Unilever files patent for pressing tea juice
Unilever, owner of Lipton tea brand, has filed an international patent for a system to extract juice from tealeaves. The company claims that tea juice benefits from improved taste and color, as well as higher polyphenol content compared to brewed leaves. In Lipton's case, it may be used in iced teas or for various types of concentrates. The patent describes a process where the leaves are withered and crushed after plucking to cut moisture content and liberate enzymes. Then, they are heated to a temperature of between 40 and 77 degree Celsius and pressed for a period ranging from 30 seconds to five minutes. The result is 100 to 200 milliliters of tea juice from a kilogram of green, black or oolong tealeaves. The remaining leaves can still be used to manufacture conventional tea products.