Dry tea washing process
By employing a dry tea washing process involving bubbling, spraying, vibration to remove water, and steaming to enhance aroma, the problem of removing surface contaminants from tea leaves is solved, enabling direct brewing and flavor preservation, thus improving the drinking experience.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- HUANGSHAN SMALL POT TEA CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2026-01-28
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-10
AI Technical Summary
Dry tea leaves are prone to accumulating dust and debris during the production process. Consumers need to remove these by discarding the water during the first brew, which increases the steps involved, reduces convenience, and causes the loss of flavor compounds, thus affecting the drinking experience.
It employs a combination of bubbling and multi-stage spray cleaning, vibration dehydration, centrifugal dehydration, and steam aroma enhancement processes to remove impurities from the surface of tea leaves while preserving their flavor, thus simplifying the drinking process.
It enables direct brewing of tea, simplifies the process, avoids loss of flavor compounds, and enhances the convenience of drinking and the concentration of tea flavor.
Smart Images
Figure CN121820221A_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of water washing process, in particular to a dry tea leaf water washing process. BACKGROUND
[0002] As a classic drink in China, tea has been passed down for thousands of years, and is deeply loved by consumers due to its unique flavor and rich nutritional ingredients. The production and processing of tea involves multiple key links such as picking, fixation, rolling, drying, etc. During this series of processes, tea inevitably comes into contact with the external environment, processing equipment and operators. Especially during the open-air picking, airing and large-scale processing stages, dust in the air, tiny particles in the soil, and residual debris on the surface of processing equipment, etc. Pollutants are easily attached to the surface of tea.
[0003] In the existing consumption scenario, after consumers purchase dry tea, they will first put the dry tea into tea utensils, pour in boiling water for a short time, and then pour away the tea water. The core purpose is to remove dust and residual debris attached to the surface of the tea through high-temperature boiling water washing to ensure the safety and purity of the subsequent drinking. However, this traditional pre-drinking treatment method increases the operation steps of tea brewing and prolongs the preparation time of drinking, which reduces the convenience of drinking. Especially for consumers in fast-paced life scenarios, this cumbersome process cannot meet their high-efficiency drinking needs. At the same time, during the first brewing process, tea will quickly absorb water and release some soluble substances that play a key role in flavor. Pouring away the first brewing tea inevitably causes the loss of tea flavor substances, which reduces the flavor concentration of the subsequent brewed tea and affects the overall drinking experience. In view of this, the present application proposes a dry tea leaf water washing process. SUMMARY
[0004] The purpose of the present application is to solve the problem that tea leaves are prone to attach dust and debris during production, and consumers need to remove the above-mentioned pollutants by discarding the first brewing water, which not only increases the operation steps of drinking and reduces the convenience, but also causes the loss of tea flavor substances and affects the drinking experience. A dry tea leaf water washing process is proposed.
[0005] The technical solution of the present application: a dry tea leaf water washing process, comprising the following steps: S1, conveying dry tea leaves into a cleaning pool containing circulating water for bubbling and multi-stage spraying cleaning, and conveying the cleaned tea leaves through a mesh conveying mechanism; S2, removing part of the water adhering to the surface of the tea leaves by vibration, and conveying the tea leaves to a centrifugal drum for dehydration by high-speed rotation; S3, steam aroma extraction is performed on the dehydrated tea leaves, and hot air drying is performed to obtain finished dry tea leaves.
[0006] Optionally, in the S1, the bubble cleaning is achieved by gas disturbance of the water body, and the multi-stage spraying cleaning is inclined spraying cleaning.
[0007] Optionally, in the S1, the cleaning time of the dry tea leaves is 3-5 minutes.
[0008] Optionally, in the S1, the tea leaves are sprayed and cleaned on the mesh conveying mechanism, and the spraying direction is towards the tea leaf conveying surface to achieve flushing.
[0009] Optionally, in the S1, the mesh conveying mechanism is partially immersed below the liquid surface of the cleaning pool, and the cleaned tea leaves are conveyed to the upper side by the mesh conveying mechanism.
[0010] Optionally, in the S2, the end of the mesh conveying mechanism separates the tea leaves adhered to the mesh by air blowing, and the separated tea leaves fall into the vibration water removal process.
[0011] Optionally, in the S2, the vibration frequency in the vibration water removal process is 50-60 Hz.
