Stable beverage compositions containing tea polyphenols, flavonoids or catechins and methods

Ready-to-drink color and turbidity stable beverage compositions are provided. The beverage compositions contain from about 100 to about 2,700 milligrams per liter by total weight of the beverage composition of a tea material selected from the group consisting of tea solids, tea polyphenols, tea flavonoids, tea catechins and combinations thereof. The composition contains water, a total of no more than from about 0 to 100 milligrams per liter divalent cations and a turbidity of less than about 50 NTU and even less than 20 NTU for compositions containing 900 mg/l of tea solids. Preferably, the tea material contains less than about 450 milligrams divalent cations per 100 grams of the tea material. The beverage compositions of the invention are color and turbidity stable when packaged and stored under normal conditions.