Tea Juice Thermal Stabilization to Prevent CO2 Pressure Buildup
Solution Overview
Problem
The generation of carbon dioxide during storage of tea juice in sealed containers leads to pressure buildup and potential bursting, resulting in uncontrolled discharge and an unpleasant consumer experience when opened.
Innovation Solution
A process involving expressing juice from fresh tea leaves with a moisture content between 30-90% by weight, heating the juice to a temperature between 60-150 °C for 0.5 seconds to 20 minutes, and packaging it in a sealed container without prior heat treatment to deactivate fermentation enzymes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If tea juice is packaged in sealed containers without prior heat treatment, then the organoleptic properties are preserved, but carbon dioxide generation during storage causes pressure buildup and package bursting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary heat treatment to the tea juice before packaging to inactivate fermentation enzymes. This preliminary action prevents subsequent carbon dioxide generation during storage, resolving the contradiction between preserving organoleptic properties and preventing pressure buildup. The heat treatment is performed at controlled temperatures and times to achieve enzyme inactivation while minimizing impact on sensory qualities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temperature and time parameters of heat treatment to optimize the balance between enzyme inactivation and preservation of organoleptic properties. By adjusting these parameters, the process achieves sufficient stabilization to prevent CO2 generation while minimizing degradation of sensory characteristics.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If fresh tea leaves are heat treated to deactivate fermentation enzymes before expressing juice, then carbon dioxide generation is reduced, but the organoleptic properties of the tea juice are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of heat treating the leaves before juicing, the patent applies heat treatment to the extracted juice itself. This preliminary action on the juice directly addresses CO2 generation while preserving the organoleptic properties that would be compromised by pre-extraction heat treatment of leaves.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts juice from fresh tea leaves first, then applies heat treatment to the extracted juice. This separation of extraction and heat treatment steps allows the organoleptic properties to be preserved during extraction while the subsequent juice heat treatment effectively reduces CO2 generation.
3Stability of the object's composition
If tea juice is stored in sealed containers, then the beverage maintains its concentration and quality, but pressure buildup from CO2 generation causes uncontrolled discharge upon opening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary heat treatment to inactivate enzymes before sealing, which prevents CO2 generation during storage. This eliminates the pressure buildup that would cause uncontrolled discharge upon opening, while the sealed container maintains the concentration and quality of the tea juice.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of fermentation (CO2 generation) into a beneficial stabilization process by using controlled heat treatment. This eliminates the harmful pressure buildup while preserving the benefits of sealed storage for maintaining juice quality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This process significantly reduces carbon dioxide generation during storage, ensuring the packaged tea juice remains stable and prevents packaging issues like puffing or bursting, maintaining quality and consumer experience.
Implementation Method 1
heating the tea juice to a temperature in the range 60-150 °C for a time period in the range of 0.5 seconds to 20 minutes
Implementation Method 2
expressing juice from fresh tea leaves that have never been dried to a moisture content of less than 30% by weight
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a process which allows for the preparation of tea products comprising tea juice which are suitable for diluting to prepare beverages. The present inventors have identified that generation of carbon dioxide during the storage of tea juice in containers can cause problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaged tea juice in a stable form. The present inventors have now surprisingly found that treating tea juice using a specific time-temperature regime leads to a reduction in CO2 generation during storage.