A Beverage

Abstract

A method of producing tea syrup comprises contacting a plant material and/or plant extract with hot water to produce a tea. The method comprises filtering the tea to produce a tea filtrate, adding sugar to the tea filtrate, and then reducing the pH of either the tea or the tea filtrate, and thereby producing a tea syrup.

Claims

1. A method of producing tea syrup, the method comprising: contacting at least one of a plant material and a plant extract with hot water to produce a tea, wherein the concentration of the at least one of the plant material and the plant extract in the hot water is at least 50 grams per litre; filtering the tea to produce a tea filtrate; adding sugar to the tea filtrate; and reducing the pH of either the tea or the tea filtrate, and thereby producing a tea syrup.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the at least one of the plant material and the plant extract in the hot water is about 200 to 250 grams per litre.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tea is filtered while the tea is still hot.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein sugar is added to the tea filtrate in the proportion of at least 1:1 by weight of sugar to tea filtrate.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein sugar is added to the tea filtrate in the proportion of about 2:1 by weight of sugar to tea filtrate.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the pH of the tea filtrate is reduced by contacting the filtrate with at least one of citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, ascorbic acid or phosphoric acid.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the pH of the tea syrup is 4.5.

8. (canceled)

9. A method according to claim 6, wherein the pH of the tea syrup is above 2.8.

10. (canceled)

11. A method according to any preceding claim 1, wherein the tea syrup has a Brix value of at least 50° Bx.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein a water activity of the tea syrup is less than 0.90.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein a water activity of the tea syrup less than 0.85.

14. A method according to claim 1, further comprising heating the tea syrup to at least 100° C. and filling a container with the tea syrup for storage.

15. A method according to claim 1, further comprising diluting the tea syrup with water prior to consumption in order to produce iced tea, wherein the ratio of water to tea syrup in the iced tea is at least 12:1.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the ratio of water to tea syrup in the iced tea is between 20:1 and 25:1.

17. A method according to claim 15, wherein the pH of the iced tea is between 4.2 to 6.5.

18. A method according to claim 15, wherein a sugar concentration of the iced tea is less than 6% (w/w).

Description

[0039] The inventor has developed a novel method for producing iced teas. The teas taste of tea and do not need supplementing with additional flavours, so that they taste like iced teas one might make at home, but with much more convenience as one simply mixes and drinks, rather than having to brew hot and then chill before consumption. The method is simple and relies on certain processes and parameters as follows:

[0040] Firstly, tea is brewed in the normal way, but much stronger than usual. Typically, 1 kg of tea to 4 litres hot water, so 250 g/l rather than the 5 g/l typical for iced tea, i.e. 50 times as strong. It will be appreciated that the length of time the tea brews for depends upon the temperature of the hot water. The inventor has found that the tea only needs to be brewed for about 5 minutes when the temperature of the water is approximately 80° C. but conversely the tea needs to be brewed for approximately 20 minutes when the temperature of the water is approximately 60° C. This tea is strained and coarse-filtered while still hot and before the tea cream forms on cooling. The inventor uses a diatomaceous earth filter to remove solids from the tea.

[0041] Sugar is then added in the proportion of 2:1 to the filtered tea, which will have begun to cream and separate, and this surprisingly reverses the tea cream and results in a clear, bright and stable syrup with no deposit. The tea cream problem is thus solved by the cream being reabsorbed into the tea. To ensure the correct quantity of sugar is added to the tea, the ratio is calculated by measuring the refraction index of the tea syrup as the sugar is added. The refraction index equates to the Brix (% soluble solids), and from this the ratio of sugar in the tea syrup can be calculated.

[0042] Citric acid is then added to reduce the pH to between 3.0 and 3.6. The Brix (% soluble solids) of the syrup is 67. This combination (or various permutations of it that can be calculated) ensures a water activity (a.sub.w) of below 0.85, and this in turn ensures microbial stability at least for yeast and bacteria which cannot obtain the water they need to grow under such conditions. Mould spores remain a risk however and to ensure that these are also destroyed, the syrup is filled hot at a minimum of 72 degrees C. and typically 86 degrees C. having first been heated to a minimum of 100 degrees C. (the boiling point is about 105 degrees C.). For this process to be effective, the pH should be below about 4.5.

