WO2005032280A1

WO2005032280A1 - Method and apparatus for manufacturing beverage

Info

Publication number: WO2005032280A1
Application number: PCT/JP2004/014815
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yoshiteru Ishikawa; Hisao Tomikawa; Hidekazu Irie; Masahiro Demizu; Kentaro Oie
Original assignee: Suntory Limited
Priority date: 2003-10-03
Filing date: 2004-09-30
Publication date: 2005-04-14
Also published as: TWI296940B; KR20080050530A; CN1863465A; KR20060097113A; JP2005110527A; TW200523008A

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for manufacturing a beverage capable of eliminating air bubbles formed in the beverage without impairing the flavor of the beverage. The beverage manufacturing apparatus (20) comprises a beverage deaerating means (3) and a bubble breaking means (5), and these manufacturing method uses the beverage manufacturing apparatus. The apparatus may comprise a beverage sterilizing means (10). The deaerating means may comprise at least one of a deaerator, an inert gas stripping part, and a static mixer, and the bubble breaking means may be a pump capable of breaking the film of air bubbles. In addition, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the beverage after air bubbles are broken is desirably 0.5 ppm or below.

Description

Beverage manufacturing method and beverage manufacturing apparatus

Technical field to which the invention belongs

The present invention relates to a beverage manufacturing method for manufacturing a beverage department and a beverage manufacturing apparatus for performing the method.

Akira Conventional technology

Various types of book drinks are sold in the market today, such as tea drinks, fruit drinks, and milk drinks. Of these beverages, for example, tea beverages are said to have the best flavor when freshly brewed, and fruit juices and dairy beverages when freshly squeezed out. However, oxygen mixed into the beverage during or after the production of the beverage, particularly dissolved oxygen in the dissolved gas, oxidizes certain flavor components such as vitamin C in the beverage, thereby increasing the flavor of the beverage. Gradually, it becomes impaired. Therefore, methods for reducing dissolved gas, especially dissolved oxygen, in beverages have been proposed in the past, and physical oxygen removal methods such as the injection method and the tower flushing method, as well as chemical methods, have been proposed. Thus, mixing of a deoxidizing agent is already known.

In addition to fruit juice drinks and milk drinks, even drinks other than these, such as tea drinks, require that the contents of the drink be sterilized when stored in a container for a long time. Such a bactericidal action is performed by retaining the beverage for a predetermined time under an environment of a high temperature, for example, 80 ° C to 130 ° C. However, during sterilization, the beverage is exposed to high temperatures, which promotes the oxidative action of oxygen, especially dissolved oxygen in the beverage, which in turn oxidizes certain flavor components as well. The flavor of the beverage will be impaired. In order to avoid the loss of flavor during such heat sterilization, for example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, beverages containing milk, fruit juice, etc. are replaced with an inert gas to dissolve dissolved gases in the beverages, especially These beverages are sterilized with reduced dissolved oxygen. In such a case, since the dissolved oxygen in the beverage during the heat sterilization is reduced, it is possible to minimize the loss of the flavor of the beverage due to oxidation (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 1-1990). 0-2955341 (Fig. 1) or JP-A-2001-76865 (Fig. 1)).

By the way, when removing dissolved gas, especially dissolved oxygen, in a beverage, for example, when replacing the beverage with an inert gas as described above, or when passing the beverage through a delator equipped with a decompression chamber, etc. A large number of air bubbles are generated in the beverage or on the surface of the beverage. In particular, if the beverage displaced by the inert gas contains proteins and / or sugars, these components result in the formation of very large amounts of air bubbles. In such a case, a large amount of air bubbles may cause a part of the beverage to overflow from the storage tank, and it may be physically difficult to pass the beverage through the piping system, so that a predetermined amount of the beverage cannot be supplied to a subsequent process. Become. Further, even if a beverage containing bubbles can be supplied to a subsequent process, these bubbles may adhere to a device in a later process, for example, a sterilizer, and the function and processing efficiency of these devices may be significantly reduced. In addition, once degassed gases, especially oxygen, may be redissolved in the beverage. On the other hand, in order to prevent a large amount of air bubbles from being supplied to the subsequent process together with the beverage, for example, the above-described force or pressure required to increase the pressure in the decompression chamber in the deaerator is higher than usual. It is conceivable to suppress the generation of air bubbles by reducing the supply amount of the inert gas used.However, in such a case, the amount of dissolved gas in the beverage to be degassed from the beverage is reduced, which is preferable. What?

