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Measurement of colour in tea infusions. I.—Effects of tea composition on the colour of infusions
Author(s) -
Smith R. F.,
White G. W.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2740160406
Subject(s) - theaflavin , absorbance , black tea , composition (language) , food science , reflectivity , brightness , chemistry , spectrophotometry , light reflection , chromatography , polyphenol , biochemistry , materials science , art , physics , literature , optics , antioxidant , optoelectronics
A spectrophotometric method was used for determining theaflavin and thearubigin contents, and colour and brightness of infusions of samples of garden tea selected according to tea tasters' descriptions of the colours of their infusions. The results indicated differences in composition according to the country of origin and type of manufacture. After the addition of milk to the infusions, the colours were measured by reflection spectrophotometry, and correlations were found between % Reflectance at 700 mμ, % Brightness calculated from, absorbance at 460 mμ, and tea tasters' assessment of ‘brightness’. Further confirmation was thus obtained of the importance of theaflavins in determining the ‘brightness’ of tea infusions, and hence in providing an indication of the quality of black teas.