[0043] The tea syrups are then diluted 25:1, or in some cases 20:1, for consumption. The result is an iced tea with the following characteristics:

[0044] Firstly, the pH of the drink is raised by dilution. Where the tea is a traditional tea, such as Earl Grey or Moroccan Mint, the tea syrup will have a pH of about 3.6, which will result in the pH of the diluted tea being raised to about 6, which means that the acidity which had to be added to ensure the stability of the syrup is diluted below the taste threshold and the tea therefore tastes like freshly brewed home made tea which also has a pH just on the acid side of neutral. However, where the tea is a more acidic tea, such as Lemon Ceylon, the pH will be raised to about 5.1. This gives the tea a low but detectable acidity due to the lemon. Finally, where the tea is an even more acidic tea, such as Elderflower and Nettle, the tea syrup will have a pH of about 3.0, which will result in the pH of the diluted tea being raised to about 4.3 or 4.4.

[0045] Secondly, additional flavours not normally found in tea are not required or used, although flavours normally found in or infused with tea such as jasmine, bergamot (Earl Grey), mint or lemon may all be included.

[0046] Thirdly, the tea is bright and there are no flocculations or deposits.

[0047] Fourthly, the iced tea is low in sugar, about 3%, or 4% in some variants, compared to about 8-9% for currently available RTD iced teas. The relatively high sugar level in Liptons iced tea is a function of the high acidity, which needs to be balanced by high sugar levels in order to be palatable, whereas the tea produced using the method of the invention with its lower acidity is palatable with much less sugar. This means that in addition to tasting good, the teas are genuinely hydrating and thirst quenching, which is in contrast to any drink that is more than 6% sugar which is hypertonic meaning that it tends to dehydrate. Sports Drinks are usually isotonic (i.e. 6%) whereas the tea of the invention is unusual in being hypotonic, significantly below 6%, which means it is thirst quenching. This benefit also applies to herb tea variants like elderflower.

[0048] Elderflower iced tea concentrate is twice as strong as a typical elderflower cordial (20:1 dilution compared to 8-10:1 dilution) and has half the sugar, which is a big benefit for the consumer who wants good value, to reduce sugar intake, and to achieve good hydration. They key factor differentiating Elderflower Iced Tea Concentrate from

[0049] Elderflower Cordial is much lower acidity, which means higher dilution rate and hence the need for increased elderflower flavour to compensate for the increased dilution rate.

SUMMARY

[0050] The inventor believes that the method of the invention is innovative for several reasons. Tea flavoured syrups are available from Liptons in certain markets as well as syrup producers such as Monin, and so it is not simply the concentrated format that is new. These, however, are much weaker and are intended typically for 6:1 dilution, and are usually lower Brix and therefore need to use preservatives but these may not be in significant levels to be declared on labels. Liptons tea syrup is a concentrated form of the ready to drink product and so is formulated to give the same acidity in the final drink and so proportionally more in the concentrate, and the opportunity to make a low acid iced tea is not taken. Monin syrups and other mainly French producers also aim to imitate existing commercial iced teas and not to improve on them and they do not take advantage of the potential benefits of the format, and indeed most likely are not aware of them (their basic process is to add commercially prepared flavour extracts to a standard base syrup). They have to use preservatives (although these are not declared on labels since they are diluted to insignificant levels for consumption) and do not take advantage of the potential for preserving the syrup by virtue of low water activity (a.sub.w) and precautionary heat treatment. In summary, the process of the invention is innovative because it provides a novel solution to the difficulties of preserving iced tea, and does so in a way that gives specific benefits to the consumer such as greatly improved taste (i.e. low acid), much lower sugar concentration, good hydration, good value for money, no need for preservatives or other additives (including flavours), as well as environmental benefits compared to the shipping and packing waste generated by RTD iced teas.