Technical University of Mombasa
AFS4411: FOOD PROCESSING
SEMESTER: MAY- AUGUST 2023
LECTURER: Dr. MUYOMA NATO.
E-mail: nato@[Link]
Tel: 0722 638813
Session twelve
Non-alcoholic beverages
Tea
There are different types of tea, varying in colour, smell, taste and appearance due to the
minor changes in the processing steps.
Types of Products from Tea
Products from tea are broadly classified into;
a) Conventional teas, which comprise of Completely fermented black tea, Unfermented
green tea, and Partially fermented Oolong (red and yellow) tea,
b) Nonconventional tea which include Cold- and hot-soluble Instant tea, Flavored tea and
decaffeinated tea.
Here, we only describe black and green tea processing,
Black Tea
Harvesting or Plucking: This operation is a significant step in the final quality of the tea.
Usually, tender and uniform terminal bud and two shooting leaves or only shoots with three
leaves are picked from the tea plant twice a year. Manual picking is done for high quality
tea and it highly depends on the skill of the picker but this is a costly method. Mechanical
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picking of tea flushes and leaves are also practiced but it results in large quantities of broken
leaves and partial flushes. However, mechanical harvesting at right time can yield high
quality teas. Plucking of coarse leaves is strictly avoided since it interferes in the quality
of the tea.
Withering The plucked tea leaves are subjected to withering for initial removal of moisture
content. Two methods of withering are generally practiced.
Natural method of Withering The freshly picked tea leaves are spread out in very thin
layers on wire meshed racks that are arranged one above the other and further subjected to
drying in natural air for a minimum period of 20 to 24 hours.
Artificial Withering The plucked tea leaves are widely laid in 18 to 20cm layers in tables
with wire meshes that are placed in a tunnel in which forced circulation of warm air mixed
with fresh air takes place. This method of withering significantly causes a reduced
withering time, resulting in approximately 60-62% residual moisture reduction rendering
the withered tea leaves suitable for tea processing
Breaking Up: Breaking up is the process of rolling the withered tea leaves which is a pre-
preparation step. This is done with the use of a circular table with a central cone with lateral
slat like arrangement called battens. The top of the table is fitted with a circular jacket with
a pressure cap. The table and jacket are made to rotate in opposite directions eccentrically,
thereby causing the withered leaves placed in the jacket to twist and roll on the surface of
the cone and battens which is almost similar to manual rolling.
CTC Method (Crushing, Tearing and Curling): CTC machine comprises of two metal
rollers that are separated but placed with minimum distance between each other that
revolves at unequal speeds. This movement cuts, tears and twists the withered and broken
up tea leaves. As a result, the juice from the tea leaves is pressed to the surface of the
leaves, which initiates the fermentation process.
Fermentation During fermentation, the oxidation process which had begun during rolling
is continued. Fermentation takes place in separate fermentation rooms, which need to be
kept extremely clean to avoid bacterial infection of the tea. The tea leaves are placed in 3.5
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–7.5 cm. layers on aluminium trays. The thickness of the layers depends on the room
temperature. As soon as the tea has acquired a copper red color, the correct degree of
fermentation has been reached, and the process must be halted by drying. The tannin
content decreases during fermentation, from 20% in fresh tea leaf to 10%–12% after
fermentation. The formation of aroma compounds is caused due to oxidation of amino
acids, carotenes, and unsaturated lipids during the fermentation period.
Drying or Firing The drying process carried on tiered dryers. Hot air upto 90 °C, is blown
against the leaves, which should have reached 80 °C, by the time the process is completed,
in order for the polyphenol oxidize enzyme to be properly inactivated. The moisture
content should be reduced to 3.5% whereby the aroma becomes established and the leaves
take on their typical black coloration.
Grading and Storage of Fermented Tea Winnowing is practiced to separate the stalky
matter and grading is done by sieving, where from different grades of tea are obtained
based on particle size. During the storage of finished tea products various chemical changes
take place, leading to the loss of the remaining residual greenness and roughness in 10 to
15 days period. Tea should be stored in moisture and oxygen proof area to retain the flavor
and aroma developed in fermented tea. Flavor retention is possible for more than 1 year,
under such storage conditions.
Green Tea
A bud and two to three leaves of tea shrubs are harvested for Green tea production. Green
tea consumption sums to around 21% of total tea production due to larger amounts of
catechins and vitamins. Green tea possesses a pleasant taste and aroma, and has light olive-
green shade color. Since green tea is unfermented, the inactivation of browning enzymes
is regarded as a crucial factor. The enzyme is inactivated either by steaming or by roasting
the green leaves in a pan. The steps of manufacturing of green tea are similar to fermented
tea except for the fermentation step. The steps include are plucking, steaming/roasting,
primary heating and rolling, rolling, secondary rolling, drying, refining, firing, sorting, and
packing.
