Process for manufacturing tea products
Shown is a process having the steps of: expressing juice from fresh tea leaves thereby to produce leaf residue and tea juice, wherein the amount of expressed juice is between 10 and 300 ml per kg of the fresh tea leaves; and processing the leaf residue to produce leaf tea and/or a tea extract.
1. A process comprising the steps of:
a) expressing juice from fresh tea leaves thereby to produce leaf residue and tea juice, wherein the amount of expressed juice is between 10 and 300 ml per kg of the fresh tea leaves; and
b) processing the leaf residue to produce leaf tea;
wherein said leaf tea is comparable in color and polyphenol content to leaf tea produced in the same manner without the expressing juice step.
2. A process according to claim 1 wherein the tea juice is diluted to produce a beverage.
3. A process according to claim 1 wherein the tea juice is dried to produce a liquid concentrate or powder.
4. A process according to claim 1 wherein the fresh tea leaves comprise material from Camellia sinensis var, assamica.
5. A process according to claim 1 wherein at least 90% by weight of the leaf tea has a particle size above 35 mesh.
6. A process according to claim 1 wherein the leaf tea is Pekoe Fannings (PF) grade or larger.
7. A process according to claim 5 wherein the leaf tea is sorted to achieve the particle size and/or grade.
8. A process according to claim 1 wherein step (b) comprises fermenting the leaf residue.
9. A process according to claim 8 wherein the leaf tea is black leaf tea.
10. A process according to claim 1 wherein the amount of expressed juice is less than 275 ml per kg of tea leaves.
11. A process according to claim 1 wherein the amount of expressed juice is at least 25 ml per kg of the fresh tea leaves.
12. A process according to claim 1 wherein step (b) comprises processing the leaf residue to produce the leaf tea and then extracting the leaf tea with solvent to produce the tea extract;
optionally followed by removing at least some of said solvent from said tea extract to produce a concentrated tea extract;
optionally followed by drying said concentrated tea extract to a powder.
13. A process according to claim 1 wherein the moisture content of the fresh tea leaves from which juice is expressed in step (a) is from 30 to 90% by weight of the fresh tea leaves.
14. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the process comprises the additional step of packaging the leaf tea in infusion packages.