JP5525150B2 - Roasted tea leaf pulverized product and tea beverage containing the same - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

  The present invention relates to a crushed roasted tea leaf useful for suppressing deterioration in quality of a packaged tea beverage sold by heating. In addition, the present invention suppresses quality deterioration such as significant turbidity, liquid color change, flavor deterioration, etc. that occur during warm sales by including a roasted tea leaf pulverized product and / or an extract thereof. It relates to tea beverages.

  In recent years, many container-packed tea beverages filled in containers such as cans and plastic bottles have been developed and marketed, and in particular, the market for green tea beverages is expanding. With the expansion of the market, consumers' preference for such packaged tea beverages has increased, and green tea that has a moderate astringency, such as brewed in a teapot, has a stronger taste and richness. Development of beverages is desired.

  Tea drinks such as green tea are usually made from tea leaves as a main ingredient, and baking soda and ascorbic acid or a salt thereof are added to the tea extract, which is then sterilized and filled into a product. However, tea beverage products have a problem that the flavor deteriorates when stored at a high temperature in a warehouse during distribution. In particular, when hot-sold by hot benders and hot warmers in winter, quality deterioration such as flavor and appearance is remarkable, and the scent, umami, and richness that drowned in the teapot disappears. There are drawbacks.

  Therefore, various methods have been disclosed in order to suppress the quality deterioration at the high temperature. For example, a method in which a tea extract is treated with an anion-type ion exchange resin through which sulfite is passed (Patent Document 1), and a method in which a tea extract is treated with an enzyme to decompose aroma components involved in a heated odor (Patent Document 2). ), A method of selectively reducing fatty acid oxidative degradation products that cause degradation odor by adding silica to tea extract (Patent Document 3), cold water extract of tea at 20 ° C. or less that causes heating odor , After removing the tea from the residue with warm water, such as a method of removing components due to quality degradation from the tea extract, cyclodextrin and ascorbic acid or ascorbate ( Patent Document 4), a method of adding sulfite (Patent Document 5), and a method of adding a tea leaf superheated steam extract as a browning inhibitor (Patent Document 6).

  On the other hand, beverages containing powdered tea such as matcha tea (tea leaf pulverized product) contain oil-soluble components that are not extracted into hot water, and are not suitable for sale in transparent containers due to significant changes in precipitation and color tone during long-term storage. As a tea beverage that has been known to solve this problem, a matcha beverage containing an effective amount of sodium ascorbate and a thickening polysaccharide has been developed. When this matcha tea beverage is stored in a warmed state, it is described that color tone deterioration occurs within a range that can be corrected with a colorant (Patent Document 7).

JP 2007-61036 A JP 2004-147606 A JP 2007-202567 A JP 2004-73057 A JP 2005-160368 A JP 2007-75061 A Japanese Patent No. 3139680

  As described above, various methods for suppressing quality deterioration of tea beverages at high temperatures have been proposed. However, none of these methods have sufficient effects, and there has been a problem of affecting the natural flavor of tea beverages. .

  An object of the present invention is to provide a tea beverage in which quality deterioration due to heating is suppressed, and particularly suitable for warming sales in a transparent container.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventors of the present invention can mask the heated odor associated with heating by the incense when blending a crushed material of roasted tea leaves with controlled firing conditions into a tea beverage. I found. In particular, powdered tea beverages (beverages containing tea leaf pulverized products) become turbid during storage under warming conditions (for example, warming sales), causing changes in liquid color, flavor deterioration, etc., resulting in significant quality deterioration. Surprisingly, however, a tea beverage using a crushed roasted tea leaf crushed with the above crushed roasted tea leaf to such an extent that the cell wall of the tea leaf is destroyed, It has been found that quality deterioration due to temperature, specifically, turbidity and change in liquid color can be suppressed, and that a richness and deep taste can be imparted to tea beverages, and the present invention has been completed.

That is, the present invention relates to the following.
1) A crushed product of roasted tea leaves having an L value of 52 or less.
2) The roasted tea leaf pulverized product according to 1), wherein the average particle size of the pulverized product is 100 μm or less.
3) A tea beverage containing the ground roasted tea leaf according to 1).
4) The tea beverage according to 3), wherein a soluble component fractionated by gel filtration chromatography and detected by absorption at a wavelength of 400 nm and having a molecular weight of 300,000 daltons or more is converted to a pigment of 0.20 μg / ml A tea drink containing the above.
5) The tea beverage according to 3) or 4), which is a packaged beverage and is heated.
6) The tea beverage according to any one of 3) to 5), further comprising ascorbic acid or a salt acceptable as a food thereof.
7) A warming storage deterioration preventing agent for container-packed tea beverages, comprising the roasted tea leaf pulverized product according to 1).
8) A method for producing a tea beverage, comprising the step of suspending the roasted tea leaf pulverized product according to 1) in a solvent.

