| 摘要 |
It is intended to provide a technique for producing a tea wherein water-insoluble components of tealeaves have been made soluble in water and the natural flavor components inherent to tea leaves have been elevated. It is also intended to provide a technique for producing a tea-based alcoholic drink which has "the aroma inherent to tea leaves", "a favorable taste and body" and "a mild alcoholic aftertaste" in a well-balanced manner. Tealeaves are processed with an extruder at 80 to 150oC and 0.2 to 30 MPa for 5 to 600 seconds while supplying 1 to 100 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the tea leaves, of water or an aqueous sugar solution thereto. Thus, a processed tealeaf product is produced in a stable state while avoiding blowout from an outlet. A tea extracted from this processed tealeaf product has a significantly improved taste compared with another tea extracted from unprocessed tealeaves. A starting material comprising the processed tealeaf product and tealeaves (b) at a weight ratio of 1:9 to 1:0 is extracted with a solvent containing from 5 to 80% by weight of an alcohol to give a tea extract. Thus, a tea-based alcoholic drink having an improved taste can be produced. |
