Suntory Beverage & Food Limited

Mika Kimura

Koichi Nakahara

Koji Nagao

Hideki Maki

The present invention provides a technique for producing a tea wherein water-insoluble components of tea leaves have been made soluble in water and the natural umami components inherent to tea leaves have been increased. It also provides a technique for manufacturing a tea-based alcoholic drink which has 'tea leaf-origin aroma', 'umami and body' and &#x201c;mild alcoholic aftertaste&#x201d; in a good balance. Tea leaves are processed with an extruder at a temperature of 80 to 150&#xb0; C. and under a pressure of 0.2 to 30 MPa for 5 to 600 sec while supplying 1 to 100 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the tea leaves, of water or an aqueous sugar solution, Thus, a processed tea leaf product is stably produced while avoiding blowout from the outlet. A tea extracted from this processed tea leaf product shows a significantly improved taste.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Mika Kimura