  It is possible to obtain a packaged tea beverage that is less likely to deteriorate in flavor, change in color tone, and increase in turbidity even when stored for a long period of time, particularly a packaged tea beverage suitable for warm sales in a transparent container.

(Roasted tea leaves pulverized product)
The present invention provides a crushed roasted tea leaf as a tea beverage material useful for suppressing deterioration in quality such as flavor and appearance due to long-term storage, particularly storage under warming conditions such as warm sales. . Here, the roasted tea leaf in the present invention refers to a roasted tea leaf that can be used for drinking, and is a tea leaf obtained by roasting sencha, bancha, and stem tea, specifically, robanbancha, Kyotobancha, strawberry So-called roasted tea such as roasted green tea and roasted green tea is exemplified.

  In the present invention, roasted tea leaves obtained by controlling the degree of roasting, that is, the conditions for firing, are used as tea beverage materials useful for long-term storage and / or storage under warming conditions. Here, the roasted tea leaves whose burning conditions are controlled refer to roasted tea leaves having an L value of 52 or less, preferably 50 or less, more preferably 48 or less. In any case, the lower limit of the L value is about 40 to 45.

  The L value is a value obtained by measuring the lightness of tea leaves with a color difference meter (for example, a color difference meter Spectro Color Meter SE2000 (Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd.)). In the present invention, a component (incense) resulting from roasting of tea leaves roasted under specific conditions masks a deteriorated flavor (taste) caused by heating. In the shallow roasting in which the L value of the leaf exceeds 52, a component resulting from the roasting of the tea leaf, which is an effective component for suppressing quality deterioration due to heating, cannot be sufficiently obtained.

The L value can be measured by standard methods well known to those skilled in the art.
In the present invention, the pulverized product of the roasted tea leaves is used as a tea beverage material. The roasted tea leaf pulverized product may be used as it is added to the beverage as it is as an additive for tea beverages (warming storage deterioration preventing agent) for storage under warming conditions and / or long-term storage, or extraction. It may be used as a raw material.

  The grinding method of roasted tea leaves is not limited at all, such as stone milling, machine grinding, freeze grinding, etc., but from the viewpoint of minimizing the deterioration of tea leaf quality due to heat generated during grinding, stone mill grinding and freeze grinding should be adopted. Is preferred. When the roasted tea leaf pulverized product of the present invention is contained in a tea beverage, if the average particle size is large, it has a rough surface and an unpleasant taste, and the refreshing feeling of the aftertaste and the feeling over the throat worsen, so the average particle size is 100 μm. In the following, it is preferable to grind so as to be 50 μm or less, more preferably 20 μm or less, and still more preferably 12 μm or less. In addition, regarding the size of the tea leaf pulverized product in the present invention, the average particle size refers to the median diameter measured by a particle size distribution measuring apparatus, except in special cases.

(Suspension of roasted tea leaf pulverized product (extract))
In the roasted tea leaf pulverized product of the present invention, the roasted tea leaf is preferably pulverized to such an extent that its cell wall is destroyed. By suspending the pulverized product that has been pulverized to such an extent that the cell wall is destroyed, not only the masking effect of the deterioration flavor caused by heating, but also the deterioration of the appearance by heating, In particular, the effect of suppressing quality deterioration such as generation of precipitation and turbidity, and change in liquid color (brown change) is exhibited.

  Although the mechanism of this warming deterioration inhibiting action is not clear, the present inventors have found that an extract of tea leaf pulverized material that has been pulverized to such an extent that the cell wall is destroyed is an ordinary extract (for example, cold water or hot water of unground tea leaves). In (extraction), it is confirmed that glycerol glycolipid, which is a component not extracted, is contained. Glyceroglycolipid is a type of glycolipid with a glycerol molecule as a skeleton and a sugar residue and an acyl group such as fatty acid bonded to each other. It has a hydrophilic sugar residue and a hydrophobic acyl group in the molecule. It is a medium substance. In the soluble polymer fraction, glyceroglycolipid exists as a colloidal dispersion system, and by forming weak associations with other components in tea leaves, it suppresses the occurrence of turbidity and precipitation associated with heating, It is presumed that it gives a rich feeling and gives a rich taste. The component containing glycerol glycolipid as a colloidal dispersion is fractionated into fractions having a molecular weight of 300,000 daltons or more by gel filtration chromatography and can be detected by absorption at a wavelength of 400 nm.