It is also envisaged that the beverage after replacement with an inert gas is stored in another puffer tank, for example, while leaving only the air bubbles above the puffer tank, removing the beverage from the lower surface of the puffer tank and supplying it to the subsequent process. You. However, although the gas in the bubbles is unnecessary for the beverage, the film itself that forms the bubbles is part of the beverage, so the liquid part of such a film must be supplied to the subsequent process as a beverage. There is. In particular, if the components of the beverage that forms the foam film are different from those of the liquid portion of the beverage that does not form a film, the components and flavor of the final beverage will initially be Ingredients and flavors may be different from those expected.

In addition, it is conceivable to wait for bubbles in the beverage department to disappear naturally, and to spray liquid on the bubbles in the beverage to destroy them. However, since it is not possible to obtain a sufficient defoaming effect during this process, and once degassed gas, especially oxygen, may be dissolved in the beverage again, it cannot be used in ordinary beverage production lines.

Accordingly, the present inventors have conducted intensive studies to overcome the above problems, and as a result, degass the dissolved gas in the beverage and separate the film and the internal gas from the bubbles generated in the beverage during the degassing action. Having obtained the knowledge that this should be done, they constructed a beverage manufacturing method and a beverage manufacturing apparatus, and completed the present invention.

That is, the present invention provides a beverage manufacturing method capable of eliminating bubbles formed in a beverage and reducing dissolved oxygen in the beverage without impairing the flavor of the beverage, and a beverage manufacturing apparatus implementing the method. It is intended to provide. Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a beverage, comprising a step of breaking air bubbles after the step of deaeration of the beverage. That is, according to the first embodiment, the dissolved gas in the beverage can be reduced, and the gas in the film that forms bubbles generated during degassing and the liquid that has formed the film of bubbles can be separated. By recovering the liquid that had formed the bubble film as a beverage, the bubbles formed in the beverage are eliminated and the dissolved oxygen in the beverage is reduced without impairing the flavor of the beverage. be able to. Further, in the present invention, since the bubble film is actively broken, the defoaming effect can be obtained in an extremely short time.

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, a gas discharging step is further provided after the foaming step.

That is, according to the second aspect, gas generated from the beverage can be reliably discharged. Thus, once degassed gas can be prevented from being dissolved again in the beverage, the dissolved oxygen in the beverage can be more reliably reduced.

According to a third aspect, in the first or second aspect, a beverage sterilization step is further provided.

That is, according to the third aspect, even when the bactericidal action is performed by heat treatment, it is possible to reduce the oxidation of components in the beverage by dissolved oxygen in the dissolved gas in the beverage during heating. . This further impairs the flavor of the beverage.

According to a fourth aspect, in any one of the first to third aspects, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the beverage after the degassing step is 0.5 ppm or less.

That is, according to the fourth aspect, by setting the amount of dissolved oxygen in the beverage as described above, it is possible to optimally prevent dissolved oxygen from oxidizing components in the beverage. According to a fifth aspect, in the first to fourth aspects, the beverage is a beverage having a foaming property.

That is, according to the fifth aspect, the dissolved gas in the beverage can be satisfactorily degassed from the beverage, and the bubble film can be satisfactorily broken.

According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a beverage manufacturing apparatus including a beverage degassing unit and a bubble breaking unit.

That is, according to the sixth aspect, the dissolved gas in the beverage can be reduced, and the gas in the film that forms bubbles generated during degassing and the liquid that has formed the film of bubbles can be separated. Then, by recovering the liquid that has formed the bubble film as a beverage, the bubbles formed in the beverage can be eliminated without impairing the flavor of the beverage. Further, in the present invention, since the bubble film is actively broken, the defoaming effect can be obtained in a very short time.

According to a seventh aspect, in the sixth aspect, a gas discharging means is further provided.

That is, according to the seventh aspect, the gas generated from the beverage can be reliably discharged. Thus, once degassed gas can be prevented from being dissolved again in the beverage, the dissolved oxygen in the beverage can be more reliably reduced.

According to an eighth aspect, in the sixth or seventh aspect, the beverage further comprises means for sterilizing the beverage.

That is, according to the eighth aspect, even when the bactericidal action is performed by heat treatment, it is possible to reduce the oxidation of components in the beverage by dissolved oxygen in the dissolved gas in the beverage during heating. . This further impairs the flavor of the beverage.

