FORM - 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patents Rules, 2006
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)
A TEA COMPOSITION AND PROCESS
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED, a company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and having its registered office at Hindustan Lever House, 165/166, Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai -400 020, Maharashtra, India
The following specification describes the invention

Technical Field
The invention relates to a fortified tea composition and a process to prepare it. The invention more particularly relates to a low cost fortified black tea composition and a process to prepare it that provides desired levels of micronutrients like Vitamins and minerals in every cup of tea beverage made from it.
Background and Prior Art
Tea is a very popular beverage which is drunk throughout the world. Of the various tea products, black tea is more popular. Black tea involves the following steps of manufacture: (i) fresh leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis are withered which is a process where plucked tea leaves are allowed to lose moisture in a shallow trough where biochemical reactions occur causing formation of many beneficial compounds including aroma compounds; (ii) The withered leaves are then macerated which is a process where the tea cellular structure is broken which causes further biochemical reaction to occur; (iii) the macerated leaves are then fermented which is a process in which enzymes in the tea leaf use atmospheric oxygen to oxidise various substrates to produce coloured products; and (iv) the fermented leaves are then dried at high temperatures to stop the enzyme activity and bring down the moisture to less than 8 - 10% to produce the black tea. The black tea may then be sieved to the desired size range. The bigger sizes are preferred by the consumer. The finer grades are high in fibre and are considered as nearly waste material and fetch only a low price.
Other tea products include green tea which is produced by the same process as for black tea except that the macerated leaves are not fermented. Partial fermentation is used to produce intermediate-type tea known as "oolong" tea. Green, black and oolong tea are products which are brewed in hot water to produce tea infusions wherefrom the tea leaf insolubles are filtered before the infusion is consumed.
Green tea has certain do-good ingredients called catechins which are colourless compounds. Green tea beverage is therefore known as a healthy drink. However, green tea beverage has a mild and subtle aroma and flavour. Black
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tea beverage, on the other hand, is high in aroma, flavour and strength and has a reddish brown colour which are organoleptic properties preferred by many more consumers. Black tea beverage is high is lower molecular weight compounds called Theaflavins which are polyphenols produced during production of black tea. Most theaflavins are known to be antioxidants and therefore black tea beverage is also considered to be a healthy drink. Black tea also contains higher molecular weight compounds called Thearubigins which provide the colour to black tea. Although black tea is in itself a healthy drink there have been many attempts to make it more healthy. One approach has been to alter the biochemical pathways during black tea manufacture to produce higher amounts of healthy ingredients. Another approach has been to externally add healthy ingredients already present in tea e.g. catechins, theanine, theaflavins to make it a tea enriched in specific tea polyphenols.
The process of making tea more healthy concomitantly adds to the cost of tea manufacture. The tea manufacturers have to be constantly conscious of the cost as the bulk of the tea is consumed by the mass market consumers who are very cost conscious. Thus, on the one hand, there is a sustained need to provide healthier tea, on the other hand, the cost of the tea has to be kept low. One of the approaches tea manufacturers have taken in the past to keep the cost low is to add low-cost non-tea additives to the tea composition. Inclusion of non-tea additives alters the unique organo-leptic properties of tea which regular tea drinkers are not ready to compromise on.
The present inventors during their extensive interactions with consumers, of not just tea, but very many other food and beverage products realised that there is a need to provide certain micronutrients like Vitamins and certain minerals which the average consumer need to get in their diet on a daily basis. Since tea is a beverage drunk on a daily basis over a very wide cross-section of people irrespective of socio-economic classes, the present inventors initiated work on providing such micronutrients through the medium of tea. As they developed a black tea product that would ensure that the consumer gets the micronutrients in every cup of tea, they realised that the cost of such tea would make it more expensive than the average consumer could afford. Thus, the present inventors
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had to grapple with the problem of providing a tea which was not higher than the cost of black tea so as to ensure that it is consumed by a larger number of people, at the same time ensuring that the consumers get the benefits of fortification with the micronutrients, all this while ensuring that the original tea taste, flavour, aroma, strength, colour and other organo-leptic properties of tea are not compromised.