  The tea leaf pulverized product pulverized to an appropriate level is dispersed in 5 to 50 parts by weight, preferably 10 to 30 parts by weight of solvent with respect to 1 part by weight of the tea leaf pulverized product, and stirred to form a suspension. The solvent here is not particularly limited as long as it can be used as a food. Distilled water, demineralized water, tap water, alkaline ionized water, deep sea water, ion exchanged water, deoxygenated water, hydrous alcohol (10 ˜90 v / v% alcohol), water containing inorganic salts, tea base (for example, roasted tea base, green tea base) and the like can be used.

  The elution amount of the soluble polymer fraction, which is an active ingredient for suppressing heating deterioration, does not depend on temperature. Therefore, from the viewpoint of extraction of the active ingredient, the temperature at the time of suspension may be set as appropriate. However, it is possible to extract a lot of flavors such as amino acids at a low temperature, so 5 to 50 ° C., preferably 10 to 40 ° C. It is good to set it as about ° C. In the above-mentioned Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-73057), it is described that a very strong unpleasant heating odor is generated when a cold water extract of tea at 20 ° C. or lower is heated. The low temperature extract of the roasted tea leaf pulverized product of the present invention does not generate an unpleasant heating odor even when heated, and has a surprising effect of suppressing the heating deterioration of the tea beverage containing this. In the present specification, the suspension (process) of ground tea leaves in a solvent is described as “extraction (process)” because an active ingredient for a desired purpose is extracted by this process. In addition, a suspension (or suspension) of the tea leaf pulverized product may be described as an extract (or extract) of the tea leaf pulverized product.

  Although extraction time changes with the temperature of a solvent, the usage-amount of a solvent, and the grade of stirring, it is 30 seconds-30 minutes normally, Preferably it is 1-10 minutes. During or after extraction, an antioxidant such as L-ascorbic acid or a salt acceptable as a food thereof, or a pH adjuster such as sodium bicarbonate may be added.

If the suspension of the roasted tea leaf pulverized product is further subjected to pulverization with a high-pressure homogenizer, the elution amount of the soluble polymer fraction increases. Therefore, it is preferable to perform a wet pulverization treatment with a high-pressure homogenizer simultaneously with or after the step of extracting the roasted tea leaf pulverized product. The high-pressure homogenizer refers to an apparatus for ultra-fine emulsion droplets or suspended particles by shearing, cavitation or the like generated by ejecting an extract from a fine gap at high speed under high pressure. When a high-pressure homogenizer is used, the higher the pressure, the more likely the elution amount of the soluble fraction tends to increase. Therefore, 50 kg / cm ² or more, preferably 100 kg / cm ² or more, more preferably 200 kg / cm ² or more. It is.

  Since the polymer component effective as a warming deterioration inhibitor is soluble, the above-described roasted tea leaf pulverized extract or wet pulverized liquid is subjected to a separation and clarification process such as centrifugal separation or filtration process, It is preferred to remove insoluble solids. From the viewpoint of simplicity, centrifugation is selected as the separation and clarification treatment. Specifically, it is preferable to perform a separation and clarification treatment so that most of the particles of insoluble solids having a particle diameter exceeding a certain size (for example, 1 μm) are removed. Here, the majority represents 50% or more, preferably 90% or more, more preferably 95% or more, and particularly preferably 99% or more.

  When such wet pulverization treatment and clarification treatment are performed, the average particle size of tea leaves in the obtained liquid is usually 5 μm or less, preferably 2.5 μm or less, more preferably about 1 μm or less. In each case, the lower limit value of the average particle diameter is, for example, about 0.1 μm to 0.3 μm.

(Tea drink)
The tea beverage of the present invention has a roasted tea leaf pulverized product having an L value of 52 or less and / or a roasted tea leaf pulverized product (a suspension of a tea leaf pulverized product, a wet pulverized product thereof, a clarified product thereof) The tea beverage is characterized in that it is a tea beverage in which warming deterioration is suppressed even when it is stored under warming conditions such as warming sales, by blending the chemical-treated product extract. With regard to tea beverages, the term “containing” a roasted tea leaf extract includes the case where the roasted tea leaf pulverized product is included as it is and the case where the roasted tea leaf pulverized product is included.

