JP4679362B2 - Preparation method of tea extract - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of tea extract.

  Teas typified by green tea are essential to the daily lives of Japanese people as they provide moisture. In recent years, the antioxidant properties of teas have attracted attention, and tea beverages have become representative of sugar-free beverages as non-calorie healthy drinks. In recent years, various tea-based foods and drinks have been put on the market due to diversification of palatability. Matcha is a traditional tea use method that has been a favorite since ancient times in Japan. Has been heavily used. Tea drinks using matcha have also been offered to the market, but there are some issues pointed out by younger generations who are not familiar with the matcha culture, such as the bitterness of powdered green tea and the texture of the powder. It was sometimes done. For green tea extract with high transparency, good taste and aroma, and good long-term storage stability that does not cause turbidity and orientation (precipitation), for example, extract green tea leaves extracted with warm water to Brix 10-40 And a method for producing a green tea extract (Patent Document 1) having a turbidity of 0.140 or less when diluted to Brix 0.2, by removing solids from the concentrate by centrifugation under 3000 to 16000 G conditions. Although it has been proposed, it cannot be said that it is highly palatable in terms of flavor.

On the other hand, as a method for preparing a new flavor capable of imparting a balanced flavor to a favorite beverage such as green tea, oolong tea, black tea, for example, flavor (A) obtained by steam distillation of a raw material for a favorite beverage, Flavor (B) obtained by subjecting beverage ingredients to a counter-current contact device (SCC), and within a range of 0.01 to 100 parts by weight of flavor (B) per part by weight of flavor (A) A new flavor (Patent Document 2) and the like are also proposed. However, it has not been sufficient to express the characteristic sweet flavor of high-quality matcha.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-040030 JP 2003-033137 A

  The problem to be solved is that there is no material that imparts the natural and natural sweetness inherent to high-quality teas, particularly high-quality matcha, to various foods and drinks.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have studied various methods for extracting tea, and as a result, recovered flavor from matcha using a countercurrent contact device (SCC) and removed solids from the tea extract. It was found that the extract obtained by performing the activated carbon treatment and combining them both solved the problem, and completed the present invention. That is, the present invention
(1) Make Matcha into a slurry with warm water, treat the slurry with a countercurrent contact device (SCC), collect the flavor, extract the tea leaves separately with warm water, remove the solids, and then treat with activated carbon And then mixing the second step of removing the activated carbon by filtration to obtain a tea extract, the flavor obtained in the first step and the tea extract obtained in the second step. A process for preparing a tea extract comprising the steps of:
(2) Extracting matcha with warm water, treating the extract with a counter-current contact device (SCC), recovering the flavor, and removing the solids from the recovered residual liquid and then treating with activated carbon Next, a second step of removing the activated carbon by filtration to obtain a tea extract, and a third step of mixing the flavor obtained in the first step and the tea extract obtained in the second step, A method for preparing a tea extract, comprising:
(3) Extracting matcha with warm water, processing the extract with a countercurrent contact device (SCC), recovering flavor, adding tea leaves to the recovered residual liquid, and extracting with warm water; After removing the solid matter, the activated carbon treatment is performed, then the activated carbon is removed by filtration to obtain a tea extract, the flavor obtained in the first step, and the tea extract obtained in the second step. And a third step of mixing the tea extract.
(4) The method for preparing a tea extract according to (1) to (3), wherein the temperature of the hot water is 20 to 95 ° C.
(5) The method for preparing a tea extract according to (3), wherein the addition amount of tea leaves is from 1:10 to 10: 1 in terms of mass ratio with respect to matcha tea.
(6) The processing conditions of the countercurrent contact device (SCC) are a temperature in the column of 40 to 100 ° C., a split ratio of 1 to 10%, and an operating pressure of 0.2 to 100 kPa, (1) to (5) A method for preparing a tea extract.
(7) A tea extract prepared by the method for preparing a tea extract according to (1) to (6).
(8) A food and drink characterized by adding the tea extract of (7).
It is.

  By adding the tea extract of the present invention to various foods and drinks, high-quality matcha leaves originally have a dignified scent and a relaxed natural sweetness that makes you feel the luxury of tea-based foods and drinks Things can be provided.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail according to embodiments. Matcha tea as used in the present invention is steamed under cover tea, immediately cooled with a blower so that the green color does not fade, removed from the dried stem without any operation such as twisting, further dried, sealed refrigerated This refers to powdered ground tencha that has been ground with a mortar (Maruzen Foods Dictionary). The tea leaves as used in the present invention refer to tea leaves that are processed from tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) that are evergreen trees of the camellia family, and the tea leaves are not limited in kind, grade, production area, production method, etc. Any tea leaves are possible, but green tea leaves can be preferably used for green tea-based foods and drinks. The use ratio of Matcha and tea leaves is not particularly limited, but is usually used in a ratio of 1: 9 to 9: 1, and in terms of flavor, it is used in a ratio of 6: 4 to 1: 9. Considering the titer, the ratio of 6: 4 to 4: 6 is most preferably used. The hot water used for extraction in the present invention is not particularly limited, but usually 20 to 95 ° C. hot water is used in an amount of 5 to 100 times the amount of the matcha and tea leaf mixture. From the viewpoint of value, it is most preferable to use 10 to 30 times the amount of warm water of 40 to 80 ° C. Moreover, barley tea etc. are useful although it does not correspond to a tea leaf.

  The countercurrent contact device (SSC) referred to in the present invention is a device known per se, and for example, a device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-22646 can be employed. The means for recovering fragrance using this apparatus will be described in detail. On the rotating cone of the gas-liquid countercurrent contact extraction apparatus having a structure in which rotating cones and fixed cones are alternately combined, a liquid or paste-like structure is used. An example is a method in which a raw material for a palatable beverage is caused to flow down from the upper part and a vapor is raised from the lower part to recover an aroma component originally present in the raw material. The operating conditions of the counter-current contact device (SCC) can be arbitrarily selected depending on the processing capacity of the device, the type and concentration of the raw material, the intensity of the aroma, and the like. For example, raw material supply rate: 300 to 700 L / Hr, steam flow rate: 5 to 50 Kg / Hr, evaporation amount: 3 to 35 Kg / Hr, column bottom temperature: 40 to 100 ° C., column top temperature: 40 to 100 ° C., degree of vacuum: atmospheric pressure to −100 Kpa, etc.

  The activated carbon used in the present invention can be used without particular limitation as long as it is activated carbon. The effect of the activated carbon in the present invention is surprising and useful in that it selectively adsorbs and removes unnecessary aroma components in the tea extract and retains only the aroma components that contribute to sweetness, unlike ordinary decolorization treatment, etc. Effect.

  Examples of foods and drinks to which the tea extract of the present invention is added include tea beverages obtained by extracting tea leaves such as green tea, black tea, and oolong tea with hot water, hot water, or cold water by a conventional method, and appropriately add flavor components of tea. Examples include a blended beverage having a tea flavor obtained by blending, and various Japanese and Western confections imparted with a tea flavor.

  When adding the tea extract of this invention to a tea drink, 0.0001-50 mass% is normally added and used for a tea extract by solid content conversion with respect to a tea drink. If the added concentration is less than 0.0001% by mass, the flavor may not be felt sweet depending on the person, and if the added concentration exceeds 50% by mass, the sweet flavor may be slightly felt. In order to sufficiently exhibit the effects of the present invention, it is most desirable that the addition amount be 0.01 to 10% by mass in terms of solid content of the tea extract. Furthermore, when using the tea extract of this invention, it is suitable to formulate and use as a flavoring composition for tea drinks. In general, the flavor composition is often prepared so that about 0.1% by mass is added to the target food, and in such a case, the present invention is applied to the flavor composition. The tea extract is usually contained in an amount of 0.1 to 100% by mass, preferably 1 to 10% by mass. The sweet flavor referred to in the present invention is a fragrant fragrance originally possessed by high-quality teas, particularly high-quality matcha teas, and a mellow natural sweet flavor.

Examples will be described below in more detail.

