Physico-Chemical Properties of Sri Lankan Instant Black Tea Manufactured Using Broken Mixed Fannings (BMF) as Raw Materials Obtained from Different Estates of Three Elevation Categories

Production of instant tea, which is used as a colorant and a beverage ingredient, is a growing industry in the world. Refuse tea is industrially identified as Broken Mixed Fannings (BMF) and is a primary raw material for instant tea production due to its cost-effectiveness. This study was carried out to assess the quality variation of BMF obtained from tea estates of different elevation categories and instant black tea powder produced from these BMF types to explore opportunities to produce instant tea types that customers prefer. BMF samples were collected from ten different estates, representing the elevation categories of up (LC), mid (MC) and low (LC) country of Sri Lanka. Total antioxidant activity (TAA), total polyphenol (TPC), caffeine and moisture contents, colour, haze and pH of both BMF and instant tea powder were analysed using standard methods. Though significant differences were not observed among elevation categories for the parameters of colour, pH, contents of moisture, caffeine, TPC and TAA for both BMF and instant tea, there were significant variations in these parameters among estates. TPP content was highest in Halgolla of LC (18.5%) and lowest in Deniyaya of MC (10.1%). There was a significant difference in haze value of up country BMF (38.5 NTU) and the instant tea produced from them (138 NTU), compared to mid and low elevation categories. The highest caffeine contents for both BMF and instant tea were observed from low country estates. In average, TAA content was increased by three-folds and TPC content by two-folds when instant tea powder was produced from BMF. Therefore, the quality variations of instant tea types produced from BMF of different estates of elevation categories revealed the possibility of formulating required quality and healthy products based on customer preference by selecting proper combinations and proportions from known sources of raw materials.