According to a ninth aspect, in the sixth to eighth aspects, the deaeration means includes a deaerator, an inert gas' striping section, and a star. Includes at least one of the tick mixers.

That is, by the ninth aspect, the dissolved gas in the beverage can be satisfactorily degassed from the beverage.

According to a tenth aspect, in any one of the sixth to ninth aspects, the foam breaking means is a pump capable of breaking a bubble film. That is, according to the tenth aspect, the film of bubbles in the beverage can be satisfactorily broken.

According to each invention, a common effect that air bubbles formed in a beverage can be eliminated without impairing the flavor of the beverage can be achieved.

Furthermore, according to the second aspect, if the gas generated from the beverage can be reliably exhausted, an effect can be obtained.

Furthermore, according to the third aspect, even when the sterilization action is performed by heat treatment, it is possible to reduce oxidation of components in the beverage by dissolved oxygen in the dissolved gas in the beverage during heating. Have the effect of being able to

Further, according to the fourth aspect, it is possible to provide an effect that it is possible to optimally prevent dissolved oxygen from oxidizing components in the beverage.

Further, according to the fifth aspect, it is possible to achieve an effect that the dissolved gas in the beverage can be satisfactorily degassed from the beverage power, and the bubble film can be broken well.

Further, according to the seventh aspect, it is possible to ensure that the gas generated from the beverage can be exhausted, which is effective.

Further, according to the eighth aspect, even in the case where the sterilizing action is performed by a heat treatment, the dissolved oxygen in the dissolved gas in the beverage oxidizes the components in the beverage during heating. It has the effect of being able to reduce

Further, according to the ninth aspect, the dissolved gas in the beverage can be satisfactorily removed from the beverage. This has the effect of being degassed from the air.

Further, according to the tenth aspect, it is possible to obtain an effect that the film of bubbles in the beverage can be satisfactorily broken. Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a beverage production apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of an example of the foam breaking means in the beverage production apparatus of the present invention. Embodiment of the Invention

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals. In order to facilitate understanding, the scale of these drawings is appropriately changed.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a beverage production apparatus according to the present invention. In the beverage manufacturing apparatus 20 of FIG. 1, a brewing tank 1 for brewing a beverage therein is shown on the left side of FIG. In the present invention, the beverage prepared in the mixing tank 1 is preferably a beverage having a foaming property, and examples thereof include coffee, tea beverages, soft drinks, and chuhai, but are not limited thereto. The mixing tank 1 is connected to the deaeration means 3 via the liquid feed pump 2 by a beverage pipe 24 shown by a solid line in FIG. The degassing means 3 plays a role of evacuating dissolved gas, for example, dissolved oxygen, dissolved inside the beverage from inside the beverage to outside the beverage (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “degassing”). The degassing means 3 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with an inert gas stripping section for reducing the amount of dissolved gas, particularly dissolved oxygen, in the beverage by supplying an inert gas, for example, nitrogen gas, to the inside of the beverage. I assume. Therefore, the degassing means 3 shown in Fig. It is connected to the inert gas supply unit 4 by a line 21. Further, a deaerator having a decompression chamber inside may be adopted as the deaeration means 3, and in this case, when the beverage is passed through the decompression chamber, the dissolved gas in the beverage escapes outside the beverage. Become. Further, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that a static mixer can be used as the deaeration means 3. That is, any other mechanism capable of allowing the dissolved gas inside the beverage to escape to the outside of the beverage can be employed as the degassing means 3. Therefore, the inert gas supply section 4 and the inert gas line 21 can be eliminated according to the type of the deaeration means 3 used, and the vacuum pump 7 and the vacuum line 23 described later are deaerated. You may make it connect to the means 3.

