Abstract:
Instant tea products are becoming popular due to on the go eating and drinking habits of people.
Current instant tea market clearly lacks a non-dairy instant tea product to fulfil the requirements of
vegetarians. Being health conscious and willingness to boost immunity, people tend to use probiotic
products. Hence, present study was focused to develop a non-dairy, probiotic three-in-one instant tea
premix using soy milk powder, Bacillus coagulans as probiotic, hot-water-soluble instant black tea
powder, sugar, fructooligosaccharides as sweetener and non-dairy creamer. Five recipes were
prepared by using above mentioned ingredients with three replicates. Samples were packed as 27 g
each sachet. Sensory properties of these samples were evaluated using 5 points Hedonic scale by ten
trained panelists. Anti-oxidant activity, polyphenol and caffeine contents and viable plate count of the
selected samples were analyzed to determine its functional properties. Shelf life stability of the
selected product was studied under accelerated conditions at 37 °C for 6 weeks. Sensory data were
analyzed by Friedman test and means were compared at 95% significance level. Anti-oxidant
activity, total polyphenol content and caffeine content of the selected product in mg per 100 g were
740.9±15.32 Ascorbic acid equivalent, 897.3±40.52 Gallic acid equivalent, and 605.97±3.23
respectively. Its total viable plate count remained at around 1×109 throughout the study period
enabling it to be claimed as a probiotic which supports immunity and digestive health. In conclusion,
the developed product with its significant viable plate count, anti-oxidant activity, polyphenol and
caffeine contents will be a refreshing dietary supplement for vegans.
Keywords: Bacillus coagulans; Instant tea; Polyphenol; Soy milk powde
