ASSIGNMENT OF FOOD BEVERAGES

Submitted to-:
Er. Ashutosh Updhayay
(Depaertmaent of Food
& Agricultural Engineering)

Submitted By-:
K.K.Agarwal
B.Tech (Food Technology)
8TH Semester (2005-09 Batch)

Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya University, Chitrakoot Satna

(MP) 485331
 Tea
Introduction to Tea-:

Tea is a natural beverage brewed from the leaves of an evergreen plant called
Camellia sinensis. While it has become common place for people to refer to any hot
beverage that is brewed from naturally occuring plants or plant extracts as "tea"
technically, those herbal hot beverages should be called "teassanes", as the word "tea" is
reserved for beverages brewed from leaves of Camellia sinensis.

Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes
of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods. "Tea" also refers
to the aromatic beverage prepared from the cured leaves by combination with hot or
boiling wate
We know that tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, most
consumed after water. Most people, who drink tea, prefer to go with a certain brand
because of familiarity of taste, aroma, liquor etc. In order to maintain that kind of
consistency, tea companies tend to blend teas from various sources until they arrive at
their brand's trademark features. This consistency appeals to the masses, and allows
manufacturers to produce the teas in thousands of kilograms for mass consumption.

Versatile Plant-:
The camelia sinensis is a very versatile plant that can grow under almost any
conditions. Thus, tea is grown around the world from the Indian Sub-continent in India,
Nepal, and SriLanka, to China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, to the African subcontinent in
Kenya, to Latin America in Argentina. As can be imagined, the quality of tea varies
dramatically from region to region, with most of the variations originating in the variation
in the climactic conditions of the regions where the tea is grown and not from the
differences in the tea bush itself.

Difference in flavor of teas-:

The largest difference in flavor of teas comes from the altitude at which the tea is
grown and the type of soil the bush is grown in. High growth teas tend to be far superior
to the lower growth regions with respect to the subtelities of flavor, color and fragrance.
The flavor of the teas is also dependent upon the kind of leaves that have been
plucked. The younger the leaf, the more flavorful the tea. A fine pluck often means that
only the buds of the new growth have been plucked, where a coarse pluck means that
more coarse, older leaves were plucked.

Types of Tea-:
Once the tea leaf is plucked, it is processed in the factory to bring out the flavors
in it. There are essentially two types of teas: Orthodox, and CTC. The Orthodox tea is the
whole leaf tea that is generally popular in the west, but in India, CTC tea is wildly
popular for the type of tea they make there, called Chai, involving boiling the tea over and
over to extract the most out of it.
1. White tea
Recently popular, white tea is produced when two leaves and a bud are picked just
before sunrise to preserve the moisture in the leaf. This tea is characterized by a delicate
flavor with very little color, however it is highly priced because a days picking produces
only about 1 - 2 kgs. Although it is called white tea, the tea does have some light green
color charactersitic of the newest buds originating on the bush. The buds are steamed to
destroy the enzymes that would otherwise destroy the tea and dried either in the dryer or
in the sun.
2. Green tea-:
Green tea is produced by steaming the leaves to destroy the enzymes that might
otherwise ferment the leaves. The leaves are then rolled either by hand or by mechanical
rollers, to bring out the juices in the leaves that are responsible for its flavor. The rolled
leaves are then fired to dry them. The entire process of rolling and firing is repeated
several times until the leaves are completely dry. The process of producing green tea is
very exacting because variation in the drying time can result in fermentation of the leaves
which spoils its flavor.

3. Black Tea-:
The most widely consumed beverage, black tea is a close cousin to the Oolong in
that if the tea is fermented long enough, the leaves turn black, hence the term "black tea".
The exact time of rolling is determined by the size of the leaf, with smaller leaf being
rolled for shorter period than larger leaf. Rolling induces fermentation of the leaf, and
when the leaf is judged to be appropriately fermented, the process is slowed by allowing
the leaves to cool off on ventilated trays for 3 to 4 hours. Finally, the fermentation process
is stopped by drying the teas under hot blowers, at which point the tea leaves turn from
reddish hue to black. The teas are then passed through various sieves to grade them.
4. Oolong Teas-:
Oolong teas are semi fermented teas that are partially fermented before drying to
preserve the natural flavors. The process of producing Oolongs begins with picking of the
two leaves and a bud, generally early in the morning. The leaves are then partially dried
indoors to promote fermentation. When the leaves start turning red - at a stage, when 30%
of the leaves are red, and the rest 70% are green, the leaves are rubbed repeatedly by hand
or mechanically to generate flavor and aroma, and finally dried over charcoal. The final
stage in production of Oolong teas is blending the teas to produce the characteristic flavor
of the garden or the brand.

