宜昌市官方英文网站：Improvements seen in summer and autumn tea leaves

编者按：9月6日，宜昌三峡国际传播工作室发表了名为《Improvements seen in summer and autumn tealeaves》的专题报道，推介宜茶集团依托茶科技提升夏秋茶附加值的做法和动态。

The instant tea production line at Yichang Tea Group is operating at maximum capacity as workers are busy packaging and sealing bags of instant tea, soon be dispatched nationwide.

"At full production capacity, the output value can reach 50 million yuan a year," said Li Zuogen, deputy director of the instant tea workshop of Hubei Caihua Tea Industry Production department.

This also marks China's first instant tea production line to employ the "bio-enzyme catalyzed tea polyphenol" technique, which involves introducing active enzymes to green tea, transforming it into black tea.

Compared to conventional fermentation methods, this process not only reduces production time but also enhances the tea's nutritional content.

"The instant black tea produced through this new method boasts over 50 percent higher theaflavin content and more than 30 percent higher thearubigin content compared to similar products. This results in improved productivity and product quality," said Qiu Andong, a tea R&D engineer at Yichang Tea Group's Technology Center.

These instant teas are made from summer and autumn tea leaves. Unlike spring tea, summer and autumn tea leaves tend to have a stronger bitter flavor, and typically sell at a lower price of about 5,000 yuan(US$684) per ton.

But they also have advantages.

Qiu explained,"Summer and autumn tea leaves contain considerably higher levels of polyphenols compared to spring tea. Instant tea prioritizes the polyphenol content and overall product value, allowing us to overlook any shortcomings in appearance, aroma, and taste."

The production of instant tea is a multi-step process that goes beyond merely grinding tea leaves into a fine powder.

"It will go through six steps including hot water extraction, enzymatic digestion, membrane filtration and vacuum concentration to get a bottle of tea concentrate. Afterautoclaving and freeze-drying for two to three days, a bag of instant tea powder is finally obtained," said Fan Yueqin, a tea R&D engineer at Yichang Tea Group's TeaTechnology Center.

According to Li, it takes four tons of summer and autumn tea leaves to produce one ton of instant tea. This means that an investment of 20,000 yuan (over US$2700) in raw materials can yield products worth 50,000 yuan (over US$6800).

Moreover, some companies are combining summer and autumn tea leaves with fruits and flowers to offer a more varied and appealing tea experience to younger consumers.

"Currently, a single product on the Douyin platform is selling over one million units per month, and we anticipate using up to 1,000 tons of tea leaves this year," said Qin Longping, general manager of Xudan Biotechnology.

图：宜昌三峡国际传播工作室9月9日发表页面

中文如下：

在宜茶集团的速溶茶产线上，一袋袋速溶茶粉正在进行分装、封箱，即将发往全国各地。

湖北采花公司生产部速溶茶车间副部长李作根：“满产的情况下，可以达到5000万产值，目前订单排产已经达到9月中旬。”

这些速溶茶粉的原料就是夏秋茶。相比春茶，夏秋茶味苦、颜值不高，基本上只能卖到5000元一吨。但不是那么吃香的夏秋茶，其实也有它的好处。

宜茶集团茶叶技术中心茶叶研发工程师邱安东：“夏秋茶里面的茶多酚含量比春茶高，做速溶茶来说不太注重外形，更加注重它的多酚含量和它的一个产品价值，就可以将它的外形和香气上、滋味上的劣势忽略掉。”

但是，速溶茶，并不是把茶叶磨成粉那么简单，它有着一整套复杂的工艺。

宜茶集团茶叶技术中心茶叶研发工程师樊月琴：“会经过热水浸提、酶解、膜过滤、真空浓缩等六个步骤，才可以得到这样一瓶茶浓缩液，经过高温灭菌、两到三天的冻干，最终得到这样一袋速溶茶粉。”

湖北采花公司生产部速溶茶车间副部长李作根：“4吨的夏秋茶可以产出1吨的速溶茶粉，也就相当于2万块钱的原材料，可以生产出价值5万块钱的成品。”

夏秋茶要在速溶茶的赛道上走得更远，还需要更“多变”。这是全国首条应用“生物酶催化茶多酚”技术的速溶茶生产线，它的作用是在绿茶中加入活性酶，把绿茶变成红茶，与传统发酵工艺相比，不仅节省了时间，还提升了茶叶的营养成分。

宜茶集团茶叶技术中心茶叶研发工程师邱安东：“这样生产出来的速溶红茶，茶黄素可以比同类产品多50%以上，茶红素可以比同类产品多30%以上，效率和品质都得到了提高。”

此外，夏秋茶还通过与水果、鲜花的跨界“融合”，为年轻消费者创造出更多元的品茶体验。

旭旦生物科技有限公司总经理覃龙平：“目前已经实现了单品在抖音平台月销过百万的销售成绩，预计今年可以消化原料茶叶高达1000吨。”