[Example 1]
2000 parts of warm water of 40 ° C. was added to 100 parts of Matcha (made by Meiba) (mass part, the same applies hereinafter), and after stirring for 10 minutes, the flavor was recovered with a countercurrent contact device (SCC). Operating conditions: flow rate 800 L / hr, pressure -95 kPa, heater 40 ° C., split ratio 5%, yield 100 parts. Subsequently, 100 parts of green tea leaves (produced in Shizuoka) were added to the remaining liquid, and the solid matter was removed after stirring for 10 minutes. Furthermore, 100 parts of activated carbon (SW50 Taiko) was added thereto, and after stirring for 30 minutes, the activated carbon was removed by microfiltration. 100 parts of the recovered flavor was added to 1400 parts of the obtained filtrate to obtain 1500 parts of the tea extract of the present invention (brix.0.8).

[Comparative Example 1]
To 100 parts of Matcha (made by Meiba), 2000 parts of hot water at 40 ° C. was added, and after stirring for 10 minutes, the flavor was recovered with a countercurrent contact device (SCC). Operating conditions: flow rate 800 L / hr, pressure -95 kPa, heater 40 ° C., split ratio 5%, yield 100 parts.

[Comparative Example 2]
To 100 parts of green tea (made by Meiba), 2000 parts of warm water of 40 ° C. was added, and after stirring for 10 minutes, 10 solids were removed to obtain 1800 parts of tea extract of Comparative Example 2 (brix.0.9). ).

[Comparative Example 3]
To 100 parts of Matcha (made by Meiba), add 2000 parts of warm water at 40 ° C. and stir for 10 minutes. Then, add 100 parts of green tea leaves (from Shizuoka) and stir for 10 minutes. 1600 parts of tea extract were obtained (brix.1.5).

[Comparative Example 4]
To 100 parts of green tea (manufactured by Meiba), 2000 parts of warm water at 40 ° C. was added and stirred for 10 minutes. Furthermore, 100 parts of activated carbon (SW50 Taiko) was added thereto, and after stirring for 30 minutes, the activated carbon was removed by microfiltration to obtain 1500 parts of tea extract of Comparative Example 4 (brix.1.5).

[Test Example 1]
About the flavor of the tea extract of Example 1 and the tea extract of Comparative Examples 1-4, sensory evaluation was performed by 20 skilled panels. The criteria for evaluation were Comparative Example 2 as a control (4 points), sweetness was very strong (7 points) to very weak (1 point), and palatability was very high (7 points) to very high. The evaluation was carried out with a seven-level evaluation that was low (one point). Table 1 shows the average evaluation points and flavor comments.

[Example 2]
To 100 parts of Matcha (made by Meiba), 2000 parts of hot water at 40 ° C. was added, and after stirring for 10 minutes, the flavor was recovered with a countercurrent contact device (SCC). Operating conditions: flow rate 800 L / hr, pressure -95 kPa, heater 40 ° C., split ratio 5%, yield 100 parts. Subsequently, 100 parts of green tea leaves (produced in Shizuoka) were added to the remaining liquid, and the solid matter was removed after stirring for 10 minutes. Furthermore, 100 parts of activated carbon (SW50 Taiko) was added thereto, and after stirring for 30 minutes, the activated carbon was removed by microfiltration. 1400 parts of the obtained filtrate was concentrated to 200 parts, and 100 parts of recovered flavor was added to obtain 300 parts of the tea extract of the present invention (brix.4.5).

[Example 3]
To 500 ml of hot water at 60 ° C., 10 g of green tea leaves (produced in Shizuoka) and 0.2 g of vitamin C were added and extracted for 5 minutes. After extraction, solid-liquid separation is performed, water is added to make 1,000 ml, 10 g of the tea extract of Example 2 is added, pH is adjusted to 5.5 with sodium bicarbonate, and then sterilized at 121 ° C. for 10 minutes. Thus, the green tea beverage of the present invention was prepared. This was a tea drink with a high-class feeling that made it possible to feel the scent and natural sweetness of high-quality matcha leaves.

[Example 4]
To 100 parts of Matcha (made by Meiba), 2000 parts of hot water at 40 ° C. was added, and after stirring for 10 minutes, the flavor was recovered with a countercurrent contact device (SCC). Operating conditions: flow rate 800 L / hr, pressure -95 kPa, heater 40 ° C., split ratio 5%, yield 100 parts. Next, 100 parts of oolong tea leaves (iron kannon) were added to the remaining liquid, and the solid matter was removed after stirring at 65 ° C. for 10 minutes. Furthermore, 100 parts of activated carbon (SW50 Taiko) was added thereto, and after stirring for 30 minutes, the activated carbon was removed by microfiltration. 1400 parts of the obtained filtrate was concentrated to 200 parts, and 100 parts of recovered flavor was added to obtain 300 parts of the tea extract of the present invention (brix.5.3).

