AN IRON FORTIFIED TEA COMPOSITION

1 . A tea composition comprising;

a) a micronized iron compound;

b) a first polysaccharide comprising maltodextrin;

c) a second polysaccharide comprising gum arabic; and

d) a leaf tea product,

wherein the particle size of the micronized iron compound is in the range of 0.1 to 10 micron.

2 . (canceled)

3 . (canceled)

4 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the solubility of the iron compound in water at 25° C. is less than 0.0001 g/100 mL.

5 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the iron compound is selected from the group consisting of iron oxide, ferric pyrophosphate, carbonyl iron, electrolytic iron and combinations thereof.

6 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the iron compounds are iron oxide and ferric pyrophosphate.

7 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the amount of maltodextrin is in the range of 0.5 to 5% by weight of the composition.

8 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the amount of gum arabic is in the range of 0.05 to 6% by weight.

9 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the leaf tea product is selected from a black tea product, a green tea product, an oolong tea product, a white tea product or blends thereof.

10 . The composition of claim 9 , wherein the leaf tea product is a black tea product.

11 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the amount of leaf tea product in the composition is in the range of 85 to 98.5% by weight of the composition.

12 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises additional nutrients.

13 . A process of providing an iron fortified tea composition comprising the steps of:

a) providing an iron compound with solubility less than 0.0001 g/mL in water at 25° C.;

b) micronizing the iron compound to produce particle size in the range of 0.1-10 micron;

c) adding a first polysaccharide comprising maltodextrin and a second polysaccharide comprising gum arabic to the micronized iron compound;

d) mixing the materials of step (c) to obtain a coating mixture; and

e) coating a leaf tea product with the coating mixture obtained in step d.

14 . The process of claim 13 , further comprising adding water at step (d).

15 . The process according to of claim 13 , wherein the water is at a temperature in the range of 25° C. to 75° C.

16 . The composition of claim 4 , wherein the iron compound is selected from the group consisting of iron oxide, ferric pyrophosphate, carbonyl iron, electrolytic iron, and combination thereof.

17 . The composition of claim 16 , wherein the amount of leaf tea product in the composition is in the range of 85 to 98.5% by weight of the composition.

18 . The composition of claim 17 , wherein the composition further comprises additional nutrients.