Patent ID: 7510736

Claim:
A method for obtaining an aqueous catechin fraction enriched in epigallocatechin gallate from a green tea leaf, said aqueous catechin fraction having a higher concentration of epigallocatechin gallate than a concentration of epigallocatechin, said method comprising the steps of: a) submitting said green tea leaf to a first brew at a first brew temperature of between 20Â° C. and 60Â° C. for a period of between 5 and 80 minutes, thereby extracting epigallocatechin from said green tea leaf into said first brew; b) discarding the first brew from step a) and collecting the green tea leaf as treated in step a); c) submitting the green tea leaf collected in step b) to a second brew at a second brew temperature of between 70Â° C. and 90Â° C. for a period of between 5 and 80 minutes, thereby extracting epigallocatechin gallate from said green tea leaf into said second brew; and d) collecting the second brew from step c), said second brew being the aqueous catechin fraction enriched in epigallocatechin gallate.