Premium
A small‐scale rotary fermentation unit for rooibos tea
Author(s) -
Joubert Elizabeth,
Müller Rikus
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
international journal of food science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.831
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1365-2621
pISSN - 0950-5423
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2621.1997.00389.x
Subject(s) - fermentation , flavour , aeration , food science , chemistry , black tea , green tea , mathematics , organic chemistry
A small‐scale low‐cost rotary unit was developed for batch fermentation of rooibos tea. Aeration of the fermenting tea was accomplished by periodic rotation. The performance of the unit was evaluated in terms of control of processing parameters and tea quality. Good control of the tea temperature was obtained and drying of the tea during fermentation was prevented. Rooibos tea with its characteristic sweet, honey‐like flavour and red‐brown extract colour was obtained after fermentation of the tea at 40°C with periodic aeration.