JPH08271413A - Production of roughly processed tea - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To deal with diversified demand for tea product by measuring the quality characteristics of raw leaf tea material through near infrared spectroscopic analysis thereby making possible to set the conditions of tea production process. CONSTITUTION: Raw leaf material received by an unloader 11 is stored temporarily in a raw leaf managing unit 12 and eventually transferred on a transfer unit 13 to a steam heater unit 21 in a rough tea processing line 2 and passed through respective processes to produce a product. The raw leaf tea is sampled when it is received by the unloader 11 or in the way of transfer from the unloader 11 to the unit 12 and delivered to means 3 for measuring the quality characteristics of the raw leaf material. The quality characteristic value is delivered to a means 4 for setting process conditions of the rough tea processing line 2 depending on the quality characteristics of raw leaf material and signals are delivered to each unit 21-27 constituting the rough tea processing line. The means 4 also delivers control signals to the units 12, 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for producing crude tea by processing raw tea leaves into raw tea. In particular, the quality characteristics of raw leaf raw materials are measured, and the tea making process conditions are set based on the measurement results. The present invention relates to a method for producing rough tea.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the production of rough tea, which has been carried out under a small-scale production facility, an expert evaluates the quality of raw leaf raw materials by the five senses and empirically prepares the production conditions according to the characteristics of the raw material. Was set and the rough tea was produced under the optimum conditions. Under such circumstances, there was no particular need to pursue productivity, the manufacturing equipment was small, and there were many skilled workers, so rough tea is manufactured according to the individual characteristics of raw raw leaves. Was there.

However, in recent years, due to the fact that the production facilities for rough tea have become large in scale with the aim of improving productivity, and the shortage of skilled workers due to the decrease in the number of agricultural workers has been combined, it is possible to match the individual characteristics of raw leaf raw materials. It is difficult to make a small turn around by setting the manufacturing conditions according to the manufacturing method, and the manufacturing process conditions are set according to the average characteristics of raw leaf raw materials.

That is, in the production of large-scale rough tea, a raw material management device for receiving raw leaf raw materials delivered from a tea farm, a raw leaf management device for temporarily storing the raw raw material, and a raw leaf raw material management device With a raw material loading process consisting of a raw leaf flow rate device to be supplied to the rough tea processing line and a transport device that connects each device, a steaming device, a leaf beating device, a rough kneading device, a kneading device, a middle kneading device, a kneading device, It has a rough tea processing line that is configured by sequentially arranging a drying device, etc., and processes the supplied raw leaf raw material into rough tea by going through each process. The first half and the second half of the bancha are changed about four times in total, and the process conditions of the rough tea processing line are only changed, and the process conditions are hardly changed each time according to the variation of the raw material lot that is received every day. There is at present.

[0005]

However, contrary to the situation on the manufacturing side as described above, a tea wholesaler or the like may instruct the manufacturing side on the characteristics of a fine product in accordance with the tastes and demands of the consumer, and many Increasingly, we are demanding the shipment of quality products. However, as mentioned above, in the manufacturing method that sets each process condition according to the average quality level raw material, when extremely high quality raw material or conversely poor raw material is mixed, the process condition setting is performed. However, there was a problem that it did not meet the quality of raw leaf raw materials and produced poor quality crude tea, which was not enough to meet the diverse needs of tea wholesalers.

In order to deal with this, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-17
As described in Japanese Patent No. 9344, it has been proposed that an operator judges a change in the quality of fresh leaves and controls the process conditions of each step of the rough tea processing line according to the change. Since the quality judgment of the product is not performed objectively, and the relationship between the quality of raw leaf material, the setting conditions of each process and the quality of the finished product is not clear, the process condition control is not clear. However, there was a problem that the desired quality product could not always be obtained.

The present invention has been made in order to deal with the above situation, and is suitable for objectively measuring the quality of raw tea leaves and producing a product having a desired quality from the measurement results. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing rough tea, which makes it possible to set tea making process conditions and sufficiently meet various demands for products.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the method for producing rough tea according to the present invention comprises a raw material carrying step,
In a method for producing rough tea, which comprises a raw tea processing line for processing raw leaf raw material supplied from the raw material carrying-in step into raw tea,
Measurement of quality characteristics based on near-infrared spectroscopic analysis for raw leaf raw materials sampled from any stage in the raw material carrying-in step, and the steps of each step in the rough tea processing line according to the quality characteristics obtained as a result It is characterized by setting conditions.