Further, in FIG. 1, the degassing means 3 is connected to the foam breaking means 5 by a pipe 24. The bubble breaker 5 serves to break the film of the bubbles formed in the deaerator 3 as described later. Since the foam breaking means 5 shown in FIG. 1 assumes a foam breaking pump described later in detail, the foam breaking means 5 is connected to the vacuum pump 7 via the drain separator 6 by the vacuum line 23 shown by the dotted line. Connected to. In the present embodiment, the discharging means includes a drain separator 6 and a vacuum pump 7. The gas generated from the beverage can be reliably discharged by the discharging means. In addition, pressure gauges 13 and 14 are provided between the deaeration means 3 and the bubble breaking means 5 and between the bubble breaking means 5 and an inert gas replacement tank 8 described later. It is possible to measure the pressure in the pipe 24 before and after. Further, a pressure gauge 18 is provided in the vacuum line 23 as shown. As in the case of the degassing means 3 described above, any other mechanism capable of breaking the bubble film can be adopted as the foam breaking means 5, and depending on the type of the foam breaking means 5, the drain separator 6, One of the vacuum pump 7, the inert gas line 21 and the pressure gauges 13, 14 and 18 may be eliminated. As shown in FIG. 1, the foam breaking means 5 is connected to an inert gas replacement tank 8 by a pipe 24. The inert gas replacement tank 8 is connected to the inert gas supply unit 4 by another inert gas line 22 so that an inert gas, for example, nitrogen is supplied into the inert gas replacement tank 8. Has become. Further, the lower part of the inert gas replacement tank 8 is connected to the sterilizing means 10 via the liquid sending pump 9 by a pipe 24. In the sterilizing means 10, the beverage can be kept at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time. Next, the sterilized beverage is supplied to the filling section 11 and filled in containers, such as cans, bottles, pet bottles, and paper packs.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the flow meters 12 and 15 are provided between the liquid feed pump 2 and the deaeration means 3 and between the liquid feed pump 9 and the sterilization means 10. It can measure the flow rate of beverages. Also, as shown in the figure, flow meters 16 and 17 are provided in the inert gas lines 21 and 22, respectively. The inert gas flowing through the inert gas lines 21 and 22 is, for example, nitrogen. It can measure the flow rate of water.

During the operation of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 20, the beverage prepared in the preparation tank 1 is supplied from the preparation tank 1 to the deaeration means 3 by the liquid sending pump 2. Next, in the deaeration means 3, dissolved gas in the beverage, for example, dissolved oxygen, is deaerated. As an example, a case will be described in which an inert gas stripping section as shown in FIG. 1 is used as the deaeration means 3. In this case, the deaeration means 3 is in the form of a tank, and the beverage is accumulated in this tank. Next, an inert gas, for example, nitrogen, in the inert gas supply unit 4 is supplied into the beverage of the degassing means 3 through the inert gas line 21. This allows the beverage to be replaced by an inert gas. At this time, the dissolved gas in the beverage, for example, dissolved Oxygen is absorbed into the inert gas bubbles. The inert gas bubbles rise to the surface of the beverage with the dissolved gas taken in, so that after replacing the beverage with the inert gas, the amount of dissolved gas in the beverage drops significantly.

However, if the inert gas stripping part, which replaces with an inert gas, is used as the deaeration means 3, the bubbles of the inert gas containing the dissolved gas will reach near the liquid level of the beverage. After floating, they do not disappear and remain as bubbles on or below the liquid level of the beverage. And, when the replacement with the inert gas is continuously performed, the number of the bubbles of the inert gas taking in the dissolved gas also increases continuously, so that these bubbles are relatively thick mainly on the liquid surface of the beverage. They become deposited in layers. Even if another method is used, for example, when a delator or a static mixer is used as the degassing means 3, a layer composed of bubbles is formed similarly regardless of whether an inert gas is used or not. .