  In the tea beverage of the present invention, the extract of the roasted tea leaf pulverized product may be used as it is as a tea beverage. However, from the viewpoint of flavor, the tea extract (tea base) from which the tea leaves serving as the base are extracted is roasted. By mixing crushed tea leaves or crushed roasted tea leaves, mixing crushed roasted tea leaves or crushed roasted tea leaves with tea base, or base tea leaves and roasted It can be produced by simultaneously extracting ground sencha leaves.

  Here, as the base tea leaves, extraction of raw leaves of trees belonging to Camellia genus plant (scientific name: Camellia sinensis), or unfermented tea, semi-fermented tea, fermented tea, post-fermented tea obtained by processing it Any liquid may be used, but the present invention is particularly effective for non-fermented tea (green tea) that is significantly deteriorated in flavor due to warming. Specifically, one type or two or more types of tea leaves are selected from among sencha, deep-steamed tea, hojicha, gyokuro, stem tea, kabusecha, tamago green tea, strawberry tea, bancha, brown rice tea, and kettle roasted tea. In addition, about a tea base, you may perform a clarification process as demonstrated above regarding the tea leaf ground material origin.

  The content of the roasted tea leaf pulverized product having an L value of 52 or less in the tea beverage may be appropriately set depending on the desired degree of the effect of inhibiting the deterioration of heating, the flavor of the tea beverage, etc. The blending ratio of the roasted tea leaf pulverized product with respect to) is 0.001 to 0.5%, preferably about 0.001 to 0.2%, as a tea leaf equivalent (weight). If it is less than 0.001%, a sufficient warming deterioration suppressing effect may not be obtained.

The tea beverage of the present invention containing a pulverized roasted tea leaf having an L value in a specific range, and a soluble component having a molecular weight of 300,000 daltons or more which is fractionated by gel filtration chromatography and detected by absorption at a wavelength of 400 nm. The tea beverage containing 0.20 μg / ml or more, preferably 0.30 μg / ml or more, more preferably 0.40 μg / ml or more, particularly preferably 0.50 μg / ml or more has a rich taste and deep taste. Since it suppresses the change in liquid color due to heating, it is one of the preferred embodiments in the tea beverage of the present invention. Here, the dye-converted amount refers to a value converted with an edible yellow No. 4 dye (also known as tartrazine, chemical formula: C ₁₆ H ₉ N ₄ Na ₃ O ₉ S ₂ ).

  In addition, although the roasted tea leaf pulverized product and its wet pulverized product are used for the tea beverage of the present invention, a wet pulverized product obtained from non-roasted tea leaves may be used. The tea beverage of the present invention may be produced by blending this non-roasted tea leaf wet-pulverized product and roasted tea leaf pulverized product.

  The method for producing this tea beverage is not particularly limited, and is a method for preparing a tea beverage by directly or diluting the wet pulverized liquid of the above-mentioned roasted tea leaf pulverized product, and the roasted tea leaf pulverized product as a base tea extract The method of mixing the wet pulverization treatment liquid, the method of mixing the ground tea leaf extract with the roasted tea leaf pulverized product and performing the wet pulverization treatment, etc. The method of mixing the wet pulverized liquid of the roasted tea leaf pulverized product with the tea extract or the method of mixing the roasted tea leaf pulverized product with the base tea leaf extract and performing the wet pulverized processing Is preferred. More specifically, the tea beverage of the present invention comprises a tea leaf pulverization step, a suspension step of the pulverized product in a solvent (extraction step), a wet pulverization treatment step of the suspension, a clarification step of the treatment product, and a clarified product. By a manufacturing method including a mixing step of tea to a tea base, and by a manufacturing step including a pulverized product suspension step (extraction step) in a tea base, a wet fine pulverization processing step of a suspension, and a clarification step of the processed product, Can be manufactured. If necessary, another clarification process, sterilization process, and / or container filling process can be added to the manufacturing process.

  When L-ascorbic acid or a salt acceptable as a food thereof is added to the tea beverage of the present invention, it is possible to synergistically exert a warming deterioration inhibiting action. The mixing ratio of L-ascorbic acid or a salt acceptable as a food thereof is about 0.01 to 0.08% by weight, preferably about 0.02 to 0.06% by weight as L-ascorbic acid.

