Effect of chemical composition of black tea infusion on the color of milky tea

Ya Lin Mao, Jie Qiong Wang, Gen Sheng Chen, Daniel Granato, Liang Zhang, Yan Qing Fu, Ying Gao, Jun Feng Yin, Long Xin Luo, Yong Quan Xu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Milky tea is popular in many countries and its color is an important sensory property. The effects of black tea infusion on the color of milky tea prepared with non-dairy creamer were investigated. The results showed that the redder black tea infusion produced milky tea with more redness, and the color of milky tea was a pleasant pink when the a* value (redness indicator) was in the range of 6.0–7.0. Correlation analysis revealed that the respective theaflavins (TFs), thearubigins (TRs), thearubigins (TBs), (–)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and chlorogenic acid contents significantly correlated with the a* values of milky tea. A series of complementary experiments were performed to elucidate that TFs and EGCG contributed to the redness of milky tea. The color formation was mainly associated with the binding of phenols to the proteins in the non-dairy creamer. These results contribute to understand the mechanism of color formation in milky tea.

Original languageEnglish
Article number109945
Pages (from-to)109945
JournalFood Research International
Volume139
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • (-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (PubChem CID: 65064)
  • Black tea infusion
  • Chemical composition
  • Color
  • Flavonoids
  • Milky tea

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