University research helps create
buzz for high caffeine black tea
A
NEW SCOTTISH DRINKS producer
has used university expertise to
develop a supercharged tea that
packs a punch similar to coffee. Hi Tea,
which contains three times the level of
caffeine found in a normal cup of tea, will
give tea lovers the taste of their favourite
drink with an extra buzz that’s sure to
keep their energy levels up throughout
the day.
The entrepreneurs behind Hi Tea
enlisted food experts from Queen
Margaret University to develop the new
supercharged tea concept. The company
wanted to create a new beverage that
would be acceptable to existing tea
drinkers and to consumers who may not
enjoy coffee but who were still looking for
a high caffeine hit.
Laura Ewing from Hi Tea, explained:
“The daily consumption of tea in the UK
is around 165 million cups, compared with
approximately 70 million cups of coffee.
Although mainstream tea sales have
slumped in recent years, the growth of
premium and speciality teas has grown.
We believed there was a gap in the market
for a tasty black tea which could offer
similar qualities to coffee, but we needed
to partner with food specialists at QMU to
help us carry out consumer research. In
addition, we required specialist support
to review our ingredients, develop a recipe
for tea bags and assess caffeine levels.”
Experts from QMU’s Scottish Centre for
Food Development and Innovation were
able to advise on the development of
the product by conducting taste testing
panels and consumer feedback sessions.
This helped to gauge acceptability levels
from keen tea drinkers to the tea blends
initially selected by the company. Taste
panels also helped to confirm if consumers
could distinguish any adverse bitterness
from the addition of caffeine in the new
Hi Tea product when comparing against
standard black tea.
Catriona Liddle from QMU’s Scottish
Centre for Food Development and
Innovation, explained: “The trend for tea
supplemented with synthetic caffeine
has come over from the US. Synthetic
caffeine is a common additive in energy
drinks, but for this project it was important
that a natural UK source was identified.
QMU was able to source caffeine that
was not only natural, but had none of
the characteristic bitterness normally
associated with synthetic sources of
this ingredient. A formulation was then
created enabling Hi Tea to produce a
blend fortified with natural caffeine but
tasting like everyday tea. In addition, we
were able to ascertain the base level of
caffeine found in the tea leaves used by
Hi Tea and supplement this with the ideal
levels in order to reach the target amount.
QMU was able to provide Hi Tea with the
support it needed to develop a first-to-
UK-market blend of high caffeine black
tea which is unique to Hi Tea and highly
acceptable to the tea drinking target
market.
The company has now launched Hi Tea,
which can be bought online at: http://
www.hiteaonline.co.uk/products-shop
❒
If your food business needs help with new
product development, reformulation of existing
products, nutritional analysis, consumer focus
groups, taste panels or requires access to
specialist research/test facilities contact
QMU’s Business Development Manager,
Miriam Smith on E: [email protected]
T: 07872 128 688
“Nowadays, a lot of tea drinkers don’t use
loose tea. Many prefer the convenience of
tea bags. We recognised that tea lovers
prepare their favourite drink in different
ways, so we encouraged taste testers to
take the tea samples home with them
to allow them to prepare it in the
way they normally would on a
daily basis. The tasters were
able to provide feedback
to us via a specialist
questionnaire
created by QMU
academics.”
QMYOU / Knowledge & Exchange
17