The present inventors, after conducting hundreds of extensive trials arrived at a fortified tea composition that is able to meet all of the above contrasting demands in a black tea composition that comprises black tea, chicory and micronutrients like Vitamins, calcium, zinc, or iron and a specific binder, all of them in selective amounts. The present inventors also invented a unique process that ensures that the fortified tea composition of the present invention can be manufactured with high reliability such that each cup of beverage has uniformity in amounts of the various ingredients and the product produced is as stable as regular black tea and there is no compromise in the desired low hygroscopicity of a tea product. Further the process of the invention has unique advantages in that it produces very small amount of fines and oversize. Hence the amount that needs to be recycled is low thereby ensuring low cost of manufacture. The fortified tea composition produced by this process looks and feels like regular black tea.
Tea with added Vitamins is known. US2005/0196511 (Garrity) discloses a neutraceutical tea composition containing Xanthone compounds preferably derived from fruit of Garcinia mangostana. This patent application also claims a composition having in addition to the above ingredients, vitamins and minerals selected from Vitamin A, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, D, E, K, folic acid, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, botin, pantothenic acid, calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc, iron, selenium, chromium, molybdenum and combinations thereof. This prior art although suggests addition of micronutrients to tea it does not disclose how to produce a low cost fortified tea composition that is so formulated with non-tea additives that it not only provides the micronutrients but also has all the properties of regular black tea in a beverage made with the composition.
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Tea with added non-tea material is also known. EP 1092349 (Unilever, 2001) teaches a tea product with enhanced aroma and flavour comprising 15 to 95% by weight black tea, up to 5% of a mixture comprising fructose and glucose and up to 5% roasted nut powder. This publication also describes that additional ingredients like chicory, flavouring agent, dairy or non-dairy whitener, starch or preservative may be optionally added. This patent application is directed to increasing aroma and flavour of black tea and does not teach how to produce a low cost fortified tea composition with selective amounts of tea and non-tea materials that are so formulated as to provide micronutrients at the desired levels to the consumers while having organo-leptic properties similar to regular black tea. IN187547 (Hindustan Lever Limited, 2002, which is a prior granted patent of the present applicants) is another publication that has a tea composition having tea and non-tea ingredients similar to EP 1092349. IN 187547 discloses a method of preparing a granulated tea based product comprising granulating a mixture of 15 - 70% by weight dust tea with a particle size ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 mm, 30-85% by weight of sugar based additives and optional ingredients such as chicory and at least one flavour agent. This publication teaches a method of granulation of dust tea which is an off-grade fibrous tea which is of poor quality to make a tea based value added product. While the above patent IN 187547 of the present applicants led to a product that was a commercial success for many years in India, the process described therein could not be adapted to meet the requirement of the present invention. The present inventors had to formulate a completely different product which does not involve granulation of the tea raw material and had to invent a completely different process to prepare the fortified tea composition of the present invention.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide for a fortified tea composition that is low in cost and yet provides certain essential micronutrients like Vitamins e.g. Vitamin B2, 63 and B6 and minerals like calcium, zinc, or iron.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for a fortified tea composition that is low in cost by incorporation of certain non-tea additives to tea and has essential micronutrients like certain Vitamins and minerals which is so
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formulated as to provide a beverage that has the organoleptic properties of regular black tea.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide for a process to prepare a fortified tea composition which is low in cost with inclusion of tea and non-tea additives and is fortified with micronutrients like certain vitamins and minerals that has the appearance of regular black tea.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide for a process to prepare a low cost micronutrient fortified tea composition that has tea and non-tea additives where the micronutrients are highly uniformly distributed in the composition.
Summary of the invention
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a fortified tea composition comprising
(a) 30 to 95 wt% black tea;
(b) 0.5 to 30 wt% chicory;
(c) 0.5 to 40 wt% binder; and
(d) 0.01 to 5 wt% of a micronutrient selected from a vitamin, calcium, zinc, or iron.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a process to prepare a fortified tea composition comprising the steps of (a) mixing chicory and micronutrients selected from vitamin, zinc, calcium or iron with black tea in a mixer to get a mixture; (b) mixing the mixture of step (a) with solution of a binder and (c) drying to a moisture content of less than 10%.
According to a preferred aspect of the present invention there is provided a
process to prepare a fortified tea composition comprising the steps of
(i) mixing chicory and micronutrients selected from Vitamin, zinc, calcium, or
iron to prepare a non-tea blend;
(ii) preparing a solution of a binder;
(iii) taking a first portion of black tea in a mixer;
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(iv) mixing said first portion of black tea with said solution of binder in the
mixer to get a mixture;
(v) mixing the non-tea blend with the mixture of step (iv);
(vi) mixing a second portion of black tea with the mixture of step (v); and (vii) drying to a moisture content of less than 10%.
A particularly preferred aspect of the process comprises a step of mixing black tea in the fortified tea composition after the step of drying.
Detailed description of the invention
The invention provides for a fortified tea composition which essentially comprises black tea, chicory, binder and micronutrients e.g. Vitamins, zinc, calcium, or iron.
The quality of black tea depends on the geographical origin of the leaf tea. Black tea made from any raw material i.e tea leaf, fannings or dust tea of any origin may be used for making the fortified tea composition of the invention. The process of the invention does not cause any substantial granulation i.e increase in the particle size. The black tea is preferably present in 40 to 95%, more preferably 45 to 85 %, further more preferably from 50 to 85% by weight of the fortified tea composition. The black tea which is preferably used in making the fortified tea composition is black leaf tea i.e the tea particle size is in the range of 0.4 mm to 2 mm. Thus 95% of the tea particles pass 8 BSS mesh and not more than 5% pass 36 BSS mesh.
Chicory is an essential ingredient of the fortified tea composition of the invention. Chicory is a flowering plant of the genus Chichorium of the family Asteraceae. Many species of chicory are known. It is grown in most continents including Europe, North and South America. The roots are roasted and ground to prepare a brown powder which is the most common form of chicory. It has been traditionally mixed with coffee to prepare a coffee blend. Chicory to be used in the present invention is preferably roasted. A light roasted chicory is especially preferred.
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Light roasted chicory is prepared by the following process. Diced chicory root are roasted in a chicory roaster. The degree of roasting depends on the time of roasting and heat input to the roaster. Preferred time of roasting is between 20 minutes and 2 hours and roasting temperatures are between 150 and 250 °C. The aqueous extract of roasted chicory is preferably between 60 to 85% and colour value is between 65 and 200 photovolt units as measured by Photovolt meter Model 577 (USA).
Black tea when incorporated with other non-tea ingredients like chicory affects the organoleptic properties especially the colour, flavour, and aroma of the tea beverage. However, in the present invention, chicory along with other ingredients have been incorporated in the fortified tea composition of the invention at amounts that provides the right balance of colour and body to the tea beverage made therewith. Chicory is present in 0.5 to 30wt%, preferably from 0.5 to 20%, more preferably 1 to 15%, further more preferably from 2 to 12% by weight of the fortified tea composition.
The fortified tea composition of the invention comprises a binder. The binder is a food grade material what provides the adhesion between the various tea and non-tea components of the composition. Suitable binders for use in the tea composition of the present invention are selected from food grade polysaccharides, modified polysaccharides, gums, or polymers. More preferred binder is a polysaccharide or modified polysaccharide. A non-exhaustive list of binders includes maltodextrins, modified starch, gum acacia, sugar or jaggery. Of these, jaggery is especially preferred. The binder is present in 0.5 to 40%, preferably 0.5 to 30%, more preferably 1 to 25% and further more preferably from 2 to 20% by weight of the fortified tea composition.
The fortified tea composition of the invention comprises micronutrient selected from a Vitamin, calcium, zinc, or iron. Of these, Vitamins are especially preferred to be incorporated. Most suitable Vitamins are Vitamin B2, B3, B6 or mixtures thereof. Other micronutrients which may be added include folic acid (Vitamin B9) and Vitamin B12. The micronutrients are incorporated in the fortified tea
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composition of the invention from 0.01 to 5 %, preferably from 0.1 to 1.5 % by weight of the fortified tea composition.