  In addition, the tea beverage of the present invention may be added with other various components (for example, an antioxidant, a pH adjuster, a fragrance, a sweetener, etc.) as necessary, as long as the heating deterioration suppressing effect of the present invention is not impaired. May be.

(Packed tea beverage)
The tea beverage of the present invention is a tea beverage in which warming deterioration is suppressed even when it is housed in a container and used for warming sales. A container-packed drink is manufactured by sterilizing a tea drink and filling the container, or by performing heat sterilization (such as retort sterilization) after filling the container. For example, in the case of a can beverage, when the can is filled with a predetermined amount of the above preparation liquid, sterilized by retort (for example, 1.2 mmHg, 121 ° C., 7 minutes), and used as a PET bottle, a paper pack, or a bottle beverage Performs, for example, UHT sterilization, which is maintained at 120 to 150 ° C. for 1 to several tens of seconds, and a predetermined amount is hot-packed or aseptically filled at a low temperature. In addition, as a container, although any container used normally, such as an aluminum can, a steel can, a PET bottle, a glass bottle, and a paper container, can be used, the tea beverage of the present invention is a heating condition such as heating sales. Even if stored underneath, deterioration of appearance such as precipitation, turbidity, and change in color tone is suppressed, and this is significant in that it can be filled in transparent containers such as PET bottles and glass bottles.

  The heating in this specification refers to heating at about 50 to 70 ° C., preferably about 50 to 60 ° C., particularly preferably about 55 to 60 ° C. by a hot bender, hot warmer or the like.

  The container-packed tea beverage of the present invention has little deterioration in warming, that is, the flavor of the tea beverage before warming even after being stored for several hours to several weeks (for example, 3, 7, or 14 days) under warming conditions. And the liquid color is maintained.

The change in liquid color of the tea beverage can be evaluated by metallic saturation (ΔE) and lightness (ΔL) calculated from the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system.
ΔE = (ΔL ² + Δa ² + Δb ² ) ^1/2
In the formula, L, a, b and L ′, a ′, b ′ represent values before and after storage in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system, respectively, and the degree of change before and after storage is represented by ΔL = L−L ′, Δa = aa ′, and Δb = bb ′. Such values shown in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system can be obtained by reflection measurement using a colorimetric color difference meter.

  The degree of warming deterioration of the packaged tea beverage of the present invention is determined by a person skilled in the art by referring to the description of the examples of the present specification and comparing it with that stored without heating. Alternatively, ΔL and / or ΔE can be obtained or visually confirmed. The degree of flavor deterioration is preferably such that there is no difference or a slight difference as compared to those stored without heating, even if a difference is felt, If the difference is small compared to the tea drinks that have not been subjected to the warming deterioration prevention measures according to the present invention and the present invention, and can be drunk deliciously after warming storage, it can be determined that the difference is acceptable. . Similarly, the degree of deterioration of appearance, for example, the degree of deterioration of liquid color (ΔL and / or ΔE) is preferably 0 or close to 0. If you can feel that the value is small and the liquid color after warming is still preferred as a transparent container-packed tea beverage (for example, roasted tea, it seems to be delicious) The difference can be judged to be acceptable.

  Hereinafter, although an experiment example and an Example are shown and the detail of this invention is demonstrated concretely, this invention is not limited to this.

Example 1: Roasted tea beverage (1)
(1) Preparation of wet pulverized processed product of roasted tea leaves Roasted tea leaves were used as roasted tea leaves. The roasted tea leaves were made into small pieces, and the ones excluding the stems were ground with a stone mortar to obtain powdered roasted tea leaves with an average particle diameter of 12 μm. 7 ml of this ground tea powder was weighed into a round cell dedicated to a colorimetric color difference meter and measured with a colorimetric color difference meter (Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd .; SE2000). As a result, the L value of the crushed product of roasted tea leaves used was 47.3.

  This crushed product of roasted tea leaves is suspended in about 80 times water, this suspension is treated with a high-pressure homogenizer at a pressure of 15 MPa, and centrifuged (6000 rpm, 10 minutes) to give coarse crushed tea tissue and roasted tea. Solid content such as tea particles was removed to obtain a powder roasted tea tea leaf suspension (wet pulverized product).

