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Abstract

This invention relates to a polymeric polyphenol containing beverage, In particular it relates to a substantially clear ambient temperature beverage comprising tea solids derived from fermented tea. The invention also relates to a method for improving the clarity of a polymeric polyphenol containing liquid composition.It has long been observed that on cooling an aqueous black tea infusion from about 90 degrees Celsius to ambient temperature, a marked increase in the turbidity of the infusion can be seen leading ultimately to precipitation of up to about 30% w/w of the total tea solids. This precipitate is known as tea cream. It is thought that this precipitate originates from initial self-associations of polymeric polyphenols and association with caffeine thereby forming nano-clusters. These nano-clusters are not themselves responsible for any turbidity or precipitation of tea solids. However as the solubility of the polymeric polyphenols further reduces on cooling of the aqueous black tea infusion, these nano-clusters then aggregate into larger sub-micelles and ever larger micelles which are responsible for the turbidity and precipitate.A solution to the aforementioned problem is provided in a first aspect of the invention by a beverage comprising tea solids, a liquid vehicle, added protein and added anionic polysaccharide,is the optical density of the beverage but in the absence of the protein and anionic polysaccharide additional to any in the tea solids, the optical density being measured at a fixed path length at 600 nm and at 4 degrees Celsius after equilibration at 4 degrees Celsius for 24 hours.

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First Claim