As freshly prepare tea cools, the color of the drink darkens and a red/brown color develops. This change is particularly noticeable in more concentrated extracts of black tea, where a color change from dark brown to milky-red occurs.
The cloudiness has been term “tea cream” because it resembles tea to which cream has been added. It is the haze or precipitate that is formed when as strong infusion of tea is allowed to cool down; the relationship between cream formation and quality was first demonstrated by Bradfield an Penny in 1944. Polyphenols, caffeine, protein, carbohydrates, polysaccharides, free amino acids, flavones, catechins and minerals were found to participate in the formation of green tea cream. Caffeine, catechins, theaflavins, and thearubigins are known to be major constituents of tea cream.
This material is typically removed in order to obtain a product that is soluble in cold water.
Tea cream formation