(2) Roasted tea beverage containing powdered roasted tea leaves After extracting roasted tea leaves with about 30 times hot water, the tea leaves are separated and further centrifuged (6000 rpm, 10 minutes) to give coarse crushed tea tissue and roasted tea particles The solid content such as was removed to obtain a base tea extract (roasted tea). To this, the powder roasted tea leaf suspension is mixed so that the amount of crushed roasted tea leaves relative to the whole tea beverage is 0.01% (0.1 g of roasted tea leaf pulverized product is contained in 1000 g of tea beverage), Further, 0.04% by weight of ascorbic acid was mixed to obtain a roasted tea beverage containing powdered roasted tea leaves.

  The tea beverage was UHT sterilized at 138 ° C. for about 15 seconds and then hot-packed into a 350 mL heat-resistant PET bottle to obtain a container-packed tea beverage (Product 1 of the present invention). Moreover, as a comparison, a container-packed roasted tea beverage was manufactured by the same manufacturing method except that the powder roasted tea leaf suspension was not added (Comparative Example 1).

(3) Heating test The container-packed roasted tea beverage (the product 1 of the present invention and Comparative Example 1) was stored in a constant temperature layer at 70 ° C for 1 week. Changes in flavor before and after storage were evaluated by 9 specialist panelists, assuming that the product refrigerated at 5 ° C. was equivalent to the beverage before storage. Evaluation is based on four levels of difference before and after storage (0 points: no difference before and after storage, 1 point: slightly different, 2 points: slightly different, 3 points: significantly different) Scoring was performed and the average score was calculated. The liquid color was measured with a color difference meter (Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd .; SE2000).

  The results of sensory evaluation are shown in Table 1. In Comparative Example 1, the difference was significant in the flavor before and after storage, whereas in the product 1 of the present invention, the change in flavor before and after storage was greatly suppressed and was slightly felt.

  When the liquid color before and after storage was observed visually, the product 1 of the present invention showed a small change in liquid color as compared with Comparative Example 1. Table 2 shows the measurement results of the liquid color using a color difference meter. Compared with Comparative Example 1, the product 1 of the present invention has both small saturation difference (ΔE) and lightness difference (ΔL), and it was confirmed that the change in liquid color is small. ΔE and ΔL were determined by the following formulas.

ΔL = L−L ′
ΔE = (ΔL ² + Δa ² + Δb ² ) ^1/2
In the formula, L, a, b and L ′, a ′, b ′ represent values before or after storage in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system, Δa is aa ′, and Δb is b. -B '

Example 2: Roasted tea beverage (2)
Using the same raw materials as in Example 1, a base tea extract (roasted tea) was obtained. To this, the powdered roasted tea leaves of Example 1 (average particle size 12 μm) were mixed so that the ratio to the whole tea beverage was 0.01%, and further mixed with 0.04% by weight of ascorbic acid to obtain powdered hoji tea leaves. A roasted tea beverage containing was obtained. The roasted tea beverage was heat sterilized in the same manner as in Example 1 and then filled into a container to obtain a packed tea beverage (Product 2 of the present invention). A heating test was conducted in the same manner as in Example 1.

  The sensory evaluation results are shown in Table 3. In Comparative Example 1, the difference was significant in the flavor before and after storage, whereas in Product 2 of the present invention, the change in flavor before and after storage was greatly suppressed. The liquid color measurement results are shown in Table 4. Compared with Comparative Example 1, the product 2 of the present invention had both a small saturation difference (ΔE) and a lightness difference (ΔL) and a small change in liquid color.

Example 3: Roasted tea beverage (3)
A roasted tea beverage was prepared using pulverized tea leaves pulverized so that the average particle size was 20 μm or less.

  First, a tea leaf suspension (wet finely pulverized product) was prepared. As pulverized tea leaves, A: sencha powder with L value 56.6 (not roasted), B: powder with L value 52.6, C: powder with L value: 50.9 (roasted tea in a kettle), D: L A powder of 47.3 (roasted tea) was used. This is suspended in about 80 times water, this suspension is treated with a high-pressure homogenizer at a pressure of 15 MPa, and centrifuged (6000 rpm, 10 minutes) to obtain a solid content such as coarse ground tea tissue and tea particles. Was removed to obtain a tea leaf suspension.