[0012] Optionally, in the S2, the rotation speed of the centrifugal drum is 200-300 rpm.
[0013] Optionally, in the S3, the processing time of the steam flavoring is 5-10 minutes.
[0014] Optionally, in the S3, the temperature of the hot air drying is 50-60℃, and the drying time is 1-1.5 h.
[0015] In summary, the present application has at least one of the following beneficial technical effects: The present application can efficiently remove the dust and processing debris on the surface of the tea leaves through the synergistic effect of bubble disturbance and multi-stage spraying cleaning, solves the problem of first cleaning before drinking tea from the production source, and the finished tea leaves can be directly brewed and drunk, which not only simplifies the drinking process and saves preparation time, but also avoids the loss of flavor substances caused by discarding the first water, ensures the richness and purity of the tea soup flavor, and improves the overall drinking experience. Further, by strictly controlling the cleaning time during the cleaning process, the loss of flavor caused by excessive tea leaf expansion is effectively avoided, and the pre-dehydration and centrifugal dehydration are classified, which reduces the energy consumption and tea leaf breakage rate while ensuring that there is no obvious water stain on the surface of the tea leaves and achieving the ideal dehydration effect. In summary, the present application can efficiently remove the dust and processing debris on the surface of the tea leaves from the production link, without the need for consumers to discard the first water, which not only simplifies the drinking process and improves convenience, but also avoids the loss of flavor substances and ensures the drinking experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0016] Figure 1 is a flowchart of a dry tea leaf water washing process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The technical solutions of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments.
[0018] The components of the embodiments of the present application generally described and shown in the drawings herein can be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but only represents selected embodiments of the present application.
[0019] All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present application.
[0020] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the orientations or positional relationships indicated by the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and therefore cannot be understood as indicating or implying that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third" are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.
[0021] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connection" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or it can be detachably connected, or integrally connected; it can be mechanically connected, or it can be electrically connected; it can be directly connected, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; it can be the communication inside two elements. For a person of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.
[0022] EMBODIMENT As shown in the drawings, the present application proposes a dry tea leaf water washing process, comprising the following steps: Figure 1 S1, dry tea leaves are transported into a cleaning pool containing circulating water for bubbling and multi-stage spraying cleaning, to realize deep stripping and cleanliness improvement of tea leaf surface pollutants.
[0023] The dry tea leaves can enter the cleaning tank in three ways: manual quantitative feeding, continuous feeding by a conveying belt, or precise feeding from a hopper, which can adapt to the operation requirements of different production scales. The position where the cleaning tank receives the tea leaves is fixedly provided with an inclined collecting hopper. The collecting hopper is arranged at an inclined angle and can guide the material to slide directionally, thereby reducing scattering. The collecting hopper facilitates the rapid sliding of the tea leaves into the cleaning tank and effectively prevents the tea leaves from scattering to the outside of the cleaning tank during feeding, thereby avoiding waste and pollution. The inner wall of the collecting hopper is made of a food-grade smooth material. The food-grade material meets the food contact safety standard and has a smooth surface without burrs, which can prevent material adhesion and ensure food safety.
[0024] In the bubble cleaning, a plurality of groups of corrosion-resistant air pipes are uniformly arranged at the bottom of the cleaning tank. The corrosion-resistant air pipes can resist corrosion of water and the cleaning environment, thereby ensuring long-term stable use. The air pipes are connected to a high-pressure gas source and are equally provided with micron-level air holes. The small air holes with a micron-level aperture can generate dense small bubbles, thereby improving the disturbance effect. The high-pressure gas is released through the air holes to form dense bubbles. In the rising process of the bubbles, the water body is disturbed to form rolling water flow, so that the tea leaves are in a suspended and rolling state in the water, thereby fully stripping the physical impurities such as dust and processing debris attached to the surface. At the same time, the impact force generated by the bubble rupture can improve the cleaning effect, so that the finished dry tea leaves can be directly brewed for drinking without additional first-brew cleaning, which improves the drinking convenience and avoids the loss of flavor substances caused by the first brew.
[0025] The multi-section spray cleaning adopts array-type spray pipes for inclined spraying. The array-distributed spray pipes can achieve uniform coverage-type spraying. High-pressure atomizing nozzles are installed on the spray pipes. The atomizing nozzles can pressurize and atomize the water flow to form small water mist, thereby improving the washing efficiency and cleanliness. The sprayed water flow forms a fan-shaped water mist. While high-pressure washing the tea leaves, the water flow pushes the tea leaves to the rear net surface conveying mechanism, thereby realizing the directional movement and continuous cleaning of the tea leaves.
