A novel technology for production of instant tea powder from the existing black tea manufacturing process

Instant tea powder is the fully soluble solid of tea that has emerged as a new and fast growing product in every country. The various processes involved in the commercial production of instant tea includeblending of tea leaves, hot water extraction, aroma recovery, soluble solids concentration, aroma restoration and dehydration. An envisaged process has been developed for the production of instant/soluble tea from the expressed juice of fermented tea leaves. Green tea leaves are subjected to withering, maceration, and fermentation process, which are similar to that of existing black tea production process. The fermented leaf is pressed to expel a part of juice containing soluble solids. The juice is then heated, centrifuged and vacuum dried to get soluble/instant tea powder. The pressed leaf residue is subjected to vacuum/hot air drying to obtain low grade conventional tea granules. About 20±2g of soluble tea and 220±20g of pressed cake tea are obtained from 1kg of green tea leaves. The TF:TR ratio for soluble tea is 0.084 and that for pressed cake tea is 0.140. The technology can be easily adopted by existing black tea manufacturers for simultaneous production of instant tea and black tea. The process is economical as both extracted juice and pressed cake are converted into value added products. ► Production of instant tea from the expressed juice of fermented tea leaves. ► TF:TR ratios for soluble tea and pressed cake tea are 0.084 and 0.140. ► About 20±2g of instant tea is obtained from 1kg of tea leaves. ► About 220±20g of pressed cake tea is obtained from 1kg of tea leaves.