  Next, after the roasted tea leaves are extracted with about 30 times hot water, the tea leaves are separated, and further centrifuged (6000 rpm, 10 minutes) to remove solid components such as coarse crushed tea tissue and roasted tea particles. A base tea extract (roasted tea) was obtained. To this, the powdered roasted tea leaf suspension is mixed so that the amount of ground roasted tea leaves with respect to the whole tea beverage is 0.01%, and further mixed with 0.04% by weight of ascorbic acid to contain powdered roasted tea leaves. Roasted tea beverages were obtained (Samples A to D). As a comparison, a container-packed roasted tea beverage was obtained by the same production method except that the tea leaf suspension was not added (Comparative Example 2). Samples A to D and Comparative Example 2 were filled in 350 mL bottles, and then subjected to retort sterilization at 130 ° C. for 1 minute. After sterilization, the bottle was opened, transferred to a 500 mL PET bottle, and stored at 65 ° C. for 5 days. Changes in flavor before and after storage were evaluated by 9 specialist panelists, assuming that the product refrigerated at 5 ° C. was equivalent to the beverage before storage. Evaluation was performed in four stages as in Example 1. Further, in the same manner as in Example 1, the liquid color was measured with a color difference meter and analyzed.

  The results of sensory evaluation are shown in Table 5. In Comparative Example 2, the difference was significant in the flavor before and after storage, whereas in Samples A to D blended with tea leaf suspension, the flavor change before and after storage tended to be suppressed. As the L value of the tea leaf pulverized product becomes smaller, the change in flavor before and after storage is suppressed, and the change in flavor of samples C and D or less using the roasted tea leaf pulverized product having an L value of 52 or less is small and acceptable. In particular, in Sample D having an L value of 48 or less, the difference before and after storage was hardly felt.

  When the liquid color before and after storage was observed visually, Samples A to D had a smaller change in liquid color than Comparative Example 2. Table 5 shows the measurement results of the liquid colors of Comparative Example 2 and Samples B to D. As the L value of the tea leaf pulverized product becomes smaller, both the saturation difference (ΔE) and the lightness difference (ΔL) become smaller, and the addition of the tea leaf pulverized product having an L value of 52 or less, preferably 48 or less is added. These results suggest that it is useful for suppressing changes in liquid color during storage under warm conditions.

Example 4: Roasted tea beverage (4)
A container-packed roasted tea beverage was produced in the same manner as in Example 3 except that the amount of the tea leaf pulverized product (tea leaf suspension) to be blended was 5 times, and a heating test was performed. Table 7 shows the measurement results of the liquid color. As the L value of the ground tea leaves decreased, both the saturation difference (ΔE) and the brightness difference (ΔL) decreased. As a result of sensory evaluation, Sample C and Sample D were within the allowable range.

Reference Example 1: Green tea beverage (1)
Except that the base tea extract was sencha (kabusecha), the suspension of tea leaf pulverized products A to D was blended and sterilized in the same manner as in Example 3 to produce a packaged green tea beverage (sample) A ′ to D ′). Moreover, as a comparison, a packaged green tea beverage was obtained by the same production method except that the tea leaf suspension was not added (Comparative Example 3). These beverages were evaluated in the same manner as in Example 3.

  The sensory evaluation results are shown in Table 8. When the base tea extract became green tea, the change in flavor became more prominent than in the case of roasted tea, but as in the case of roasted tea, as the L value of the tea leaf pulverized product decreased, the flavor before and after storage The change was suppressed. Sample C 'using a crushed roasted tea leaf having an L value of 52 or less and flavor change of' D 'or less are acceptable, and in particular, the difference between before and after storage is slight in the sample D' having an L value of 48 or less. It was.

  When the liquid color before and after storage was observed visually, Samples A to D had a smaller change in liquid color than Comparative Example 3. Table 9 shows the measurement results of the liquid colors of Comparative Example 3 and Samples B ′ to D ′. The lightness difference (ΔL) was reduced by the addition of the ground tea leaves. In addition, as the L value decreases, the saturation difference (ΔE) decreases as the L value decreases, and the addition of ground tea leaf having an L value of 48 or less is performed under the heating condition of the green tea beverage. It was suggested that it is useful for suppressing the change in liquid color during storage.

Reference Example 2: Green tea beverage (2)
A container-packed green tea beverage was produced in the same manner as in Reference Example 1 , except that the amount of the tea leaf pulverized product (tea leaf suspension) to be blended was 5 times, and a heating test was performed. Table 10 shows the measurement results of the liquid color. Sample C ′ and Sample D ′ were within a tolerance range with relatively small saturation difference (ΔE) and lightness difference (ΔL).

