METHOD FOR PROCESSING DRY BLACK TEA, TEA RAW MATERIALS Russian patent published in 2019 - IPC A23L3/01 A23F3/22 

FIELD: food industry.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to food industry, in particular to methods for processing tea, tea raw materials. In the process of implementing the method after the operations of withering the tea leaf to a moisture content of 75–65 %, twisting the tea leaf, fermentation and drying to a residual moisture content of 3–7 %, additional drying is carried out. Black dry tea, dry tea raw materials are subjected to a thermal action by the electromagnetic field of the microwave in a drying chamber with a constant pressure selected from the 300–500 mm Hg range for a period of time from 3 minutes to 1 hour during the additional drying. Thermal action by the electromagnetic field of the microwave is carried out to warm up the dry black tea, dry tea raw materials to a temperature selected depending on the residual moisture of the tea leaf after drying from the range of 60.0–85.0 °C. Rate of temperature rise in the drying chamber is chosen from the range of values 1.0–3.0 °C/s, based on the need to reduce the microbial load on dry black tea, dry tea raw materials to the specified value allowed by applicable standards and regulations. After reaching a predetermined temperature, stop the thermal action by the electromagnetic field of the microwave with simultaneous transition to the mode of pressure reduction in the chamber to a value selected from the range of 100 to 30 mm Hg, and stand dry black tea, dry tea raw materials in the chamber with decreasing pressure until its temperature decreases to the temperature of the production room in which the drying chamber is installed. After the tea leaf reaches the set temperature from the range of 60.0 °C–85.0 °C and stop thermal effects on the stage of additional drying, reduce the pressure in the drying chamber to a value selected from the range of 100 to 30 mm Hg, at a speed selected on the basis of the need to ensure compliance with the current temperature value of the pressure in the drying chamber, at which steam formation processes take place in dry black tea and dry tea raw materials.

EFFECT: use of the invention will improve the quality of processing of dry black tea and dry tea raw materials by reducing the microbial load on it, as well as improve the organoleptic properties of tea infusion.

1 cl, 2 ex