HK1090809B - Ultrafine ground tea dispersion and food or beverage containing the same - Google Patents

Description

Ultrafine crushed tea dispersion and food and drink containing the same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a finely pulverized tea leaf dispersion, a food or beverage containing the same, and a process for producing the same, characterized in that a tea leaf raw material is pulverized, the resulting tea powder is further subjected to a micronization treatment, and most of particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm or more are removed.

Background

The green tea beverage has good special flavor and high preference of green tea, is suitable for eating, brings out the best in the light of the improvement of the requirement on health, and is popular with the majority of people. Green tea beverages are representative of low calorie, sugar-free beverages. Among them, the market size of PET bottled green tea beverages, which are particularly advantageous in that they are easy to carry and can be resealed, has been rapidly expanding because they meet the needs of consumers. Meanwhile, since transparent containers such as PET bottles and glass bottles have a characteristic of allowing a beverage to be seen, there is a possibility that turbidity caused by residual tea leaves and components dissolved out of tea leaves may be a problem in quality, and thus many manufacturing techniques for suppressing turbidity and precipitation have been developed and implemented so far.

However, these techniques also have a problem that the original good flavor and fragrance of green tea are lost because the flavor components originally contained in green tea are removed during the production process. In order to solve the above problems, dry-milled tea leaves or a suspension thereof can be added directly to give green tea its original taste, but since the particle size of the fine particles is about 10 μm in dry milling, the tea leaves have a rough feeling when drunk, and the refreshing feeling and aftertaste required for green tea beverages are impaired, which are undesirable results. On the other hand, wet grinding can further micronize tea leaves, but does not provide a sufficiently refreshing feeling, and may cause precipitation after long-term storage (patent document 1).

Further, although there is proposed a method for producing a tea extract characterized by dispersing fine tea particles in water, suspending them in a slurry, and then separating and removing the fine tea particles from the slurry (patent document 2), there is still a disadvantage in flavor and taste.

A method for producing a beverage containing an insoluble solid matter having a good dispersibility without causing precipitation or turbidity of the insoluble solid matter in cocoa, coffee, matcha, etc., characterized in that a powdery or pasty material of a solid matter insoluble in water or hot water and a stabilizer such as carrageenan or gellan gum (ジェランガム) are added and then homogenized, but there is a fear that the stabilizer affects physical properties such as flavor and viscosity of the beverage (patent document 3).

After extraction of green tea, the particles are removed and the turbidity OD₇₂₀A method of adding green tea powder to a green tea beverage under a condition of less than 0.05 is known, but the beverage may lose its refreshing feeling or generate precipitates or the like (exclusive use) depending on the particle size of the green tea powder to be addedPatent document 4).

Patent document 1: japanese unexamined patent publication Hei 8-116881

Patent document 2: japanese unexamined patent publication Hei 3-108444

Patent document 3: japanese laid-open patent application No. 2001-29053

Patent document 4: japanese unexamined patent publication Hei 8-163958

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to develop a stable beverage, especially a green tea beverage, which not only has little roughness and foreign flavor, but also maintains the fresh aftertaste indispensable for green tea beverage, has the original taste, fragrance and flavor of green tea, and does not generate sediment and turbidity even when stored for a long time.

As a result of the studies of the above problems, the present inventors have found a method for solving the problems of obtaining a ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion by pulverizing a tea material, finely pulverizing the obtained tea powder, and removing most of the particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more, or a method for obtaining a desired beverage by pulverizing a tea material, adding a finely pulverized tea powder obtained by further finely pulverizing to a beverage, and removing most of the particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more from the beverage. The present inventors have also studied to find out an ideal embodiment, and as a result, it has been found that a tea beverage having original fragrance and sweetness of green tea can be successfully produced by pulverizing a tea leaf raw material, suspending the resulting pulverized tea powder in water, finely pulverizing the suspension by wet pulverization using a high-pressure homogenizer or the like, increasing the proportion of fine particles having a particle size of 1 μm or less, removing most of unnecessary particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more, mixing the particles with a filtered normal green tea extract to have a turbidity of 0.05 or more, or by adding ultrafine pulverized tea powder to a normal green tea beverage, removing most of particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more from the beverage, and then having a turbidity of 0.05 or more. In addition, in the present process, most of the particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more are removed by centrifugation, and the resulting mixture is diluted with an extract of green tea prepared by a usual method to have a turbidity of 0.15 or less, thereby suppressing the occurrence of precipitates after long-term storage.