Reference Example 3: Green tea beverage (3)
In the same manner as in Reference Example 1 , the base tea extract was added to sencha (kabusecha), and tea leaf pulverized products (suspensions) A to D and ascorbic acid were added to obtain a preparation. This was subjected to UHT sterilization at 138 ° C. for about 15 seconds, and then filled into 280 mL PET bottles to produce container-packed green tea beverages (samples A ″ to D ″). For comparison, a container-packed green tea beverage was obtained by the same production method except that the tea leaf suspension was not added (Comparative Example 4). These container-packed green tea beverages were evaluated in the same manner as in Example 3.

  The sensory evaluation results are shown in Table 11. In UHT sterilization, the flavor change tended to be slightly suppressed as compared with retort sterilization. In Comparative Example 4, the difference was significant in the flavor before and after storage, whereas the difference was suppressed in Samples A ″ to D ″ to which ground tea leaf was added. As the L value of the tea leaf pulverized product becomes smaller, the change in flavor before and after storage is suppressed, and the flavor change of samples C ″ and D ″ or less using roasted tea leaf crushed product having an L value of 52 or less is small. In particular, in the sample D ″ having an L value of 48 or less, the difference before and after storage was hardly felt.

  When the liquid colors before and after storage were visually observed, the change in liquid color of Samples A ″ to D ″ was smaller than that of Comparative Example 4. Table 12 shows the measurement results of the liquid colors of Comparative Example 4 and Samples B ″ to D ″. With the addition of the ground tea leaves, the chroma difference (ΔE) and the lightness difference (ΔL) were reduced. Samples C ″ and D ″ using a tea leaf pulverized product having an L value of 52 or less had relatively small saturation difference (ΔE) and lightness difference (ΔL).

  The soluble polymer fraction of these green tea beverages was measured. The soluble polymer fraction was measured by filtering the tea beverage with a membrane filter (pore size 0.45 μm, Juji Field Co., Ltd., water-based non-sterilized 13A), collecting the liquid that passed through, and subjecting it to gel filtration chromatography (Agilent). (1100 series). The analysis method is as follows.

Gel filtration column: Shodex Asahipak GS520 HQ (company name, inner diameter 7.6 mm × length 300 mm, exclusion limit 300,000)
Sample injection volume: 10 μl
Flow rate: 0.5 mL / min.
UV-VIS detector: Agilent 1100 series G1315B DAD
Detection setting wavelength: 400 nm
Eluent: Water Temperature: 40 ° C
The concentration was calculated from the peak area with a retention time of about 6 minutes based on a calibration curve obtained by analyzing yellow No. 4 dye.

  The results are shown in Table 13 (values in the table represent μg / ml (pigment conversion amount)). Compared with Comparative Example 4, Samples A ″ to D ″ to which ground tea leaves were added had more soluble polymer fractions. There is a possibility that this component is involved in the suppression of flavor deterioration and liquid color change during warming storage.

Claims (8)

A sterilized container-packed tea beverage containing a roasted tea leaf pulverized product obtained by pulverizing tea leaves roasted to an L value of 40 or more and 52 or less until the average particle size is 20 μm or less and a roasted tea extract. There,
The above tea beverage containing a soluble component having a molecular weight of 300,000 daltons or more in an amount of 0.20 μg / ml or more in terms of food yellow No. 4 pigment.   The tea drink of Claim 1 which contains 0.01-0.08 weight% of L-ascorbic acid or its salt acceptable as a foodstuff as L-ascorbic acid.   The tea beverage according to claim 1 or 2, which is for warm sales.   The tea beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the roasted tea leaves are pulverized by grinding with a stone mill or by freeze pulverization until the average particle size becomes 20 µm or less.   The tea beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the soluble component is contained in an amount of 0.50 µg / ml or more in terms of food yellow No. 4 pigment. Crushing the roasted tea leaves until the L value is 40 or more and 52 or less to obtain a crushed roasted tea leaf having an average particle size of 20 μm or less,
Suspending roasted tea leaf pulverized material in a solvent,
A step of blending the suspension and roasted tea extract to prepare a tea beverage containing 0.20 μg / ml or more of a soluble component having a molecular weight of 300,000 daltons or more in terms of food yellow No. 4 pigment;
Sterilizing tea beverages,
Filling the container with sterilized tea beverage,
A method for producing a containerized tea beverage, comprising:   The method for producing a tea beverage according to claim 6, which is for warm sales.   The method for producing a tea beverage according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the roasted tea leaves are pulverized by grinding with a stone mill or by freeze pulverization until the average particle size becomes 20 µm or less.