Abstract:
Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is the second most widely consumed popular non-alcoholic beverage
in the world for centuries due to its sensory attributes and health promoting effects. Herbal
drinks gain more popularity in recent years due to its associated health benefits. The study was
carried out to add value to the tea grade of Broken Mixed Fannings (BMF) by developing a
flavored herbal tea by incorporating Moringa oleifera leaves which contains various health
benefits. Moringa oleifera leaf powder was prepared. Five treatments were tested incorporating
various quantities of Moringa leaf powder and BMF to make final quantity of 2.0 g of herbal tea
blend for a tea bag. A sensory evaluation was conducted using ten experienced tea tasters to find
out the best combination of Moringa oleifera leaf powder and Broken Mixed Fannings ratio for
herbal tea development. Color, aroma, taste, mouth feel and overall acceptability were evaluated
as sensory characteristics based on a five-point hedonic scale. Tea is flavored by using lemon
flavor. The data was statistically analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test and Conover-Inman method.
0.8 g of Moringa leaf powder and 1.2 g of BMF incorporated combination was selected as the
best treatment for the herbal tea development among the five different treatments tested. Total
polyphenol content and total antioxidant content of the newly developed product were 0.05 %
(g/ml) and 0.19 % (g/ml) respectively as a percentage of the extract. The findings of the
microbial studies showed that the newly developed herbal tea blend is safe for the consumption
and the physico-chemical analysis revealed that pH and the moisture content of the new product
were fulfilled the required standards.
