Inactivation of polyphenol oxidase in Camellia sinensis for the production of high quality instant green tea

TL;DRAbstract

A concerning situation has developed over the past few years where several tea estates had to close down due to high labour costs and low profitability. Solutions are desperately required to save these estates from further regression and to prevent others from joining their ranks. One solution is to redirect the tea factories from the current production of black tea to producing a value added commodity such as a high quality green tea extract with an increased market value. The aim of this study was to find an economically viable PPO inactivation method that can be implemented in existing tea factories for the production of high quality instant green tea. Further enhancement of quality may then be achieved by high throughput cultivar screening where those with a higher natural catechin to caffeine content will be favourable. Six different PPO inactivation methods (steaming, blanching, fluid bed drying, panfrying, grilling over direct heat and grilling over indirect heat) were explored.

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