Process for Improving the Appearance and the Taste of Tea.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 28th Jan., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Process for Improving the Appearance and the Taste of Tea.
I, ONNO BEHRENDS, of Norden, in the German Empire, Merchant, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
-
The subject of the present invention is a process to be employed before the
tea is sold to retailers, and the public in general. This process has for its object
to restore to the tea the aroma which it has lost during transport and through
the treatment which it has previously undergone, and also to improve the appear-
ance of the tea.
After the tea has been either damped or roasted at the place of export, it is
quickly packed into bales and it frequently happens that insufficient care has
been taken to prevent the formation of mildew, which naturally spoils the taste
and appearance of tea to a great extent. But even well packed teas frequently
show a dull appearance which connoisseurs of tea do not like. Tea, the
appearance of which is fatty and bright, possesses a higher value in
the market and secures a better price than tea which has a dull appearance.
The process forming the subject of this invention and which will be described
more fully hereinafter, enables me to give a better appearance to cheaper kinds
of tea and to improve their taste considerably.
The process consists in spreading the dried tea in the state in which it arrives
from the place of export on grids, the latter being thereupon inserted in a
vacuum vessel or apparatus. The apparatus is now closed and after a vacuum
has been produced by means of a suction pump. the temperature in the apparatus
is continually increased until it reaches 70° Celsius. The degree of vacuum is
immaterial. After the tea has been subjected to this temperature for about
20 minutes, the ingredients or components of the tea containing the aroma will
dissolve and appear on the surface of the tea leaves, so that, after removing the
tea from the apparatus, the leaves will show a fatty and bright black appearance.
Tea treated in this way possesses a stronger and more aromatic smell, than it
possessed before treatment according to the present invention.
or
In dealing with the cheapest kinds of tea such as show mildew or possess a
disagreeable musty smell, it is advisable to admit steam into the vessel
apparatus prior to the roasting or treatment of the tea under vacuum, which in
passing through the open vessel will kill and remove the mildew from the tea
leaves, whereupon the vessel is closed and the tea treated as above described.
The value of tea treated according to the present invention is 70% higher in
the market than the same tea before such treatment.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1). A process for the treatment of dried tea prior to its sale to retailers and
to the public, consisting in spreading the tea in the state in which it arrives

page_text: from the place of export on grids and subjecting same in a vacuum vessel for
about 20 minutes to a temperature increasing to 70° Celsius. which causes the
ingredients or components of the tea containing the aroma to dissolve and to
appear on the surfaces of the tea leaves, so that after the treatment and after the
removal of the tea from the vacuum vessel, the tea will possess a fatty appear-
ance and a bright black colour, substantially as described.
2). In combination with the process characterised in Claim 1, a steam or vapour
bath to be applied to mouldy or musty smelling teas prior to their treatment
according to Claim 1), substantially as described.
Dated this 9th day of August 1898.
B. REICHHOLD,
24, Luisen Strasse, Berlin, N.W., Germany, Agent for the Applicant.