Namely, the present invention relates to:

(1) a superfine pulverized tea dispersion is characterized in that the tea raw material is pulverized, the obtained tea powder is further subjected to superfine pulverization treatment, and most of particles with the particle size of more than 1 μm are removed to obtain the superfine pulverized tea dispersion;

(2) a food or beverage characterized by being obtained by blending the ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion according to the above (1);

(3) a beverage is characterized in that a tea leaf raw material is pulverized, the obtained tea powder is further finely pulverized and blended in a beverage, and most of particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm or more are removed to obtain a substance;

(4) a tea beverage is characterized in that the tea raw material is pulverized, the obtained tea powder is further finely pulverized, and then blended in a tea extract, most of particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more are removed to obtain the tea beverage;

(5) a method for producing a ultrafine-ground tea dispersion, characterized by grinding a tea material, and subjecting the obtained tea powder to ultrafine grinding treatment to remove most of particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm or more;

(6) a method for producing a ultrafine-ground tea dispersion, characterized by grinding a tea material, finely grinding the obtained tea powder with a high-pressure homogenizer to remove most of particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm or more;

(7) the process for producing a ultrafine pulverized tea leaf dispersion according to the above (5) or (6), characterized in that most of particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm or more are removed by centrifugal separation;

(8) a process for producing a food or drink, characterized by comprising mixing the ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion as described in the above (1) with a food or drink;

(9) a method for producing a beverage, characterized by comprising pulverizing a tea leaf raw material, further finely pulverizing the obtained tea powder, blending the pulverized tea powder into a beverage, and removing most of particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more;

(10) a method for producing a tea beverage is characterized by comprising pulverizing tea leaf raw material, further finely pulverizing the obtained tea powder, mixing the pulverized tea powder with a tea leaf extract, and removing most of particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more;

(11) a method for producing a tea beverage, characterized by comprising adding the ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion according to (1) above to a tea extract;

(12) a tea beverage produced by the method of (11) above, and

(13) the tea beverage according to the above (12), wherein the turbidity (absorbance at 680 nm) is 0.05 to 0.15.

The beverage of the present invention is a stable and high-quality beverage which has a very low roughness and little unpleasant taste, retains the refreshing aftertaste indispensable for tea beverages (such as green tea beverages), has the original taste, flavor and flavor of tea (such as green tea), and does not cause precipitation or turbidity even when stored for a long period of time.

Brief description of the drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the production process of a finely pulverized tea dispersion.

FIG. 2 is a particle size distribution diagram of a dispersion of ultrafine pulverized tea leaves.

Detailed Description

The ultrafine ground tea dispersion of the present invention can be produced by (1) grinding a tea raw material (grinding step), (2) further finely grinding the obtained tea powder (ultrafine grinding step), and (3) removing most of the particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more (coarse particle removal step).

The food and drink using the finely pulverized tea leaf dispersion of the present invention can be produced by (1) pulverizing a tea leaf raw material (pulverization step), (2) further finely pulverizing the obtained tea powder (ultra-fine pulverization step), (3) removing most of particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more to obtain a finely pulverized tea leaf dispersion (coarse particle removal step), and (4) blending the finely pulverized tea leaf dispersion obtained above in a food and drink (blending step). Or the tea processed product obtained after the superfine grinding in the steps (1) to (3) can be prepared without the step (4).

The respective steps will be described below.

(1) Grinding process

The tea leaf raw material usable in the present invention is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include fermented tea, semi-fermented tea, unfermented tea, and the like, and specifically include tea leaves belonging to Camellia Sinensis, such as green tea, oolong tea, black tea, ground tea (steamed tea), baked tea, and the like.

The pulverization of the tea leaf raw material is not particularly limited, and a common pulverization method can be employed, and dry pulverization, wet pulverization, or the like can be employed. For example, a crushing apparatus such as a stone mortar, a probe mill, a hammer mill, a knife mill, a colloid mill, an axial flow type mill, a homogenizer, or the like can be used. Through the pulverizing step, the tea leaf material is preferably pulverized to a particle size of 1 to 100 μm. Thus, tea powder (hereinafter, also referred to as finely pulverized tea) can be obtained.

