Tea solid composition and process of making the same
A tea solid composition comprising a mixture of finely ground tea, a binding agent and water, wherein the mixture forms a tea solid composition in response to heating and subsequent cooling in a mold. The tea solid composition may further include at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of a sweetener, a ground spice, a flavor extract, a powdered milk product, a color additive and a thickener.
1. A method of manufacturing a tea solid composition, the method comprising:
grinding dried tea leaves into a finely ground tea powder;
forming a mixture comprising the tea powder, a binding agent, and water;
placing the mixture into a mold;
heating the mixture in the mold at a temperature of between about 150° F. and 180° F. for a duration of approximately 1 hr to 1.5 hr, evaporating water from the mixture during the heating; and
cooling the mixture in the mold to form the tea solid composition; wherein the tea powder in the tea solid composition does not dissolve when the tea solid composition is placed in a cup of water.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tea powder is not from extracted tea.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising grinding the tea leaves until the tea powder has a particle size of between approximately 0.1 mm and 0.2 mm.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising selecting the tea powder from the group consisting of white, yellow, green, oolong, black, post-fermented, tisane and herbal tea powder.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising selecting the binding agent from the group consisting of a solid sweetener, a liquid sweetener and a thickener.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding a sweetener to the mixture prior to placing the mixture in the mold.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding a ground spice to the mixture.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding a flavor extract to the mixture.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding a powdered milk product to the mixture.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding a color additive to the mixture.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mixture is cooled in the mold for a duration of about 1 hr to 2 hr.
12. The method of claim 1 , where one dimension of the tea solid composition is 0.5 inch to 2 inches.