Ancient beverages are also becoming trendy? When tea starts to become instant

With its convenience, versatility and applicability , instant tea can meet the application needs of tea in almost all scenarios, from daily drinking to food processing, from traditional tea to new tea. Next, let us take a deeper look at instant tea.

(AI drawing, for reference only)

Instant tea production began in the UK in the 1940s. After years of trial production and development, it has become an important tea beverage product on the market. China is currently the world's largest producer and consumer of instant tea . Gongyan.com's industry development report shows that by 2024, the global instant tea market size has reached US$1.624 billion, and it is expected to climb to US$2.309 billion by 2032.

1. What is instant tea?

Instant tea, also known as extracted tea, is a powdered, flaky or granular product that is made from finished tea or fresh leaves through processes such as extraction, concentration, sterilization and drying. It dissolves instantly when mixed with water.

2. How is instant tea made?

0 1Raw material selection

The raw materials of instant tea mainly include tea leaves and fresh leaves . The rich tea raw materials give instant tea a variety of unique flavors and nutrients. According to the different processing raw materials, instant tea can be divided into instant green tea, instant black tea, instant oolong tea, instant dark tea (including Pu'er tea), instant white tea, instant yellow tea, instant jasmine tea, etc.

0 2 Extract

Soak or extract the tea leaves so that the active ingredients in the tea leaves are completely dissolved in the water . This process can be achieved through hot water soaking, ultrasonic extraction, carbon dioxide supercritical extraction and other methods.

0 3 Filter

The purpose of filtration is to remove fine particles , suspended impurities or turbid precipitates formed during processing in the extract. Filtration methods include centrifugal sedimentation filtration, disc centrifugal separation, high-speed tubular centrifugal separation and membrane filtration.

04Concentration

The tea extract is concentrated to remove excess water and obtain a high-concentration tea extract. The concentration methods include evaporation concentration, reverse osmosis concentration, etc. The concentration of the tea extract increases, preparing for the subsequent drying step.

05Drying

The purpose of drying the concentrated tea extract is to remove the water in the concentrate, shape the shape, fix the quality, and obtain instant tea products. The water content of the dried instant tea is generally required to be less than 4% . Common drying methods include spray drying and freeze drying.

3. Technological innovation : modern technological innovation in instant tea production

Based on the traditional production process, the instant tea industry is improving quality and efficiency through technological innovation. - Low-temperature extraction technology, such as pulsed electric field, microwave-assisted extraction, ultra-high pressure extraction, etc., can retain polyphenols and volatile aroma components in tea to a greater extent, avoiding the loss of aroma components caused by high temperature.

Ultrasonic-assisted extraction efficiently destroys tea cell walls through cavitation, increasing the polyphenol extraction rate by more than 20%.

In the concentration process, multi-stage freeze concentration (-25°C) increases the catechin retention level by 4.5 times while maintaining the antioxidant activity of the concentrate, while enzyme-assisted processing (such as tannin hydrolysis of ester-type catechins) can significantly reduce the astringency of the tea soup and increase the sweetness by 30% .

Microbial fermentation technology uses Aspergillus niger, Eurotium cristatum and other fungi to process tea or tea concentrate, converting sugar and tea polyphenols, thereby improving its flavor and nutritional value.

Low-temperature atmospheric plasma and ultra-high pressure sterilization can replace traditional high-temperature sterilization and reduce the loss of heat-sensitive ingredients such as vitamin C.

(AI drawing, for reference only)

4. What are the uses of instant tea?

0 1Tea beverage

Instant tea can be used as raw material for tea beverage processing . Instant tea powder is a natural and healthy tea raw material. It can be used as the main tea raw material for tea beverages, or as the tea base in new tea drinks, combined with milk, fruits, nuts, etc.

0 2 Brewed drinks

Instant tea can be brewed directly with hot or cold water to obtain a cup of tea that retains the original tea flavor quality . When brewing, you can also add milk, juice or sugar to season it according to your personal taste to make the tea soup more flavorful.

(AI drawing, for reference only)

0 3Tea Food

The granular or powdered form of instant tea allows it to dissolve quickly and spread evenly. Instant tea powder can be added to pastries to make tea biscuits and tea cakes, mixed with chocolate and syrup to make tea-flavored candies , and mixed with jam and salad dressing to make tea-flavored sauces .

5. Future Trends : Industrial Upgrading from Convenience to Functionality

Functionalization : Targeted processing of tea beverages rich in different functional ingredients, such as using synthetic biology to transform microorganisms, produce specific functional ingredients such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and develop instant teas that help with sleep and lower blood pressure.

Greening : Non-thermal extraction and sterilization technologies such as microwave-assisted extraction and ultra-high pressure sterilization replace high-temperature processes, which improves efficiency while reducing energy consumption and promotes the sustainable development of the industry.

Intelligence : Near-infrared real-time monitoring of the production line, online monitoring to achieve real-time control of polyphenol content and water activity, to ensure the stable quality of each batch of tea powder.

The emergence of instant tea makes drinking tea easier and more convenient. Whether brewing directly or using it to make beverages or desserts, instant tea can be easily unlocked and played with new tricks. In the future, this all-rounder in the tea industry will enter the lives of more people and become another wonderful expression of tea in the new era.

References

1. Xia Tao. Tea Making[M] 3rd edition. Beijing: China Agriculture Press, 2016: 351-358.

2. Luo Longxin. Global production, application and development trend of instant tea and tea concentrate[J]. China Tea Processing, 2019, (04): 5-9+20.

3. Yin Junfeng. Innovation and development trends and main technical requirements of my country's instant tea industry[J]. China Tea Processing, 2019, (04): 10-13+49.

4. Li Peihong, He Qunxian, Xu Yijuan, et al. Research progress in aroma and flavor preservation technology of instant tea[J]. Beverage Industry, 2024, 27(03): 6-10. 5. Liang, S., Granato, D., Zou, C., Gao, Y., Zhu, Y., Zhang, L., Yin, J., Zhou, W., & Xu, Y. (2021). Processing technologies for manufacturing tea beverages: From traditional to advanced hybrid processes. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 118, 431-446.

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Some pictures are from the Internet

Source: Xu Yongquan, Researcher at the Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Reviewer: Professor Liu Zhengquan, Sericulture and Tea Research Institute, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences