Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Beverage or beverage concentrate
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-05
2002-07-09
Weier, Anthony J. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Beverage or beverage concentrate
C426S590000, C426S285000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06416807
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mixed fine powder for beverage containing young barley leaves, alfalfa and/or kale.
2. Prior Art
Tea, one of drinking preferences, is classified into non-fermented tea (e.g. green tea), semi-fermented tea (e.g. oolong tea) and fermented tea (e.g. black tea) according to methods used in leaf processing. Fermentation here means oxidation of components of tea leaves by enzyme in the fresh leaves, which has nothing to do with a microorganism. There are various types of non-fermented tea. For example, Sencha, the most common green tea in Japan; Gyokuro, the top grade of leaf tea made from the choicest, most tender leaves; Matcha, a powdered form of green tea used mainly in the tea ceremony and made from the choicest, most tender leaves; Kabusecha, a middle-grade tea between gyokuro and sencha; Bancha, yellowish brown, low-grade coarse tea made from older, brittle tea leaves; Gyokurokucha, more coarsely crushed into pieces than sencha; Hojicha, dark reddish brown tea made from sencha and bancha; and the like.
Tea leaves of the above non- and semi-fermented tea are rich in vitamins (e.g. vitamin A, B
1
, B
2
, C, E, niacin, folic acid, biotin), minerals (e.g. calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese, sodium) and tannins (e.g. catechin, flavonol, leucoanthocyanin, phenolcarboxylic acid).
Such non- or semi-fermented tea, except for matcha, is in general drunk by brewing tea leaves by steeping in hot water; in other words, resultant water with extract or exudate from tea leaves is drunk. Therefore, when we say drink tea, we only take into our body the extracted or discharged components into water from non- or semi-fermented tea and some nutritious components remain in the tea grounds. On the other hand, matcha is drunk in a different way by adding hot water into matcha powder and rapidly beating it with a bamboo whisk, and therefore substantially the whole tea leaves in a powdered form are taken into our body. Such a way of drinking matcha can be said an ideal efficient way of taking nutriment from tea leaves.
In addition to the above named types of non- and semi-fermented tea, various health-conscious types of tea such as dokudamicha (tea made from dokudami, Houttuynia cordata), habucha (tea made from roasted oriental senna seeds), and hatomugicha (tea made from adlay (hatomugi, Coix ma-yuen) have recently become popular. These types of tea are used as crushed material, brewed by steeping in hot or cold water, and resultant water containing the extracted and exuded tea nutriment is ingested. There is an attempt to use a powdered form of these materials by dissolving in hot or cold water so that the abundant nutriment of them can be efficiently taken into our body.
Mugicha, barley tea, is another type of tea, and usually drunk cooled, which Japanese people prefer especially in summer.
Mugicha is made from barley and rich in vitamin B
1
. It is therefore preferably drunk as a source of vitamin B
1
. It is typically brewed, like non-fermented tea as stated above, by steeping roasted barley in hot or cold water and resultant barley water containing extract or exudate from barley is drunk. There is a new trial to use a powdered form of young barley leaves just like matcha, dissolve it in water and drink resultant barley water, so that nutriment contained in barley, especially in young barley leaves, can be efficiently ingested.
There is another edible plant that recently draws public attention due to its abundance of vitamin like young barley leaves stated above, and further protein and mineral; it is alfalfa.
Alfalfa is eaten generally as its bean sprouts. There is a new way of eating by dissolving a powdered form of alfalfa in water and drinking resultant alfalfa water in order to facilitate efficient ingestion of rich nutriments in alfalfa.
There is further another edible plant that recently draws public attention; it is kale. Kale is used as raw material for healthy beverages such as healthy tea or green vegetable juice called aojiru.
Kale is an improved variety of cabbage. Vitamins U and C abounds in kale leaves as well as in cabbage. Kale leaves are usually eaten as a fresh vegetable, and also drunk as green vegetable juice aojiru prepared by squeezing leaves in order to fully take its rich nutriments. And there is an attempt to use a powdered form of kale just like matcha and take it as kale water by dissolving the powder in water.
However, the powder of young barley leaves and that of alfalfa have unpleasant high bitterness, and the powder of kale does unpleasant high bitterness and strong smell. Therefore, they are hard to drink by themselves. Beverages prepared with them by adding only water to the powder and rapidly beating with a whisk like matcha are not pleasingly accepted in general.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide mixed fine powder for beverage containing young barley leaves, alfalfa and/or kale which not only enables efficient ingestion of their rich nutriments but also gives agreeable flavor eliminating bitter taste and offensive smell.
With earnest study, the inventor found that it is possible to prepare beverages with favorable flavor by mixing fine powder of young barley leaves, alfalfa and/or kale with fine powder of non- and/or semi-fermented tea as essential ingredients.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Mixed fine powder for beverage containing young barley leaves, alfalfa and/or kale of the present invention includes a first ingredient in a powdered form of young barley leaves, alfalfa and/or kale and a second ingredient in a powdered form of non- and/or semi-fermented tea.
In addition to the first and second essential ingredients, at least one material selected from the group consisting of the following in a fine powdered form may be added; striped bamboo, adlay, ginkgo leaves, persimmon leaves, turmeric, ashitaba, licorice, oriental senna, matrimony vine, tochu leaves, rooibos leaves, rafuma leaves, gincha leaves, molokhiya, carrot, broccoli, celery, mandarin orange, wheat, soybean, embryo bud, brown rice, eggshell and chlorophyll.
The present invention may be carried out in a form of beverage in which the mixed fine powder of the present invention is dissolved in water and also in a form of tablet containing the mixed fine powder of the present invention.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
Mixed fine powder for beverage containing young barley leaves, alfalfa and/or kale of the present invention includes a first essential ingredient in a powdered form of at least one of young barley leaves, alfalfa and kale and a second essential ingredient in a powdered form of at least one of non- and semi-fermented tea.
Barley (
Hordeum vulgare
) is a gramineous biennial plant. It is grouped, according to shapes of spike, into a six-rowed type (
Hordeum vulgare L
.) and a two-rowed type (
H. distichum L
.), and a kind whose matured grains closely contact with their glumes is referred to as hulled barley and a kind whose grains easily separate from their glumes is to as naked barley. Two-rowed hulled barley is commonly called as beer barley. In addition to beer barley, six-rowed barley and naked barley are mainly grown in Japan.
Not only the above three kinds of barley but also other kinds of barley may be used suitably for the present invention. Six-rowed barley and naked barley, which are in general used for mugicha stated above, are more preferable.
Young barley leaves, especially prior to fruition, may be preferably used. Since young barley leaves are particularly rich in vitamin B
1
, ingestion thereof enables supplementation of vitamin B
1
. Using the leaves in a finely powdered form enables efficient ingestion of the entire barley nutriments such as vitamin B
1
without any waste.
Alfalfa (
Medicago sativa L
.) is a leguminous perennial grass and, in Japan, has been cultivated mainly in Hokkaido in the north part of Japan. D
Koda & Androlia
Weier Anthony J.
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