[Example 5]
To 100 parts of Matcha (made by Meiba), 2000 parts of hot water at 40 ° C. was added, and after stirring for 10 minutes, the flavor was recovered with a countercurrent contact device (SCC). Operating conditions: flow rate 800 L / hr, pressure -95 kPa, heater 40 ° C., split ratio 5%, yield 100 parts. Next, 100 parts of tea leaves (Mitsui Norin) were added to the remaining liquid, and the solid matter was removed after stirring at 60 ° C. for 10 minutes. Furthermore, 100 parts of activated carbon (SW50 Taiko) was added thereto, and after stirring for 30 minutes, the activated carbon was removed by microfiltration. 1400 parts of the obtained filtrate was concentrated to 200 parts, and 100 parts of recovered flavor was added to obtain 300 parts of the tea extract of the present invention (brix. 5.1).

[Example 6]
To 100 parts of Matcha (made by Meiba), 2000 parts of hot water at 40 ° C. was added, and after stirring for 10 minutes, the flavor was recovered with a countercurrent contact device (SCC). Operating conditions: flow rate 800 L / hr, pressure -95 kPa, heater 40 ° C., split ratio 5%, yield 100 parts. Next, 100 parts of roasted tea leaves (made by Meiba) were added to the remaining liquid, and the solid matter was removed after stirring at 65 ° C. for 10 minutes. Furthermore, 100 parts of activated carbon (SW50 Taiko) was added thereto, and after stirring for 30 minutes, the activated carbon was removed by microfiltration. 1400 parts of the obtained filtrate was concentrated to 200 parts, and 100 parts of recovered flavor was added to obtain 300 parts of the tea extract of the present invention (brix.4.4).

[Example 7]
To 500 ml of hot water at 60 ° C., 10 g of green tea leaves (produced in Shizuoka) and 0.2 g of vitamin C were added and extracted for 5 minutes. After extraction, solid-liquid separation is performed, water is added to make 1,000 ml, 10 g of the tea extract of Example 6 is added, pH is adjusted to 5.5 with sodium bicarbonate, and then sterilized at 121 ° C. for 10 minutes. Thus, the green tea beverage of the present invention was prepared. This was a tea drink with a high-class feeling that made it possible to feel the scent and natural sweetness of high-quality matcha leaves.

  From the above results, the tea extract of the present invention was useful in green tea and the like.

  By adding the tea extract of the present invention to various foods and drinks, it is possible to provide high-quality tea-based foods and drinks that have a natural natural sweetness that is inherent to high-quality matcha tea.

Claims (7)

Matcha is made into a slurry with warm water, the slurry is treated with a counter-current contact device (SCC), and the flavor is recovered , and tea leaves are further added to the recovered residual liquid, followed by hot water extraction to remove solids. After the activated carbon treatment is performed, the second step of removing the activated carbon by filtration to obtain a tea extract, and the flavor obtained in the first step and the tea extract obtained in the second step are mixed. A method for preparing a tea extract, comprising a third step. Matcha is extracted with warm water, the extract is treated with a counter-current contact device (SCC), the flavor is recovered, and tea leaves are further added to the recovered residual liquid, followed by extraction with warm water. After the removal, the activated carbon treatment is performed, and then the second step of removing the activated carbon by filtration to obtain a tea extract, and the flavor obtained in the first step and the tea extract obtained in the second step are mixed. And a third step of preparing a tea extract. The temperature of warm water is 20-95 degreeC, The preparation method of the tea extract of Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. The method for preparing a tea extract according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the added amount of tea leaves is 1:10 to 10: 1 by mass ratio with respect to matcha tea. . Processing conditions countercurrent contacting device (SCC) is a temperature 40 to 100 ° C. in the column, split ratio 1-10%, characterized in that it is a operating pressure 0.2～100KPa, claims 1 to 4 The method for preparing a tea extract according to any one of the above. A tea extract prepared by the method for preparing a tea extract according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . A food or drink comprising the tea extract according to claim 6 added thereto.