Preparation of an Alcoholic Beverage from Tea Leaves

Abstract

The preparation of a fermented tea beverage from a Sri Lankan Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP) tea type is reported. The tea beverage was produced using 1–2.5% (w/v) Broken Orange Pekoe and was brewed using boiling sucrose sweetened (5–25°Brix) water (100°C for 3 min), followed by fermentation at 25°C, utilizing an 8.5% (v/v) inoculum of Saccharomyces cerevisiae G. A maximum ethanol of 14.91% (v/v) was obtained from an initial 25°Brix substrate with a 2.67°Brix drop per day. The tea beverage with an initial 15°Brix and 1.5% (w/v) tea yielded the best sensory score and was stable over a test period of 6 weeks at 15°C.