Manufacturing Process-:

The black tea manufacturing process is quite an involved one, buy first, the
tea has to be plucked. While in the industrialized country like Japan this activity is
performed using a mechanical harvester, in India this is mostly done by hand. It is
usually the ladies who are considered the better pickers. They tend to be vey deft at
picking only the two leaves and a bud, and leave the more coarser leaf alone.
 Once the leaf basket if full, the picker brings it to the central station where
the basket is weighed and passed on to the factory floor. On the factory floor, the
tea undergoes a withering process designed to remove as much moisture as
possible from the tea, to prepare it for oxidation and drying. Usually, the tea leaves
are spread out on a large tray of wire mesh, and hot air blowers are used to heat the
leaf and drive the mositure out. At higher elevations, it is not unusual for the
withering process to require 12-24 hours.

At this point, the leaf has become limp and turned into a darker shade of
green. The next step in the process is Rolling wherein the leaf is put into roller
machines which twist and turn the leaf and break it, giving it the wirey shape
characteristic of Darjeeling orthodox leaf. This process of rolling releases the
enzymes from the leaf as the leaf breaks, exposing the juices to natural process of
oxidation.

In the next stage, the Oxidation stage, the leaf is allowed to oxidise by
exposing it to air in large trays. As the leaf oxidizes, it generates heat, and slowly
changes in color from green to red to brown to eventually black.
 Proper oxidation of the leaf is critical in the final flavor and color produced
in the leaf. If the leaf is oxidised at too high a temperature, it would spoil the tea,
and if it is oxidized at too low a temperature, the tea produced would be flavorless.

Finally, the tea is ready for drying. Once again, the leaf is exposed to hot air
from air blowers, which drive the remaining moisture out of the leaf.
Once the leaf is dry, the tea is marked and tasted by an expert taster who
describes the tea and issues the certificate of release. Often times, a blender blends
various batches of tea to produce a characteristic flavor, however, most blending
work is not done at the tea garden level. Rather, this happens at the blender and
packers warehouse.

This is where the manufacturing process generally ends, and the tea arrives
into the market place.

Production of Tea In India-:

Tea is a highly adaptable plant, a result of which is that tea is grown around
the world. However, among the tea producing nations of the world India stands
head and shoulders above any other India producing over 826 million kgs. Indian
tea thus has over a quarter of the world market with a market share of about 28%.
Health Benefits of Tea-:
Contrary to the concerns of health associated with Coffee, it has been
scientifically established that tea offers several health benefits to the consumer.
Most of the health benefits of the tea are associated with the antioxidant properties
of polyphenols called "flavanoids". While much of the research on flavanoids has
been done with Green Tea, Black tea too contains about the same amount of
flavanoids as Green Tea. The major difference between Green Tea and Black tea is
the fact that Green Tea has more simple flavanoids called cathechins as compared
to Black Tea, which contains more complex flavanoids called theaflavins and
thearubigins.

Antioxidative properties of tea-:

The harmful effects of free radicals are quite well known. Free radicals, or
unstable molecules of nitric oxide and oxygen are produced during the normal
operation of cellular processes. These free radicals, unless removed, can cause
immense damage to the DNA and other units of the cell. Under normal
circumstances, the body is equipped to eliminate the free radicals by itself mainly
through the presence of an enzyme called Super Oxide Dismutase. However, when
exposed to harmful conditions such as exessive UV exposure, exposure to smoke,
or pollution, the number of free radicals produced increases dramatically, which
can be harmful to the body.

Three Cups A Day Keeps The Doctor Away-:

Antioxidants, such as the flavanoids found in the tea, are known to
scavenge the free radicals, metabolize lipid peroxides, and precipitate metal ions,
there by preventing further damage to the critical cellular processes. Fruits and
vegetables are a natural source of many antioxidants but tea is not too far behind.
In a UK study it was found that 3 cups of tea contains the same amount of
antioxidants as six apples.

In Summary-:
In summary, Tea is a very potent source of antioxidative flavanoids such as
Cathecins, Theaflavin, and Thearubin. Flavanoids have been demonstrated to have
various health associated properties, in lab experiments and in some human
experiments. Both Green and Black teas contain about the same amounts of these
poly phenols, so you can get the same health benefits from either type of tea.

Storage & Self Life Of Tea -:

Tea has a shelf life that varies with storage conditions and type of tea. Black
tea has a longer shelf life than green tea. Some teas such as flower teas may go bad
in a month. Tea stays freshest when stored in a dry, cool, dark place in an air-tight
container. Black tea stored in a bag inside a sealed opaque canister may keep for
two years. Green tea loses its freshness more quickly, usually in less than a year.