By the way, when such a layer composed of air bubbles is formed on the liquid surface of the beverage, it is not only difficult to supply the beverage to a post-process, but also the air bubbles are generated in a post-process device, for example, a sterilization means. It may adhere to the inside of the device and impair the function of the device. Although the gas inside the bubbles is not necessary for the beverage, the portion of the film that forms the bubbles is necessary for the beverage, and if these bubbles are removed together with the bubble film, the final beverage will be produced. Ingredients and flavors may differ from those originally planned. For this reason, in the present invention, a bubble breaker 5 for breaking the bubble film formed in the deaerator 3 is provided downstream of the deaerator 3. In order to supply the beverage properly from the degassing means 3 to the foam breaking means 5, is the inner diameter of the pipe 24 between the degassing means 3 and the foam breaking means 5 larger than other parts? Alternatively, it is preferable to arrange the bubble breaking means 5 adjacent to the degassing means 3. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an example of a foam breaking means in the beverage production apparatus of the present invention. The foam breaking means 5 shown in FIG. 2 is in the form of a foam breaking pump 5 for breaking the above-mentioned bubble film, that is, breaking the foam. As shown in FIG. 2, the substantially cylindrical casing 31 of the foam breaking pump 5 is provided with an inlet 32 and an outlet 33. The inlet 32 is connected to the degassing means 3 by a pipe 24 shown in FIG. 1, and the outlet 33 is connected to the inert gas replacement tank 8 by a pipe 24. Further, a suction port 35 is formed in the casing 31, and the suction port 35 is connected to a drain separator 6 and a vacuum pump 7 which constitute a discharge means by a vacuum line 23 shown in FIG. You. As shown in FIG. 2, the foam breaking pump 5 has a rotating shaft 41 in a casing 31, and the tip 43 of the rotating shaft 41 is arranged so as to face the suction port 35. ing. The interior of the casing 31 is partitioned into a first chamber 37 and a second chamber 38 by a partition member 36. The base end of the rotating shaft portion 41 protrudes from the casing 31 via a bearing 34 and is connected to a motor 49. As shown in the figure, a separation blade 42 is provided in a first chamber 37 located on the distal end 43 side of the rotating shaft portion 41, and a first blade 37 located on the proximal end side of the rotating shaft portion 41 is provided. The second chamber 38 has a main impeller 44. Further, in the second chamber 38, a plurality of substantially L-shaped inducers 45 are provided between the separation blade 42 and the main impeller 44.

During operation of the foam breaking pump 5, the rotating shaft 41 is rotated by the motor 49. Then, a beverage containing a large number of bubbles is supplied from the inlet 32 into the second chamber 38 of the foam breaking pump 5. Since the rotating shaft 41 provided with the inducer 45 is rotating, the liquid portion of the beverage containing a large amount of air bubbles is accumulated on the inner peripheral surface portion 48 of the substantially cylindrical casing 31 by centrifugal force. It will be. On the other hand, the central portion of the substantially cylindrical casing 3 1, That is, since the pressure around the rotating shaft 41 is negative, the bubble portion of the beverage concentrates around the rotating shaft 41. Since the suction port 35 is connected to the vacuum line 23, the air bubbles concentrated around the rotary shaft 41 pass through the gap 40 between the partition 36 and the rotary shaft 41, and then pass through the gap 40. It moves from the second room 38 to the first room 37. In the first chamber 37, the separation blades 42 rotate around the rotation shaft 41, and a plurality of holes 46 are formed in the separation blades 42 from the base end of the rotation shaft 41. It is formed in the direction toward 43. When the air bubbles moved into the first chamber 37 are sucked toward the suction port 35, the air bubbles pass through the holes 46 of the separation blade 42. At this time, the film that forms the bubble is broken by the bubble colliding with the inner wall of the hole 46. As a result, the bubbles are separated into a liquid that has formed a bubble film and a gas that has been trapped in the bubble film. Next, both the liquid and the gas move through the hole 46 to the vicinity of the suction port 35 in the first chamber 37, but only a relatively small amount of gas is sucked through the suction port 35. However, the liquid having a relatively large mass remains in the first chamber 37. Then, these liquids return to the second chamber 38 again through the gap 39 between the first chamber 37 and the second chamber 38 shown in the lower part of FIG. Finally, the liquid portion of the beverage in the second chamber 38 flows out of the outlet 33 by the main impeller 44 and is supplied to the inert gas replacement tank 8 shown in FIG. By completely discharging the gas by the discharging means, the gas once degassed can be reliably prevented from being dissolved again. In addition, as a discharging means, a vacuum pump is preferable, but any structure may be used as long as it can discharge gas generated from the beverage.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the beverage that has passed through the foam breaking means 5 is supplied to the inert gas replacement tank 8 with almost no air bubbles. As shown in the figure, the inert gas, for example, nitrogen in the inert gas supply section 4 is inert. It is supplied to the upper part of the inert gas replacement tank 8 through the active gas line 22. Supply of inert gas into the inert gas replacement tank 8 may cause the beverage to oxidize if oxygen-containing gas, for example, air, is present in the inert gas replacement tank 8. This avoids contact of the beverage with oxygen, thereby avoiding oxidation of the beverage. In cases where re-dissolution of oxygen does not easily occur, an open tank may be used instead of the inert gas replacement tank. Next, the beverage is supplied to the sterilizing means 10 at a predetermined flow rate by the liquid feed pump 9. In the sterilizing means 10, the beverage is kept at a predetermined temperature, for example, 80 ° C. to 130 ° C. for about 1 minute to 20 minutes, whereby the beverage is sterilized. At the time of sterilization by the sterilizing means 10, it is necessary to supply the beverage at a predetermined flow rate, but since the inert gas replacement tank 8 described above can be used as a puffer tank, the beverage at the predetermined flow rate can be reliably supplied to the sterilizing means 10. Can be supplied. When the beverage is sterilized by the heat treatment, dissolved oxygen in the beverage may oxidize specific components in the beverage, but in the present invention, the dissolved gas in the beverage, particularly the dissolved gas in the beverage in the degassing means 3 is used. Since the dissolved oxygen is reduced, the beverage can be prevented from being oxidized during heat sterilization. Finally, the beverage is supplied from the sterilizing means 10 to the filling unit 11 and filled into containers, such as cans, bottles, pet bottles, and paper packs.