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Coffee
Coffee varieties
Among the nearly 60 varieties of coffee, Arabica, Robusta and Liberica are three major
varieties grown worldwide.
Arabica (Coffea arabica): The Arabica variety of coffee is highly demanded due to its
superior flavour and aroma. Arabica is grown in low temperature climatic conditions at
nearly 15-20°C. Coffea arabica contributes to about 90% of world's trade in coffee.
Robusta (Coffea canephora): Robusta varieties are grown in hot climates more than
20°C. Owing to their higher soluble solid content they are much preferred for instant coffee
production.
Liberica (Coffea liberica): These varieties of trees grow in both extreme climates. This
yields bitter tasting coffee.
Coffee cherry processing
The coffee fruit is termed as “The cherry”. Generally, there are two methods that are
practiced in coffee processing. These are the dry and the wet method. Green coffee is the
term referring to unroasted coffee beans.
The dry method
The processing steps involved in dry method of coffee processing are as follows
Cleaning: The harvested cherries (ripe are red in colour) are subjected to sorting and
cleaning, for the separation of dockage i.e foreign material. Winnowing could be done
manually. The ripe cherries are separated by applying the flotation technique in flowing
water. The mature and ripe cherries will sink while the others will float.
Drying: The coffee cherries are sun dried on waist height wire mesh tables. During drying,
they are turned to ensure uniform drying for 4 weeks to the optimum 11% moisture content.
Machine drying is used on larger plantations to speed up the process with preliminary sun
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drying for a few days. The final quality of coffee greatly depends on the drying operation.
Improperly dried beans are prone to rapid deterioration due to fungal and bacterial
infestation.
Hulling: After drying the cherries are kept in bulk in storage silos or in jute bags until they
are subjected to hulling to separate the outer layers. The dry method of coffee processing
is majorly used for the Arabica coffee variety.
Wet Method
The wet method uses washing equipment and water. This method yields better qualities
coffee beans rendering a high-quality green coffee. Similar to the dry method the first step
of sorting and cleaning of the coffee is done by subjecting the cherries to washing in
flowing water followed by screen separation.
Pulping: Pulping is the process of removing the outer skin called as the exocarp from the
white fleshy pulp termed as mesocarp that separates the pulp and beans from the sorted and
cleaned cherries. This is carried out immediately after harvesting to prevent quality
deterioration in the final product. The pulping machine separates the flesh and the skin of
the fruit from the beans, by rubbing the surface of the coffee cherry between two plates.
Fermentation: In order to remove any adhering sticky residual pulp that may be invaded
by microbes, the wet and pulped beans are stored in tanks meant for fermentation for 2 to
3 days to break down the mucilage by enzymes. The period of fermentation is determined
by factors like temperature, thickness of skin and enzymes. When the end of the
fermentation is reached the beans is free of its slithery nature and attains a rough texture.
Final Washing: The coffee beans are subjected to complete washing after fermentation.
The wet coffee comprises of nearly 57% moisture at this stage.
Drying The drying of coffee beans should be done slowly to nearly 10% moisture content
to prevent cracking. Immediate drying prevents off flavors in coffee. The beans are dried
to decrease the moisture to an optimum of 11% by sun drying, mechanical drying or a
combination of both methods
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Sun drying requires vast areas made of cement and bricks or on tables made of netted wire
in depth of 2 to 10 cm, and turned uniformly for drying. It is continued for 8 to 10 days
depending on the climatic conditions.
In mechanical drying, hot-air driers are used under controlled conditions to hasten the
drying process to yield best quality coffee. This wet-processed coffee termed as parchment
coffee is stored or passes on to hulling.
The dried cherry from the dry process or the parchment coffee from the wet process is
allowed to rest for 8 hours in a ventilated area. It is then hulled to separate the pericarp, by
a pestle and mortar or in a motorized huller. The mechanically operated hullers comprise a
steel screw with an increasing pitch towards the outlet which removes the pericarp.
Cleaning Winnowing is the removal of the hull from the coffee bean. The hulled coffee is
then passed through a sequence of operations like cleaning, screening, sorting and grading.
Electronic sorting machines are utilized for the separation of the broken and damaged
beans. Good quality beans are stored in jute bags in a cool and dry area.
The coffee beans may then be roasted and ground into coffee powder or processed into
instant coffee. Decaffeinated coffee usually is processed from coffee beans before roasting
by using a solvent to remove 97% of the caffeine from the coffee. Other solvent soluble
and volatile components are also lost.
Packaging: Packaging of coffee is done in polypropylene packages to prevent the loss of
aromatic components of coffee.
Storage: A modern method of storage like Modified Atmospheric Storage may be
recommended for storage. Generally, storage at low temperature and low humidity in a
clean environment is suitable. The recommended storage area for coffee is a shady, dry
place.
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