[0026] The cleaned tea leaves are conveyed by the net surface conveying mechanism. The lower part of the inclined section of the net surface conveying mechanism is immersed below the liquid surface of the cleaning tank. The tea leaves in the cleaning tank are stably conveyed to the upper oblique side by the circulation of the net surface. The conveying surface of the net surface conveying mechanism is a fine and dense stainless steel surface. The stainless steel material can prevent material falling and ensure fluid permeability. The tea leaves can still fully contact with the water body during the conveying process. A plurality of groups of vertical downward spray assemblies are arranged above and in the middle of the horizontal section of the net surface conveying mechanism. The spray direction is accurately directed to the tea leaf conveying surface to perform secondary high-pressure washing on the upper surface and side surface of the tea leaves, thereby thoroughly removing the residual small impurities.
[0027] It is worth mentioning that the cleaning time of dry tea leaves is strictly controlled within 3-5 minutes, which can be flexibly adjusted according to the variety of tea leaves and the degree of pollution, so as to avoid the swelling of tea cells due to long-time contact with water, which will affect the appearance integrity and flavor concentration of finished tea leaves.
[0028] The high-pressure air pipe is built-in at the end of the mesh conveying mechanism, and multiple directional air holes are opened on the side of the mesh facing the air pipe. The tea leaves on the mesh are quickly blown off by high-pressure gas to ensure that the tea leaves are efficiently separated and then fall into the subsequent vibration water removal process. Due to the slight stickiness on the surface of the tea leaves, part of the tea leaves may adhere to the mesh conveying mechanism and repeatedly enter the cleaning pool, resulting in prolonged contact of these tea leaves with water, which may cause problems such as swelling and loss of flavor. The high-pressure air blowing method can quickly remove the adhered tea leaves, and a food-grade silicone scraper is fixed on the side of the collection hopper close to the mesh. The scraper is in close contact with the bottom of the mesh conveying mechanism, which can remove the small amount of adhered tea leaves, further ensuring the complete separation of tea leaves and avoiding quality damage.
[0029] S2, the high-frequency vibration method is used to remove part of the water adhered to the surface of the tea leaves, realizing pre-dewatering treatment and reducing the load of the subsequent centrifugal dewatering process.
[0030] The tea leaves separated by air blowing at the end of the mesh conveying mechanism are collected in the collection hopper and then evenly fall on the vibration plate. The vibration plate is made of food-grade stainless steel and is used to carry materials and achieve transportation and dewatering through vibration. The bottom is driven by symmetrically distributed vibration motors with a working frequency of 50-60 Hz, generating high-frequency micro-amplitude vibration. The tea leaves are uniformly transported backward on the vibration plate with the vibration wave, and the transportation speed can be controlled by adjusting the frequency of the vibration motor. At the same time, the inertial force generated by vibration makes the free water adhered to the surface of the tea leaves quickly separate, and the water drops through the micro-holes on the vibration plate into the collection tank below. The waste water in the collection tank can be filtered and purified and then recycled back to the cleaning tank, realizing the recycling of water resources. Leakage-proof baffles are arranged on both sides of the vibration plate to effectively prevent tea leaves from falling from both sides during vibration transportation. The end of the vibration plate is connected to an inclined discharge tray, through which the tea leaves are smoothly discharged. The inclined setting of the discharge tray can guide the materials to enter the next process smoothly and accurately through the collection hopper into the centrifugal drum. This pre-dewatering process can reduce the water content on the surface of the tea leaves, and the dewatered tea leaves have no obvious water stains, achieving the effect of being scattered immediately without sticking after being held in the hand. This not only reduces the energy consumption and time of the subsequent centrifugal dewatering process, but also avoids the damage of tea leaves due to excessive water content during centrifugal process.
[0031] After the tea leaves enter the centrifugal drum, they undergo deep dehydration through high-speed rotation. The speed of the centrifugal drum is precisely controlled between 200-300 rpm and can be flexibly adjusted according to the moisture content of the tea leaves. If the speed is too low, dehydration will be incomplete, and if the speed is too high, the tea leaves may break. The side wall of the centrifugal drum is made of fine stainless steel mesh with dense drainage holes, ensuring that the tea leaves cannot pass through while allowing the water to be quickly ejected.