(2) Ultramicro crushing process

When the tea powder obtained in the step (1) is further finely pulverized (ultrafine pulverization), the apparatus and method used are not particularly limited as long as the tea powder can be pulverized to a particle size of about 1 μm or less, and any conventional apparatus and method can be used. For example, a fluid mill, a media mill, an attritor, a planetary ball mill, a vibration ball mill, an ultrasonic ball mill, a colloid mill, a high-pressure homogenizer, or the like can be used, but wet milling using a high-pressure homogenizer is preferable. The high-pressure homogenizer is an apparatus for ultrafinely shattering emulsion droplets or suspended particles by, for example, shearing or cavitation of a liquid discharged from a fine space under high pressure. In the ultrafine grinding step, a liquid may be added as needed, for example, water is added to the tea powder, and the proportion of the tea powder having a particle size of 1 μm or less is increased by an appropriate operation and fine grinding treatment in the presence of water. When water is used, the amount of the ground tea leaves and water used is not particularly limited, but the amount of water mixed with 1 part by weight of the ground tea leaves is usually about 5 to 50 parts by weight, preferably about 10 to 30 parts by weight. The liquid may be other than water, for example tea extract. The term "tea extract" as used herein refers to, for example, an extract obtained by extracting tea leaves with hot water, an extract obtained by adding sodium bicarbonate and L-ascorbic acid to an extract obtained by extracting tea leaves with hot water, or ordinary tea.

However, when the ultrafine pulverization is carried out by a high-pressure homogenizer, water is added to the tea powder obtained by the above-mentioned process (1), and the present step is carried out in a suspended state in the presence of water in general. The operating conditions of the high-pressure homogenizer vary depending on the type of the homogenizer and cannot be generally specified, but it is preferable that the pressure is 100kg/cm²The above treatment was carried out.

(3) Coarse particle removal step

The finely ground tea powder obtained in the step (2) is in the form of a solid or suspension, but the tea leaf particle size is increased to about 1 μm or less compared to that before the step (2). When the finely pulverized tea powder is in a solid form, this step is carried out after water is added to the tea powder to prepare a suspension as in the step (2). Alternatively, the present step may be carried out after adding a beverage or tea extract to the finely pulverized tea powder obtained in the above step (2) to prepare a suspension. The beverage may be any of various beverages such as tea beverages, alcoholic beverages, coffee beverages, fruit juices, fruit juice beverages, and carbonated beverages.

The purpose of the coarse particle removal step is to remove a large portion of coarse particles having a particle size of greater than about 1 μm. The "major portion" is usually about 50% or more, preferably about 95% or more, and more preferably about 99% or more. The method is not particularly limited as long as it can remove coarse tea leaves having a particle size of greater than about 1 μm, but a large part of coarse tea leaves having a particle size of greater than about 1 μm can be removed by a centrifugal separation operation in general. By this operation, a ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion as a target product can be obtained. The thus obtained ultrafine ground tea dispersion has a turbidity of about 0.05 to 1.5 in an absorbance measurement at 680 nm.

(4) Compounding step

The ultrafine pulverized tea leaf dispersion obtained in the step (3) is blended with a food or beverage to prepare a food or beverage containing ultrafine pulverized tea leaves.

For example, although the ultrafine ground tea leaf dispersion can be diluted with water as it is to prepare a tea beverage, it is more preferable to blend it in a tea beverage to obtain a tea beverage with improved flavor. Further, after the ultrafine ground tea leaf dispersion is blended, most of the particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more may be removed. The meaning of "most" is the same as above. For example, when the tea leaves used in the step (1) are green tea leaves, a green tea beverage with improved flavor can be obtained by blending the ultrafine ground tea leaf dispersion with a normal green tea extract, i.e., a normal tea. The common tea is obtained by extracting with hot water of about 60-90 ℃ for about 2-10 minutes, filtering, adding L-ascorbic acid and sodium bicarbonate, sterilizing and filling. The absorbance of the turbidity of a normal tea at a wavelength of 680nm is 0.030 or less. The green tea beverage thus obtained has little roughness and foreign flavor, retains the refreshing aftertaste indispensable to green tea beverages, has the original taste, fragrance and flavor of green tea, and does not cause precipitation or turbidity even after long-term storage, and is a stable and high-quality green tea beverage. And filled into a transparent container such as a PET bottle, and the beverage is a good quality beverage without causing problems in appearance such as precipitation or turbidity due to long-term storage even after long-term storage.