In the foam breaking means 5 of the present invention, for example, the foam breaking pump 5 as shown in FIG. 2, the membrane forming the bubbles contained in the beverage is actively broken by the separating blades 42. Then, the gas trapped in the bubble film in the bubble breaking means 5 is separated from the liquid forming the film, and the liquid forming the bubble film is collected together with the beverage. . As described above, if the components of the beverage that forms the bubble film are different from the components of the beverage in the liquid portion that does not form the film, the final Although there may be a problem with the components and flavor of the beverage as a product, in the present invention, the liquid that has formed a bubble film is collected as the beverage, so that the flavor of the beverage is not impaired. In addition, bubbles formed in the beverage can be eliminated, and the dissolved gas in the beverage can be reduced. Further, in such a foam breaking means 5, since the film forming the bubbles is actively broken, it is possible to obtain the defoaming effect in a very short time. The foam breaking means 5 can be introduced into the beverage production line without lowering the operation efficiency of the line. Although a foam breaker pump is shown as an example of the foam breaker 5, the foam breaker 5 is not limited to the above-described foam breaker pump, and actively breaks a film forming a bubble. It shall include all forms. Example

Extract 30 g of green tea leaves with 105 g of pure water at 75 ° C for 5 minutes, remove the tea leaves from the extract, cool, centrifuge, and then L-ascorbic acid, sodium hydrogen carbonate, pure water And adjusted to 4 L. Thereafter, an inert gas stripping section using nitrogen (N 2) as an inert gas was used as a degassing means 3, filled and sealed under a nitrogen gas flow, and sterilized in a sterilization step 10. ° (:, sterilized under the condition of 1 minute to obtain a product. The dissolved oxygen content, vitamin C content, and sensory evaluation are shown in Table 1. Table 1

◎: Very good, 〇: Good, △: Normal, X: Poor Degassing by degassing means 3 In case of “Level 1”, final The dissolved oxygen in the beverage was about 8 ppm. As shown in “Level 2” in Table 1, the dissolved oxygen after stripping with nitrogen for 15 minutes is about 1.8 ppm, and as shown in “Level 3”, The dissolved oxygen after about 60 minutes of stripping was about 0.4 ppm. In other words, it can be seen that the longer the deaeration by the deaeration means 3, in this case, the stripping with the nitrogen gas, the longer the dissolved oxygen in the beverage decreases. In addition, the amount of vitamin C is the lowest in the case of “Level 1” where degassing is not performed. This is because the amount of vitamin C is reduced by oxidative decomposition in the post-process after degassing, especially in the sterilization process. It can be estimated that On the other hand, in the case of “Level 2” and “Level 3” where the dissolved oxygen was reduced, the decrease in vitamin C was suppressed, and in the case of “Level 3” where the dissolved oxygen was small, the level was “Level 2”. The decrease of vitamin C is smaller than in the case of. In addition, in sensory evaluation, better results were obtained with more vitamin C. In this case, it can be understood that a drink having a sensory superior quality can be obtained if the dissolved oxygen is about 0.4 ppm and the amount of dissolved oxygen is 0.5 ppm or less when a margin is taken.

Table 2 shows the amount of dissolved oxygen before the foam breaker pump (before foam breaker 5) when ordinary water is used as the beverage. In Table 2, an inert gas stripping part using nitrogen (N 2) as an inert gas was used as the degassing means 3. The amount of dissolved oxygen before passing the beverage through the deaeration means 3 was 7.91 ppm.