Further, the above-mentioned quality characteristics are obtained by combining the constituent characteristics and physical characteristics of the raw leaf raw material, and the constituent characteristics of the raw leaf raw material are characteristics in which at least water and fiber content are taken into consideration. And

Further, the quality of the finished product is measured, and the quality characteristics of the raw leaf raw material, the setting pattern of the process conditions and the finished product quality are accumulated as data, and this data is statistically processed to obtain the raw leaf raw material. It is characterized in that the optimum process conditions are set in order to obtain the desired product quality with respect to the above quality.

[0011]

The operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system configuration for carrying out the manufacturing method of the present invention. In the figure, 1 indicates the raw material carrying-in process including the steps of receiving the raw leaves from the farmer, storing the raw leaves, and measuring the flow rate of the raw leaves to the rough tea processing line, and 2 shows steaming, leaf cutting, rough kneading,
The rough tea processing line including each process of kneading, middle kneading, fine kneading, and drying is shown. Therefore, the arrow 5 shows the flow of the raw material supply from the raw material carry-in step 1 to the rough tea processing line 2, and the arrow 9 shows the flow of the finished product. Further, 3 is a quality characteristic measuring means for measuring the quality characteristic of the raw leaf raw material, 30 is a quality characteristic measuring means for measuring the quality characteristic of the product, and 4 is a process condition setting for setting a process condition for each step of the rough tea processing line. The means is shown. Further, arrow 6 indicates sampling of raw leaf material, arrow 31 indicates product sampling, and arrows 7, 8 and 32 indicate signal flows.

When the raw material raw material is carried into the raw material carrying-in step 1, the raw material is sampled in the step 1, and the quality characteristics of the sample are measured. The quality characteristic measuring means 3 performs near-infrared spectroscopic analysis on the sample to obtain component characteristics, further obtains physical characteristics such as boiling leaf volume and hardness and softness, and grasps the quality characteristics as a whole. Then, the process condition setting means 4 sets the condition for each processing step when the raw leaf raw material supplied from the raw material feeding step 1 is processed in the rough tea processing line 2 according to the quality characteristics of the obtained raw leaf raw material. To obtain the desired product quality.

In order to understand the quality characteristics of raw leaf raw materials, it is effective to consider water content and fiber content as component characteristics, and physical properties such as hardness and softness are added to this, and as shown in Table 1, Bud material (high water content, low fiber content, soft)
It recognizes the quality characteristics from to hard leaf material (low water content, high fiber content, hard material) in a multidimensional and stepless manner according to the measurement results. It is also possible to add other elements to the component characteristics and physical characteristics to make it more multidimensional.

[0014]

[Table 1]

Further, the process condition setting means 4 is fed back with the measured values relating to the quality characteristics of the product obtained by the quality characteristic measuring means 30 from the product sample. Then, the process condition setting means 4 is a data storage means for storing, as data, a measured value relating to the quality characteristics of the raw leaf raw material, a set value of the process condition and a measured value relating to the quality of the finished product, and the relationship between these data. It is equipped with an information processing means that obtains the statistical processing of the raw materials, creates a database of the relationship between raw material quality, setting conditions, and product quality, simulates process conditions for raw material quality, and enables estimation of finished product quality. It enables the setting of optimum process conditions to obtain the desired product quality.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 (the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals). FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a system configuration of a method for producing rough tea according to an embodiment of the present invention. The raw material carrying-in step 1 is provided with a cargo receiving device 11, a raw leaf management device 12, and a raw leaf flow rate device 13, and the rough tea processing line 2 has a steaming device 21, a leaf-beating device 22, a rough kneading device 23, and a kneading device 24. , A middle kneading device 25, a refining device 26, and a drying device 27. Then, the raw leaf raw material received in the cargo receiving container 11 is temporarily stored in the raw leaf management device 12, and then supplied to the steaming device 21 which is the first process of the rough tea processing line 2 by the transport device 13, and goes through each process. Processed into a product.