In addition, in the production of a green tea beverage, the ratio of the ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion liquid of the present invention to the green tea extract liquid is generally about 1: 1 to 10, preferably 1: 2 to 8, in terms of weight ratio.

In addition, the ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion of the present invention may be blended with japanese pastries such as a lamb soup, a rice cake, a japanese steamed bun, a sticky rice pie, a stuffed bean dough, western pastries such as a cake, a kawasaki cake, a cream puff, a jelly, and a mousse (mousse), foods such as bread, candy, chocolate, sundae, ice cream, and shaved ice, and beverages such as a refreshing beverage, a sports beverage, and a health drink. The ratio of the component (A) to the component (B) may be appropriately changed depending on the type of the food or beverage and the desired flavor, but is generally about 5 to 50% (w/w), preferably about 10 to 30% (w/w), based on the raw material of the food or beverage. In addition, when producing desired beverages and foods, conventional ingredients such as sugars, minerals, vitamins and the like may be added as necessary.

In addition, when a finely pulverized tea powder is added with a beverage or tea extract or the like and the obtained suspension is subjected to the above step (3), the ultrafine pulverized tea treated product obtained after the above steps (1) to (3) can be used as it is as a beverage or tea beverage or the like without the above step (4). More specifically, for example, finely pulverized tea powder (e.g., powder, suspension, etc.) obtained through the above steps (1) and (2) is added to a beverage or tea extract, then most of particles having a particle size of about 1 μm or more are removed, then L-ascorbic acid and sodium bicarbonate are added thereto, the concentration thereof is appropriately adjusted, and then sterilization and filling are performed. The weight ratio of the finely ground tea powder to the beverage or tea extract is generally about 1: 1-10, preferably about 1: 2-8.

Examples

The following examples are given to illustrate the details of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

(example 1)

Method for producing ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion

The green tea produced by grinding tea leaves (steamed loose tea) with a stone mortar was suspended in about 20 times the amount of water, and the suspension was treated with a high-pressure homogenizer at a pressure of 15MPa, and then subjected to centrifugal separation treatment (6000rpm for 10 minutes) to obtain a ultrafine pulverized tea leaf dispersion. The manufacturing process is shown in fig. 1.

A comparison of the particle size distribution of the thus-obtained ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion and a solution not subjected to high-pressure homogenizer (measurement method: laser diffraction scattering method, measurement apparatus: LS230 manufactured by Beckman Coulter, USA) is shown in FIG. 2. The solid line shows the results when treated with a high pressure homogenizer, and the dotted line shows the results when not treated with a high pressure homogenizer.

(example 2)

Sensory evaluation of Green tea beverage Using ultrafine crushed tea Dispersion

The ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion obtained by the method of example 1 was added to a green tea extract extracted and filtered by a conventional method at 30 wt%, and L-ascorbic acid and sodium hydrogen carbonate were further added to prepare a mixed solution having a turbidity of 0.05 to 0.15. Canning the mixed solution, steaming at high temperature, sterilizing, and making into canned green tea beverage. The results of the tasting are shown in table 1, and the tasting exhibited good taste, sweetness, no roughness, and a good refreshing aftertaste.

(example 3)

A tea powder (green tea) produced by grinding and milling tea (steamed loose tea) with a stone mortar is suspended in about 20 times of water, the suspension is treated with a high-pressure homogenizer at a pressure of 15MPa, the crushed tea is added to green tea (usual product) at a ratio of 30% by weight, most of the crushed tea having a particle size of 1 μm or more is removed by centrifugal separation, and L-ascorbic acid and sodium bicarbonate are added to prepare a mixed solution having a turbidity of 0.05 to 0.15. Canning the mixed solution, steaming at high temperature, sterilizing, and making into canned green tea beverage. The results of the tasting are shown in table 1, and the tasting exhibited good taste, sweetness, no roughness, and a good refreshing aftertaste.

