METHOD FOR PRODUCING TEA LEAF PRODUCT

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tea leaf product which is large in leaf size and is high in extracting efficiency.SOLUTION: This method comprises steps of: (i) preparing a concentrated liquid tea composition; (ii) preparing a base leaf tea; (iii) blending the concentrated liquid tea composition with the base leaf tea to form a tea mixture having a total soluble solids content of at least 50 wt.% (dry) of the mixture; and (iv) drying the tea mixture. At least 20 wt.% of the base leaf tea has a particle size of +16 mesh and/or the tea mixture is sorted according to particle size to yield a fraction wherein at least 20 wt.% of the fraction has a particle size of +16 mesh; and the time between formation of the tea mixture (step iii) and drying (step iv) is at least 5 minutes.