[0032] Furthermore, multiple sets of inclined guide plates are evenly fixed to the inner wall of the centrifugal drum. These guide plates have an arc-shaped structure, and as the centrifugal drum rotates, the tea leaves are slowly pushed towards the discharge end, achieving simultaneous dehydration and conveying. A ring-shaped air pipe is installed around the outer side of the centrifugal drum, while multiple sets of axial air pipes are installed on the inner side via a fixing bracket. All air pipes are connected to a high-pressure air source and have directional air holes. Continuous high-pressure gas blowing effectively prevents tea leaves and moisture from adhering to the inner wall of the drum due to centrifugal force, ensuring even force distribution and thorough dehydration. The centrifugal drum's overall angle is adjustable via a tilt adjustment component at the bottom, with an adjustment range of 0-15°. Changing the drum's tilt angle increases the speed of tea leaf passage, while decreasing it decreases the passage speed. This allows for flexible control of the residence time and throughput of tea leaves within the centrifugal drum, adapting to the dehydration needs of tea leaves with different moisture contents.
[0033] S3 involves steaming and hot air drying the dehydrated tea leaves to restore and enhance their flavor, ensuring product quality and storage stability. The steaming process takes 5-10 minutes and can be precisely adjusted according to the characteristics of the tea variety. The tea leaves come into full contact with the high-temperature steam, and the warmth of the steam stimulates the rapid release of aromatic substances within the tea leaves. Simultaneously, it neutralizes any slight moisture residue that may remain from the washing process, resulting in a richer and purer aroma.
[0034] After steaming to enhance aroma, the tea leaves immediately enter the hot air drying equipment. The drying equipment employs a hot air circulation system, with the hot air temperature stably controlled between 50-60℃. Different tea varieties require different drying temperatures. The hot air circulation system ensures that the hot air circulates continuously within the equipment, and the drying time is 1-1.5 hours, ensuring uniform temperature and improving drying efficiency. As the hot air flows over the surface of the tea leaves, it quickly removes moisture, reducing the tea's moisture content to a safe storage range. This safe storage range, typically 5-7%, prevents mold growth and ensures storage stability. It also avoids localized high temperatures that could cause the tea leaves to scorch or deteriorate in flavor.
[0035] The above specific embodiments are merely optional embodiments of the present invention. Based on the technical solutions of the present invention and the relevant teachings of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can make various alternative improvements and combinations to the above specific embodiments.
Claims
1. A water washing process for dried tea leaves, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1, dry tea leaves are conveyed to a washing pool containing circulating water for bubbling and multi-stage spray washing, and the washed tea leaves are conveyed by a mesh conveyor mechanism. S2, removes some of the moisture adhering to the surface of the tea leaves by vibration, and then transports the tea leaves to a centrifugal drum for dehydration, where the water is thrown out by high-speed rotation; S3 involves steaming the dehydrated tea leaves to enhance their aroma, followed by hot air drying to obtain the finished dried tea leaves.
2. The water washing process for dried tea leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In S1, the bubbling cleaning is achieved by gas agitating the water, and the multi-segment spray cleaning is an inclined spray.
3. The water washing process for dried tea leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S1, the washing time for the dry tea leaves is 3-5 minutes.
4. The water washing process for dried tea leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S1, the mesh conveying mechanism performs oblique spray cleaning on the tea leaves, with the spray direction directed toward the tea leaf conveying surface, while simultaneously generating power.
5. The water washing process for dried tea leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S1, the mesh conveying mechanism is partially submerged below the surface of the washing pool, and the washed tea leaves are conveyed obliquely upwards through the mesh conveying mechanism.
6. The water washing process for dried tea leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S2, the end of the mesh conveying mechanism uses air blowing to separate the tea leaves adhering to the mesh surface.
7. The water washing process for dried tea leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In S2, the vibration frequency during the vibration dewatering process is 50-60Hz.
8. The water washing process for dried tea leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S2, the centrifugal drum rotates at a speed of 200-300 revolutions per minute.
9. The water washing process for dried tea leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S3, the steam aroma extraction process takes 5-10 minutes.
10. The water washing process for dried tea leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S3, the temperature of the hot air drying is 50-60℃, and the drying time is 1-1.5h.