Ito En, Ltd.

Nobuo Matsumoto

Masami Sasame

Hitoshi Kinugasa

Kenji Shimaoka

Hitoshi Niino

Izumi Kobayashi

Takanobu Takihara

Kazunori Okanoya

Yuko Sagesaka

Akio Sugimoto

Yoko Ueno

Toshio Kawasaki

Takashi Yamamoto

Tsutomu Tsukamoto

Takayuki Ochi

Mitsuo Yashiro

In order to produce green tea beverages which have a good flavor and a good balance of the fragrant components and do not form unpleasant precipitates, such green tea beverage are produced by a method including an extracting step consisting of two extraction steps, a first step in which green tea leaves are extracted at an applied pressure to obtain a pressure extract (step 1) and a second step in which green tea leaves are extracted under atmospheric pressure, followed by microfiltration to obtain an atmospheric extract (step 2), and a mixing step in which the pressure extract and the atmospheric extract obtained in the respective step are mixed at a mixing ratio determined on the basis of the weight of the raw tea leaves (step 3). This method can provide the production of drinks which have a good flavor and a good balance of the fragrant components and in addition, do not result in formation of deposits, and are suitable for beverages, in particular, for packing into PET bottles by mixing, at a predetermined ratio, the pressure extract from step 1, which is rich in suitable fragrance but short in astringency and tastiness, and the atmospheric extract from step 2, which is intense in astringency and tastiness and provided with a good color tone.

Green tea beverages manufacturing process

Tea leaves are extracted in warm or hot water, and the obtained extract is contacted with a cation exchange resin ionically bonded to potassium ion. The potassium ion is ionically bonded to the cation exchange resin in advance. Divalent ions in the tea beverage are replaced with the potassium ions from the cation exchange resin. The electrical conductivity of the extract is controlled in this whole process. The natural flavor and quality of the tea are thereby maintained more certainly, since metal ions that cause muddiness or precipitation are effectively removed.

Tea manufacturing process

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Shizuoka, Japan

Nobuo Matsumoto