In the present embodiment, raw leaf raw material in the cargo receiving device 11 or during transportation from the cargo receiving device 11 to the raw leaf management device 12 is sampled and sent to the quality characteristic measuring means 3 to measure the quality characteristic of the raw leaf raw material. . Then, the measured quality characteristic value of the raw leaf raw material is sent to the process condition setting means 4, and here, each process condition of the rough tea processing line 2 is set according to the quality characteristic of the raw leaf raw material, and the rough tea processing line is set. A signal is sent to each of the constituent devices 21 to 27.

Further, in this embodiment, the process condition setting means 4 uses the measured quality characteristic values of the raw leaf material as
A signal 33 for controlling the apparatus by setting the raw leaf storage condition and storage time in the raw material carry-in step 1, setting the feeding position to the raw leaf management apparatus, or setting the feeding order (priority order of processing) to the steaming apparatus. Is sent to the fresh leaf management device 12 and the fresh leaf flow rate device 13. In other words, as a result of measuring the quality of raw materials, if it is recognized that the quality is close to that of the raw material for sprouting, then the raw material for sprouting will be deteriorated quickly and if the storage time is long, it will become a raw leaf with a leaf-smelling odor. The raw material is processed by controlling the feeding to the steaming process as soon as possible, and when it is recognized that the quality is close to that of the hard leaf material, the hard leaf deteriorates slowly and is postponed. It manages the supply to the line.

Next, the quality characteristic measuring means 3 and 30 and the process condition setting means 4 in this embodiment will be described in more detail. The quality characteristic measuring means 3 and 30 perform appropriate pretreatment on the sample or perform near-infrared spectroscopic analysis without treatment to obtain component characteristic values and measure physical characteristics. The components of tea leaves obtained by near infrared spectroscopy include total nitrogen (amino acids, amides, proteins,
Caffeine, the total amount of nitrogen derived from nucleic acid), free amino acids, fibers, catechins, caffeine, theanine, vitamin C, water, etc. can be mentioned.
Ingredients that are contained in an amount of at least% are subject to measurement. Those closely related to the internal quality of tea leaf ingredients are total nitrogen, free amino acids, fiber, caffeine, water, etc., and those closely related to physical properties are hardness, softness, bud weight, bulk density, and boiling. Leaf volume, color, shape, etc. Among these, as the quality characteristics of the raw leaf raw material, it is effective to take water and fiber content as the component characteristics and take hardness and softness as the physical characteristics. In addition, it is effective to pick up water, total nitrogen, free amino acids, and fibers as component characteristics and color and shape as physical characteristics as quality characteristics of rough tea products.

The process condition setting means 4 will be described with reference to FIG. The process condition setting means 4 is a data storage means 41.
And information processing means 42, and data storage means 41
Is provided with a basic data table in which data relating to quality characteristics of raw leaf raw materials, data relating to setting of process conditions, and data relating to product quality are databased as shown in Table 2. In Table 2, x1: water content, x2: fiber content, x
3: hardness and softness, n1 to n27: setting value of each process condition of rough tea processing line, y1: water content, y2: free amino acid, y3: shape, respectively, which are quality characteristics (x1, x2, x3) and As for (y1, y2, y3), other elements may be substituted and, although shown as three-dimensional data, they may be handled as higher dimensional data.

[0021]

[Table 2]

When the measured quality characteristic value of the raw leaf raw material is input to the process condition setting means 4, the information processing means 4
2 performs statistical processing based on the basic data table, and outputs the set values of the optimum process conditions for obtaining the target product quality characteristics. Then, the output signal 8 sets the conditions for each step of the rough tea processing line, and the raw raw material supplied is processed. At this time, in addition to the input quality characteristic value of the raw material and the actually set process condition setting value, the quality characteristic measurement is performed by sampling from the raw tea that is delivered as a product through the rough tea processing line 2 under the conditions. The quality characteristic value of the product measured by the means 30 is newly accumulated in the data accumulating means 41 and made into a database as data that complements the basic data table. Further, the information processing means 42 also outputs the signal 33 for performing the management setting at the time of supplying the processing line by directly referring to the inputted raw material quality characteristic. In addition, here, the quality characteristic values of raw leaf raw materials and the quality characteristic values of products are treated as multidimensional (three-dimensional) data, but these are converted into one-dimensional representative values and converted into a basic data table. It may be incorporated or may be the subject of statistical processing. As a representative value showing quality characteristics,
For example, a value calculated by an nth degree polynomial of the ratio (FAA / FIB) of the free amino acid content rate (FAA) and the fiber content rate (FIB), that is, y = (ax + b) ⁿ (however, y
Is a quality characteristic value to be obtained, a, b, and n are appropriate constants, and values calculated by x = (free amino acid content rate) / (fiber content rate)) may be used. Further, as the process conditions of the rough tea processing line to be set, those shown in Table 3 below can be mentioned.

[0023]

[Table 3]

An example of the relationship between the raw material quality characteristics, the product quality characteristics, and the process condition setting is schematically shown. Generally, in the case of sprouting raw materials (high water content, low fiber content), the steaming in the steaming step is carried out shallowly. For example, it has a fragrance peculiar to new tea, has a needle-like shape, and has a dark green color, which makes it a good rough tea with an emphasis on fragrance. It becomes tea. On the other hand, in the case of hard leaf raw materials (less water content, more NDF, more tannins), deeper steaming gives a deeper taste but less bitterness and astringency.
When the steaming is shallow, the shape of the tea is large and the appearance is not good.

4 and 5 show another embodiment of the present invention (the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals).
The example of FIG. 4 shows an example in which the step of measuring the quality characteristics of the raw leaf raw material by near-infrared spectroscopy is the raw leaf storage stage, and the raw leaf raw material is sampled from the raw leaf management device 12 in the raw material carrying-in step 1, Quality characteristic measuring means 3
I am sending it to. Further, the embodiment of FIG. 5 shows an example in which the step of measuring the quality characteristics of the raw leaf raw material by the near infrared spectroscopic analysis is the raw leaf flow rate measuring step immediately before the steaming step. The flowing raw leaf material is sampled and sent to the quality characteristic measuring means 3.

[0026]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above,
The following effects are obtained. (1) Since the quality characteristics of raw tea leaves are measured by near-infrared spectroscopy, the characteristics of the raw materials are clarified objectively and the product quality (shape, degree of steaming, color saturation, etc. It is possible to set process conditions according to the flavor and the like) and the manufacturing target of the shipping side.

(2) By accumulating data of measured values of raw leaf raw material quality characteristics, process conditions, and product quality characteristic values into a database, simulation of process condition setting and estimation of finished product quality are possible. .

(3) Since it is possible to set the optimum process conditions that maximize the characteristics of the raw material, it is possible to perform high quality rough tea production.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system configuration for implementing a manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a system configuration of a method for manufacturing rough tea according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a process condition setting means in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a system configuration of a method for manufacturing rough tea according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a system configuration of a method for manufacturing rough tea according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Raw material carry-in process 2 Rough tea processing line 3,30 Quality characteristic measuring means 4 Process condition setting means 5 Raw leaf raw material supply flow 6,31 Sampling flow 7,8,32 Signal flow

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing rough tea, comprising a raw material carry-in step and a crude tea processing line for processing raw leaf raw material supplied from the raw material carry-in step to rough tea, sampling from any stage in the raw material carry-in step. The raw material obtained is subjected to near-infrared spectroscopic analysis to measure quality characteristics, and the rough characteristics are set according to the quality characteristics obtained as a result. Tea manufacturing method. 2. The method for producing rough tea according to claim 1, wherein the quality characteristics are obtained by combining the constituent characteristics and physical characteristics of the raw leaf raw material. 3. The method for producing rough tea according to claim 2, wherein the component characteristics of the raw leaf raw material are characteristics in which only the water content and the fiber content rate or the fiber content rate are taken into consideration. 4. The method for producing rough tea according to claim 1, wherein the step of sampling the raw leaf raw material is the step of receiving the raw material in the raw material carrying-in step. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of sampling the raw leaf raw material is a conveying device connected at the cargo receiving step, the raw leaf storing step and the raw leaf flow rate measuring step in the raw material loading step. The method for producing rough tea according to the item. 6. The method for producing rough tea according to claim 1, wherein the step of sampling the raw leaf raw material is a raw leaf storage step in the raw material loading step. 7. The method for producing rough tea according to claim 1, wherein the step of sampling the raw leaf raw material is a raw leaf flow rate measuring step in the raw material carry-in step. 8. The quality of the finished product is measured, and the quality characteristics of the raw leaf raw material, the setting pattern of the process conditions and the finished product quality are accumulated as data, and this data is statistically processed to obtain the raw leaf raw material. The method for producing rough tea according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that optimum process conditions are set to obtain a desired product quality with respect to quality.