Table 2 Before the foam breaker pump

Table ^/ [ppm When the flow rate of the beverage and the flow rate of the nitrogen in the deaeration means 3 were variously changed as shown in Table 2, it was found that the larger the flow rate of the beverage, the larger the dissolved oxygen amount. This is presumed to be because when the flow rate of the beverage is large, the residence time of the beverage in the deaeration means 3 becomes short, and the dissolved oxygen cannot be sufficiently replaced. On the other hand, when the flow rate of nitrogen is large, the replacement is promoted, and the amount of dissolved oxygen in the beverage is reduced.

Table 3 After the foam breaker pump

Table mppm Table 3 shows the dissolved oxygen content after the bubble breaker pump (after 5 bubble breakers) under the same conditions as Table 2. Since the bubble breaking pump is connected to the vacuum line 23 from the vacuum pump 7, it can be seen that the amount of dissolved oxygen tends to slightly decrease as compared with the case of Table 2.

Another embodiment in which an inert gas stripping section using nitrogen (N 2) as an inert gas is used as the deaeration means 3 will be described. A green tea preparation liquid with a dissolved oxygen amount of about 8 ppm is supplied from the preparation tank 1 to the deaeration means 3 by the supply pump 2. The flow rate of nitrogen in the deaeration means 3 is 10 LZ min, and the flow rate of the beverage is 20 LZ min. Next, 10 L of the beverage subjected to the foam breaking treatment in the foam breaking pump adopted as the foam breaking means 5 was collected in the 10 L female cylinder. Table 4 shows the amount of dissolved oxygen and the ratio of foaming (bubble height in the female cylinder / height of the female cylinder).

Table 4 Dissolved oxygen content (PPffl) Foaming (bubble height Z female syringe "height") In front of bubble break pump 0.27 0.49

0.23 0 after foam breaker pump

As shown in Table 4, the dissolved oxygen content in the beverage, which was 8 ppm before being supplied to the deaeration means 3, decreased to 0.27 ppm after passing through the deaeration means 3 (before the foam breaker pump). However, even after the foam breaker pump, it slightly decreased and finally reached 0.23 ppm. Before the bubble break pump, the foam height in the female cylinder is 22 cm and the female cylinder height is 45 cm, so the ratio of the foam height is about 0.49. On the other hand, since the foam height is 0 cm after the foam breaker pump, the ratio of the foam height is also 0. That is, it can be seen that air bubbles in the beverage could be almost completely eliminated by the treatment in the foam breaking pump, that is, the foam breaking means 5 in this case.

Table 5

◎: very good, 〇: good, △: normal, X: bad

Table 5 shows the beverages before treatment in the deaeration means and after treatment in the foam breaking means, ie, epigallocatechin gallate (hereinafter referred to as “EGCG”) of the power fines and power techins in the green tea preparation. The figure shows the results obtained by measuring the amount of liquid by high-speed liquid chromatography. As can be seen from Table 5, before and after the treatment, the power phase related to flavor and the amount of EGCG hardly changed. In both cases, very good sensory results were obtained. That is, in the foam breaking means 5 of the present invention, the film of the bubble is broken, Since the liquid that formed the film is recovered, the sensory results based on the ingredients and flavor of the beverage are not impaired, and the condition is extremely good. That is, the components and flavor of the beverage are not impaired by the foam breaking means 5 of the present invention.

Claims

1. After the beverage degassing process,

A beverage manufacturing method provided with a bubble breaking step.

2. The method for producing a beverage according to claim 1, further comprising a gas discharging step after the foam breaking step.

3. The beverage manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a sterilizing step of the beverage miju.

4. The beverage production method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the amount of dissolved oxygen in the beverage after the deaeration step is 0.5 ppm or less.

5. The beverage according to claim 1, wherein the beverage is a beverage having a foaming property.

The method for producing a beverage according to the above.

6. Means of deaeration of beverage

A beverage manufacturing apparatus comprising: a foam breaking means.

7. The beverage production apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a gas discharging means.

8. The beverage manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a sterilizing means for the beverage.

9. The beverage production apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the degassing means includes at least one of a delator, an inert gas' stripping unit, and a static mixer.

10. The beverage production apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the foam breaking means is a pump capable of breaking a bubble film.