Enzymatic treatment of black tea leaf

A process for the enzymatic treatment of black tea leaf is disclosed. In particular, black tea leaf is wetted with water containing tannase and one or more cell-wall-digesting enzymes, such as cellulase, pectinase, papain, or hemicellulase, prior to extraction. The enzyme-moistened tea leaf is incubated in a closed system at room temperature for a few hours. The enzyme-treated tea is then neutralized with a suitable food grade base and the enzymes are inactivated by heating. The resulting treated tea can be extracted and processed in the usual manner or dried for use in tea bags in the usual manner. As a result, a higher yield of tea is obtained and the resulting instant tea has better solubility in cold water than conventional teas. The bag tea produces an infusion which does not form haze at cold temperatures.