The fortified tea composition of the invention optionally comprises a carbohydrate flour. Suitable sources of carbohydrate are ragi, bajra, jowar, wheat, rice or tapioca. The carbohydrate flour may be made from carbohydrates which are raw or which may be roasted. Ragi is also known as African millet or finger millet. Bajri, also known as Bajra, is millet. Jowar is the Indian name for sorghum. All of the sources of carbohydrates like ragi, bajra and jowar are grown in India. They are all ground to a flour and various combinations of these flours are used to make non-leavened breads which are consumed by many poor people in India. Tapicoa is also known as cassava and is a rich source of starch. Of the above carbohydrate flours, flours of tapioca starch or rice are more suitable for incorporation in the fortified tea composition of the invention. More suitable form of rice flour is parboiled rice flour.
Parboiled rice is prepared from rice by a process known as parboiling. Parboiling involves a hydrothermal treatment which involves three steps viz. soaking, steaming and drying. The parboiled rice is cleaned and sorted after which the parboiled rice flour is prepared by milling usually in a hammer mill.
An optimal formulation includes both tapioca starch and parboiled rice flour. The fortified tea composition of the invention comprises carbohydrate flour from 0.5 to 40%, preferably from 0.5 to 30%, more preferably from 1 to 25%, further more preferably from 2 to 20% by weight of the fortified tea composition.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a process to prepare a fortified tea composition comprising the steps of (a) mixing chicory and micronutrients selected from Vitamin, zinc, calcium or iron with black tea in a mixer to get a mixture (b) mixing the mixture of step (a) with solution of a binder and (c) drying to a moisture content of less than 10%.
According to a preferred aspect of the present invention there is provided a process to prepare a fortified tea composition comprising the steps of (i) mixing
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chicory and micronutrients selected from Vitamin, zinc, calcium or iron to prepare a non-tea blend; (ii) preparing a solution of a binder; (iii) taking a first portion of black tea in a mixer; (iv) mixing said first portion of black tea with said solution of binder in the mixer to get a mixture; (v) mixing the non-tea blend with the mixture of step (iv); (vi) mixing a second portion of black tea with the mixture of step (v); and (vii) drying to a moisture content of less than 10%.
The preferred process to prepare the fortified tea composition thus comprises the following steps:
(i) The non tea components viz. chicory and micronutrients are first mixed to prepare a non-tea blend. Chicory is a light brown powder. Preferred particle size of chicory for the invention is less then 600 microns. To this, the micronutrients which are generally in powder form are added. The micronutrients may be vitamins or calcium or zinc. The vitamins preferred are Vitamin B2, B3 or B6. Preferred sources of calcium are salts of organic acid e.g. calcium lactate or inorganic compounds like calcium carbonate, or calcium phosphate. Preferred sources of zinc are zinc sulphate and zinc oxide. Preferred sources of iron are ferrous glycinate complex or ferrous caseinate complex. In the mixing of chicory and micronutrient, a high shear or a low shear mixer may be used. Examples of suitable mixers are Nauta, sigma, paddle, ribbon and Hobart mixers. A suitable method of mixing the micronutrient with the chicory is to first mix the two in weight ratio of 1:10 to 1:20 followed by further mixing of the mixture with chicory in a ratio of 1:2 to 1:5. This process of mixing may be repeated from 1 to 4 times to get a uniform mixture of micronutrient in chicory. Carbohydrate flour is an optional ingredient in the fortified tea composition of the invention. When present, carbohydrate flour is mixed with the mixture of micronutrient and chicory. When present, the carbohydrate flour is preferably in 0.5 to 40% by weight of the fortified tea composition. Most suitable carbohydrate flours as per the invention are flours of tapioca starch and/or par boiled rice. Optimal particle size of tapioca starch is less then 600 microns and optimal size of parboiled rice is less than 100 microns.
(ii) A solution of a binder is then prepared. Preferred binders are maltodextrins, modified starch, gum acacia, sugar, or jaggery. The process works well when
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the binder is dissolved in water in a weight ratio of 1: 0.5 to 1: 5. The dissolution is best when the temperature of the water is high such that the binder solution has a temperature in the range of 50 to 80 °C. The binder solution may be optionally sieved to get a smooth non-gritty solution.
(iii) A first portion of black tea is then taken in a mixer. Suitable mixers include planetary mixer, ribbon mixer, paddle mixer, sigma mixer, or Nauta mixer. Suitable amount of first portion of black tea is from 30 to 70% by weight of the black tea to be used in the fortified tea composition.