Comparative example 1

The suspension obtained by the high-pressure homogenizer treatment of example 1 was added to 30% by weight of an extract of green tea obtained by extraction and filtration in a usual manner, and further added with L-ascorbic acid and sodium hydrogencarbonate. Then canning, steaming and sterilizing at high temperature to obtain canned green tea beverage. The taste of the drink after tasting is shown in table 1, and the evaluation results show that the drink has too strong mouthfeel and aroma, and has a rough and refreshing feeling.

Comparative example 2

The matcha suspension of example 1 was subjected to centrifugation without using a high-pressure homogenizer (6000rpm for 10 minutes), mixed with a liquid obtained by extraction and filtration in a usual manner to an amount of 30% by weight, added with L-ascorbic acid and sodium hydrogencarbonate, and then canned and sterilized by retort at a high temperature to prepare a canned green tea beverage. The taste of the drink after tasting as shown in Table 1 was poor, almost no aroma was observed, and the drink was perceived as being weak as water, which was not preferable.

Comparative example 3

A blended liquid having a turbidity of 0.05 or less was prepared in the same manner as in example 2, and then canned, retort-processed at a high temperature, and sterilized to prepare a canned green tea beverage. The results of the trial drinking of this beverage are shown in table 1, and the aftertaste was refreshing, slightly sweet, poor in taste and almost free of aroma, and was identified as slightly less than ideal.

Comparative example 4

The same procedure as in example 2 was repeated to prepare a solution having a turbidity of 0.15 or more, and the solution was canned, steamed at high temperature and sterilized to prepare a canned green tea beverage. The results of drinking this beverage are shown in table 1, and the beverage is slightly refreshing, has a good taste, aroma and sweetness, and is ideal in comprehensive evaluation, but precipitates are generated when stored for a long period of time.

From the above results, it was confirmed that the tea powder obtained by pulverizing tea leaves was suspended in water, the suspension was further finely pulverized by a high-pressure homogenizer to increase the proportion of fine particles having a particle size of 1 μm or less, most of unnecessary particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more were removed, and the obtained solution was mixed with a normal green tea extract to adjust the turbidity to 0.05 to 0.15, thereby improving the flavor.

[ Table 1]

Results of sensory evaluation of the respective samples

Sensory evaluation of tea beverages was conducted by 5 professional tea evaluators. The fragrance evaluation was divided into 5 grades, 4 (strong sensation), 3 (sensation), 2 (slight sensation), 1 (weak sensation), and 0 (no sensation). The overall evaluation was also classified into 5 grades, 5 (like), 4 (like), 3 (no feeling), 2 (relatively dislike), and 1 (dislike).

(example 4)

Method for preparing green tea beverage containing superfine pulverized tea dispersion

Green tea 4g

Finely pulverized tea (Matcha obtained in example 1) 1g

Sodium bicarbonate 0.3g

L-ascorbic acid 0.4g

4g of green tea leaves were extracted with 140ml of pure water at 80 ℃ for 10 minutes, filtered, and further added with 0.3g of sodium bicarbonate and 0.4g of L-ascorbic acid, and then mixed with a ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion obtained by treating 1g of finely pulverized tea leaves by the method of example 1 to prepare 1000ml, and then sterilized and filled.

(example 5)

Method 2 for producing green tea beverage containing ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion

Green tea 4g

Finely pulverized tea (Matcha obtained in example 1) 1g

Sodium bicarbonate 0.3g

L-ascorbic acid 0.4g

Finely pulverized tea leaves 1g were suspended in about 20 times the amount of water, and the suspension was treated with a high-pressure homogenizer at a pressure of 15MPa to obtain a tea pulverized material. Extracting green tea leaf 4g with 140ml of pure water at 80 deg.C for 10 min. The tea extract obtained above was added with ground tea leaves, 0.3g of sodium bicarbonate and 0.4g of L-ascorbic acid, centrifuged to remove most of the particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more, prepared with water to 1000ml, and sterilized and filled.

