier to handle than in liquid form, so it is extremely suitable for transportation from a tea leaf processing factory to a beverage factory. Logistics in Japan is becoming a social problem due to a labor shortage, but improving logistics efficiency without reducing quality is desirable from the perspective of reducing costs and reducing environmental impact. Furthermore, the raw material for packaged beverages enables the production of packaged green tea beverages even in beverage factories with limited equipment.

Packaged green tea beverages are generally manufactured using a large "teapot" called a kneader, but such equipment specialized for producing packaged green tea beverages is not installed in every factory. It's not that I'm doing it. However, even in factories that do not have such equipment, raw materials for packaged beverages can be manufactured by simply dissolving the powder in a solvent, improving production efficiency. This will greatly contribute to the

Furthermore, considering these circumstances as a background, it is possible to use raw materials for packaged beverages to produce packaged green tea beverages at beverage factories in countries other than Japan. Beverage factories in overseas countries do not have kneader equipment, so if the idea was conventional, factories in overseas countries would have to install new equipment to manufacture packaged green tea drinks. However, raw materials for packaged beverages are also unique in that they enable the production of packaged green tea beverages at factories in overseas countries without the need for such equipment. Furthermore, it is fairly easy to transport green tea raw materials prepared in Japan to factories in overseas countries if they are in powder form. Note that the raw material for packaged beverages may be used as is as a raw material for packaged beverages, and it is more preferable to pasteurize it before making it into a beverage, as this imparts flavor.

(Additives for tea leaves containing packaging materials)
An example of a processed tea product is a tea leaf additive containing packaging material.
A processed tea leaf product subjected to heating and drying treatment can be used as an additive for tea leaves containing packaging materials (tea bag tea) (referred to as "additive for tea leaves containing packaging materials").

As described in the related art, tea leaves containing packaging materials (tea bag tea) are widely used as a convenient product because it saves the trouble of disposing of used tea leaves. However, since the extraction time for tea leaves packed in packaging materials is extremely limited, the tea leaves are often not extracted sufficiently in terms of flavor and light color. Various proposals have been made to solve these problems, one of which is to improve the extraction of tea leaves by making holes on the surface of the packaging material (Design Registration No. 1630082). , Design Registration No. 1633057).

The additive for tea leaves contained in packaging materials can be blended into the packaging material together with the tea leaves, for example, as an additive for tea leaves contained in packaging materials. As a result, when the tea leaves containing packaging materials are immersed in a solvent, extraction from the tea leaves progresses, and the processed tea leaf product of the present invention as an additive is separately eluted, improving the taste and water color of the tea extract. do. At this time, the material, shape, etc. of the tea leaves to be enclosed in the packaging material and the packaging material are not particularly limited.

Claims (3)

Deactivate the enzymes in the raw tea leaves by green-killing the raw tea leaves (this process is referred to as the "enzyme deactivation process"),
The obtained enzyme-inactivated tea leaves are crushed (this process is referred to as the "pulverization process"),
The obtained crushed enzyme-deactivated tea leaves are squeezed, and the liquid part (also referred to as "tea leaf extract part") obtained by the juice extraction and the other non-liquid part (also referred to as "non-tea leaf extract part") are extracted. (this process is called the "classification process"),
Sorting the non-tea leaf extract part into a tea leaf solid part and a non-tea leaf solid part (this process is referred to as a "sorting process"),
A method for producing a processed tea leaf product, characterized in that the tea leaf extract part and the tea leaf solid part are mixed to obtain a processed tea leaf product (this step is referred to as a " mixing step"). By deactivating the enzyme in the fresh tea leaves, cutting the enzyme-deactivated tea leaves obtained, filtering the solution containing the obtained cut tea leaves to obtain a filtrate, and pressurizing the filtration residue of the filtrate. A method for producing a processed tea leaf product comprising a step of compressing, obtaining a compressed extract, and mixing the compressed extract and the filtrate, and deactivating enzymes in the raw tea leaves by greening the raw tea leaves, (Excluding a method for manufacturing a processed tea leaf product that includes a step of mixing the obtained enzyme-inactivated tea leaves and ice water, beating the mixture, and wrapping it with a filter cloth to obtain a tea leaf slurry precipitate and a tea leaf slurry) . The method for producing a processed tea leaf product according to claim 1 , wherein the obtained processed tea leaf product is further flavor-adjusted to obtain a processed tea leaf product (referred to as a "flavor adjustment step"). The tea leaf processing according to claim 2 , wherein in the flavor adjustment step, one type of treatment or a combination of two or more types of treatment selected from the group consisting of freezing, cooling, concentration, drying, powdering, and granulation is performed. method of manufacturing the product.