(iv) The first portion of black tea is then mixed with the binder solution in the mixer. The binder solution is preferably sprayed on to the black tea using a spray nozzle. The time of mixing is preferably from 1 to 20 minutes, more preferably from 2 to 10 minutes.
(v) The non -tea blend prepared in step (i) above is then mixed with the material prepared in step (iv). The time of mixing is preferably from 1 to 20 minutes, more preferably from 1 to 10 minutes.
(vi) A second portion of tea is then mixed with the mixture prepared in step (v). Suitable amount of the second portion of tea is from 15 to 50 % by weight of the black tea used in the fortified tea composition. The time of mixing is preferably from 1 to 10 minutes.
(vii) After all the ingredients are mixed, the wet tea blend preferably has a moisture content of 10 to 35 wt%. This is then dried to a moisture content of less than 10%. Suitable driers include tray drier, fluid bed drier, vibratory fluid bed drier, rotary vacuum drier or microwave drier.
In the above seven steps (i) to (vii) the preferred amounts of the various ingredients added are as follows: black tea from 30 to 90%, chicory from 2 to 30%; binder from 2 to 40 %; and micronutrient from 0.01 to 5 % by weight of the tea composition prepared.
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The process to prepare the fortified tea composition preferably comprises additional steps wherein the steps (iv) to (vi) are repeated at least once before the mixture is dried. It may be repeated one to three times, more preferably it is repeated once.
Black tea may optionally be mixed into the fortified tea composition after the step of drying described above. Suitable amounts of black tea that is mixed at this stage is preferably from 10 to 90% more preferably from 25 to 65% by weight of the fortified tea composition.
The fortified tea composition of the invention generally has a bulk density which is about 10 to 20% higher than the black tea raw material. This has advantage in that, in addition to the inherent lower cost of the fortified tea product, the cost of packaging is lower than that required for regular black tea.
The black tea may be manufactured from leaf tea of any geographical origin. The quality of black tea varies depending on the place of origin of the leaf tea, e.g. tea in India which is grown in Assam is considered to be of higher quality and are of higher cost. Tea from South India is considered to be of a relatively lower quality and is of lower cost. The present inventors have determined that the beverage made from the fortified tea composition of the invention provides organoleptic properties as good as that of Assam tea using a combination of South Indian and Assam leaf tea. It is particularly preferred that the black tea used for preparing the fortified tea composition before the step of drying is from lower quality leaf tea e.g from South Indian leaf tea. The black tea used for mixing after the step of drying is preferably made from higher quality leaf tea e.g. from Assam or Dooars.
Examples
The invention will now be demonstrated with examples. The examples are by way of illustration only and do not limit the scope of invention in any manner.
Example 1: Fortified tea composition prepared as per the invention
A 33.3 kg batch of fortified tea composition of the invention was prepared having
the composition as shown in Table - 1.
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Table -1

Raw Material Weight, %
Black leaf Tea 70.00
Jaggery 18.60
Light roasted chicory Powder 10.95
Vitamin mix (B2, B3 and B6) 0.45
The process adopted was:
Powder of the Vitamin was mixed with chicory powder in a weight ratio of 1:10. This process was repeated two with same amount of chicory after which the balance of the chicory was mixed to prepare a non-tea blend. A jaggery solution was prepared in water in a weight ratio of 1: 0.9 using hot water. The solution was brought to a smooth consistency using a silverson mixer. The jaggery solution was filtered through a muslin cloth for filtering the insoluble matter. The jaggery solution was held in a temperature in the range of 50 to 80 °C.
About 6.65 kg of South Indian black tea was taken in a Nauta Mixer. To this was added about 50% of the jaggery solution under mixing. After attaining uniformity, about 50% of the non-tea blend was added and mixed to a uniform consistency. To this was added 3.325 kg of South Indian black tea. The above three steps (addition of jaggery, non tea blend and black tea) were repeated one more time to prepare a wet blend. The wet blend was dried in a tray drier at 80 °C for one hour to a moisture content of 7%.
The fortified tea composition of the invention was prepared by dry blending the dried mass which accounted for 60wt% of the fortified tea composition with 10 kg of Assam black tea.