(example 6)

Preparation method of oolong tea beverage containing superfine pulverized tea dispersion

Oolong tea 4g

Finely pulverized tea (a material obtained by using oolong tea leaves as a raw material and treating the same with the matcha production method of example 1) 1g

Sodium bicarbonate 0.3g

L-ascorbic acid 0.4g

After 4g of oolong tea leaves were extracted with 140ml of pure water at 80 ℃ for 10 minutes, filtered, and further added with 0.3g of sodium hydrogen carbonate and 0.4g of L-ascorbic acid, 1000ml of a ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion obtained by finely pulverizing 1g of tea leaves treated by the method of example 1 was mixed, and the mixture was sterilized and filled.

(example 7)

Preparation method of lemon tea containing superfine pulverized tea dispersion

Black tea 4g

Finely ground tea leaves (obtained from black tea leaves as a starting material and treated in the same manner as in the matcha production method of example 1) 1g

Refined white granulated sugar 50g

Lemon juice 1g

L-ascorbic acid 0.4g

Perfume 1g

4g of black tea was extracted with 140ml of 90 ℃ pure water for 10 minutes, filtered, and then added with 50g of refined white granulated sugar, 1g of lemon juice, 0.4g of L-ascorbic acid, and 1g of flavor, and then mixed with 1g of finely pulverized tea treated in the same manner as in example 1 to prepare 1000ml of a finely pulverized tea dispersion, and then sterilized and filled.

From the above examples, a tea powder obtained by pulverizing tea leaves was suspended in water, and this suspension was further subjected to a micronization treatment using a high-pressure homogenizer, whereby a ultrafine tea leaf dispersion having excellent characteristics was obtained by increasing the proportion of fine particles having a particle size of 1 μm or less and removing most of particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more. By further blending the dispersion with an extract solution of ordinary tea (e.g., green tea) to make the turbidity 0.05 to 0.15, a tea beverage having less roughness and unpleasant taste and having the original faint scent and sweetness of tea (e.g., green tea) can be successfully produced. Since the beverage retains particles of 1 μm or less, it can impart a good texture to some extent.

Further, the beverage retains the refreshing aftertaste which is indispensable for green tea beverages, and has the same texture and fragrance as green tea when it is brewed in a teapot.

Claims (14)

1. A finely pulverized tea leaf dispersion is characterized in that a tea leaf raw material is pulverized, the obtained tea powder is further finely pulverized in water containing no antioxidant, and most of particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm or more are removed.

2. The ultrafine pulverized tea leaf dispersion according to claim 1, wherein the turbidity, i.e., the absorbance at 680nm, is 0.05 to 1.5.

3. A beverage or food characterized by being compounded with the ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion according to claim 1.

4. A tea beverage, which is characterized by being obtained by blending the ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion according to claim 1 with a tea extract.

5. The tea beverage according to claim 4, wherein the turbidity, i.e., the absorbance at 680nm, is 0.05 to 0.15.

6. A beverage is characterized in that a tea leaf raw material is pulverized, the obtained tea powder is further finely pulverized in water containing no antioxidant, and then blended in a beverage, and most of particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more are removed to obtain the beverage.

7. A process for producing a finely pulverized tea leaf dispersion, characterized by pulverizing a tea leaf raw material, further finely pulverizing the obtained tea powder in water containing no antioxidant, and removing most of particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more.

8. A process for producing a finely pulverized tea dispersion, characterized by pulverizing a tea material, finely pulverizing the resulting tea powder in water containing no antioxidant by means of a high-pressure homogenizer, and removing most of particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm or more.

9. The method for producing a ultrafine leaf tea dispersion according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a majority of particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm or more are removed by centrifugation.

10. A method for producing a beverage B, characterized by blending the ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion according to claim 1 into a beverage A.

11. The method of producing beverage B according to claim 10, wherein the beverage A is a tea beverage and the obtained beverage B is a tea beverage.

12. The method for producing beverage B according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the mixing ratio of the ultrafine pulverized tea dispersion to beverage a is 1: 1 to 10.

13. A process for producing a beverage D, characterized by comprising pulverizing a tea leaf raw material, finely pulverizing the obtained tea powder in water containing no antioxidant, and blending the pulverized tea powder with a beverage C to remove most of particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more.

14. The method of producing the beverage D according to claim 13, wherein the mixing ratio of the ultrafine powder of tea leaves to the beverage C is 1: 1 to 10.