New enzyme aims to take the haze out of iced tea

The Welsh enzyme producer said its new product, Tannase 759P, has a number of useful applications in the beverage sector.

Tannese 759P can be employed in wine making, brewing, juice production and coffee drinks - whenever removing the undesirable effects of tannins is needed.

But Biocatalysts said the ingredient is especially useful in the production of iced tea products where it can be used to reduce haziness.

Cloudiness problem ​

The company said that during infusion, tea becomes cloudy due to the interaction of proteins and polyphenols. Non-enzymatic methods tend to use heat to prevent this happening but that can affect flavour.

Biocatalysts claims that Tannese 759P works instead by hydrolysing the tannins in the tea, overcoming the cloudiness problem without affecting flavour.

Explaining the science at work, a spokesperson said: “Tannase has the catalytic activity to remove gallic acid moieties from tannins and the polyphenols from tea extract, avoiding the precipitates formation while maintaining the original flavour of tea.”​

Enzymes have been used for some time in the tea industry for various purposes related to colour, clarity, cold water solubility, flavour and yield.

Biocatalysts said examples of enzymes used in tea processing include cellulases, pectinases, hemicellulases and tannases.