Example - A
A sample of regular black tea from North Indian market was used for comparison
with the fortified tea of the invention.
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Panel study
Beverage made from fortified tea composition of the invention (Example - 1) was
compared with the beverage made from Black tea of the prior art (Example - A).
The procedure to prepare the beverage was as follows:
Tea beverage was prepared by taking one litre of a water and milk mixture (70:30 weight ratio) to which 20 grams of tea and 40 grams of sugar were added. The mixture was brought to a boil to one rise and held to simmer for two minutes. The insoluble matter was strained to prepare the tea beverage.
The beverage was tasted by a panel of 14 people who scored the samples on a scale of 1 to 10. (1 being very poor to 10 being Excellent).
The average score for various attributes is summarised in Table -2.
Table - 2

Parameters Example-A Example -1
Colour 6.37 6.23
Strength 5.32 7.06
Mouth feel / Body / Thickness 6.00 7.13
Overall opinion / acceptance 5.12 6.91
The data in Table - 1 indicates that the panellists preferred the tea composition of the invention on organoleptic attributes as compared to regular black tea.
The cost of fortified black tea of Example - 1 was about 10% lower than that of black tea of Example - A.
The particle size of the fortified tea of Example -1 was found to be very much within the particle size specification of regular black tea i.e the oversize generated (+6 mesh) was about 1.2 wt%. The fines (-36 mesh) was about 0.2 wt%. Thus there was no appreciable granulation of the tea outside the particle size specification of regular black tea.
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Four samples of the fortified tea composition of Example - 1 were packed in a polymer laminate pouch and stored at different conditions (i) in a refrigerator at about 4 °C (ii) at room temperature of about 25 °C (iii) at hot and humid condition (42 °C and 25% RH) and (iv) at hot and dry condition 38 °C and 90% RH) for one month. Each of the samples were tested for the % Vitamins and the data is summarised in Table - 3.
Table - 3

Vitamin 4°C Storage, mg/100g 25 °C storage, mg/100g 42 °C,25% RHstoragemg/100g 38 °C,90% RHstoragemg/100g Mean, mg/100g Standard Deviation
B3 23.6 25.6 25.8 25.2 25.1 1.0
B2 283.2 313.4 326.5 307.1 307.6 18.1
B6 26.9 26.1 16.8 24.4 23.5 4.6
The data in Table -3 indicates that the fortified tea composition on storage at varied conditions is able to provide the desired vitamins within acceptable deviation.
Example - 2
A more preferred fortified tea composition of the invention as shown in Table - 4 was prepared in several 2 kg batches. The process used was similar to that for Example - 1 except that the parboiled rice and tapioca starch were mixed with the non-tea blend.
Table - 4

Raw Material Weight %
Leaf Tea 70.00
Jaggery 14.85
Chicory Powder 6.60
Tapioca starch 4.05
Parboiled Rice 4.05
Vitamin mix (B2, B3 and B6) 0.45
Total 100.00
Tea beverage, using fortified tea composition of Example - 2, was prepared as per beverage making process described above for Example -1. For comparison,
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a beverage prepared from prior art black tea sample (Example - B) was also prepared. The cost of fortified tea of Example - 2 is 12% lower than regular black tea.
Two separate consumer panel studies were conducted to determine the overall preference of the fortified tea composition of the invention (Example - 2) as compared to regular black tea. The panellists scored the beverage on a scale of 1 to 7 with 1 being very poor and 7 being excellent. The average preference score is summarized in Table - 5.
Table - 5

Panel 1 Panel 2
No of Panelists 159 78
Example - 2 5.40 5.55
Example - B 4.95 5.33
The data in Table - 5 indicates that the fortified tea composition which is of lower cost as compared to regular black tea and also provides essential micronutrients to the consumer is preferred over regular black tea.
The invention thus provides for a fortified tea composition and a process to prepare it which is lower in cost then regular black tea and yet provides certain essential micronutrients like Vitamins e.g. Vitamin B2, B3 and B6 and minerals like calcium, zinc, or iron. Further the beverage made from it has the same organoleptic properties of regular black tea and are equally or better preferred by the consumers.

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