PREPARATION

The subject of the invention is a tea blend, its composition and a method for its preparation. A tea blend composed of a basis - African tea Rooibois - and various added flavours and prepared in a special teapot with hot water or pressurised vapour in order to achieve adequate extraction. The invention belongs to class A23F 03/14 of the International Patent Classification.

Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is a broom-like member of the family Fabaceae that grows in the plant region of mountain grassland of South Africa. The plant or rather its leaves are used for making a tisane bearing the same name.

The tea can be consumed either hot or cold. Numerous substances in the leaves that give this drink its unique organoleptic properties are only moderately soluble in cold water. The tea is therefore prepared with hot or boiling water by pouring a certain amount of water over tea leaves or leaves of a tea blend prepared in a filter bag, or a filter bag is immersed in a cup of water for a certain period of time.

A problem encountered in the described method of tea preparation is that insufficient extraction of tea in a cup is achieved. According to the present invention and the method for making a beverage from a tea blend a relatively strong beverage can be obtained from the rooibois tea blend and various added flavours that is characterised in that hot water or pressurized vapour is forced through a certain amount of the tea blend in the method that is considerably identical to the method used for preparing espresso, preferably by using the same equipment (espresso machine) as used for making espresso.

The present invention provides a tea blend composition comprising:

- at least 55 % by weight of finely chopped rooibos;

- at least 18 % by weight of granulated rooibos;

- at least 18 % by weight of ground rooibos;

- at least 9 % by weight of an aromatizing agent that can be a herb or superfood.

The aromatizing agent in the present invention is selected from the group consisting of: ginseng, orange, spearmint, pepper mint, camomile, pollen, guarana and goji berry juice.

The total amount of rooibos in a dose for preparing tea ranges from 6 g to 7 g, wherein finely chopped rooibos is added in an amount ranging from 4 g to 4.7 g, granulated rooibos is added in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2.2 g, a selected herb or superfood is added, differently ground (chopped in pieces or in powder form of a size of 0.1 mm), in an amount ranging from 0.7 g to 2 g, wherein the total amount of all ingredients does not exceed 8 g.

The invention will be described in more detail in the continuation by way of examples. The examples are presented to illustrate the invention and do not limit the scope of the invention in any way whatsoever. Example 1 :

To a mixture of the rooibos African tea containing finely chopped rooibos (size of powder particles being between 0.02 and 0.01 mm) in an amount ranging from 4 g to 4.7 g, granulated rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2.2 g and ground rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2 g is added a mixture of ginseng with orange containing ginseng in an amount ranging from 1 g to 1.5 g and orange in an amount ranging from 0.5 g to 0.7 g.

Example 2:

To a mixture of the rooibos African tea containing finely chopped rooibos (size of powder particles being between 0.02 and 0.01 mm) in an amount ranging from 4 g to 4.7 g, granulated rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2.2 g and ground rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2 g is added a mixture of spearmint and pepper mint containing spearmint in an amount ranging from 1 g to 1.5 g and pepper mint in an amount ranging from 1 g to 1.5 g.

Example 3:

To a mixture of the rooibos African tea containing finely chopped rooibos (size of powder particles being between 0.02 and 0.01 mm) in an amount ranging from 4 g to 4.7 g, granulated rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2.2 g and ground rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2 g is added a mixture of camomile with pollen containing dried pollen in an amount ranging from 0.5 g to 0.8 g and camomile powder in an amount ranging from 1 g to 1.5 g. Example 4:

To a mixture of the rooibos African tea containing finely chopped rooibos (size of powder particles being between 0.02 and 0.01 mm) in an amount ranging from 4 g to 4.7 g, granulated rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2.2 g and ground rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2 g is added guarana in an amount ranging from 1 g to 2 g.

Example 5:

To a mixture of the rooibos African tea containing finely chopped rooibos (size of powder particles being between 0.02 and 0.01 mm) in an amount ranging from 4 g to 4.7 g, granulated rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2.2 g and ground rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2 g is added goji berry juice in an amount ranging from 1 g to 2 g.

Example 6:

To a mixture of the rooibos African tea containing finely chopped rooibos (size of powder particles being between 0.02 and 0.01 mm) in an amount ranging from 4 g to 4.7 g, granulated rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2.2 g and ground rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2 g is added a mixture of acai berries and goji berry juice containing acai berries in an amount ranging from 0.5 g to 0.8 g and goji berry juice in an amount ranging from 1 g to 1.5 g. Example 7:

To a mixture of the rooibos African tea containing finely chopped rooibos (size of powder particles being between 0.02 and 0.01 mm) in an amount ranging from 4 g to 4.7 g, granulated rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2.2 g and ground rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2 g is added a mixture of elder and vanilla containing vanilla in an amount ranging from 0.5 g to 0.8 g and elder in an amount ranging from 1 g to 1.5 g.

Example 8:

To a mixture of the rooibos African tea containing finely chopped rooibos (size of powder particles being between 0.02 and 0.01 mm) in an amount ranging from 4 g to 4.7 g, granulated rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2.2 g and ground rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2 g is added lavender in an amount ranging from 1 g to 2 g.

Example 9:

To a mixture of the rooibos African tea containing finely chopped rooibos (size of powder particles being between 0.02 and 0.01 mm) in an amount ranging from 4 g to 4.7 g, granulated rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2.2 g and ground rooibos in an amount ranging from 1.5 g to 2 g is added lemongrass in an amount ranging from 1 g to 2 g.

The amount of the aromatising agent and its granulation is shown in Table below:

Ingredient Particle size Amount

rooibos finely chopped 4.0- .7 g rooibos granules 1.5- 2.2 g

rooibos powder (0.01 mm) 1.5-2g

ginseng powder (0.1 mm) 1.1 -1.5g

orange powder (0.1 mm) 0.5- 0.7 g

spearmint Finely chopped 1.0 - 1.5 g

pepper mint Finely chopped 1.0- 1.5 g

camomile Powder (0.1 mm) 1.0- 1.5g

Pollen Granules or 0.7- 1.0 g

particles with a size

of 1 mm

goji berry juice powder (0.01 mm) 1.5-2.0g

asai berries powder (0.01 mm) 0.7- .0 g

lavender powder (0.1 mm) 1.5-2.0g

lemongrass powder (0.1 mm) 1.5-2.0g

vanilla powder (0.01 mm) 0.7- 1.0 g elder Powder (0.1 mm)

The method of preparing a tea blend comprises the following consecutive steps: an already prepared packed blend is inserted in a teapot with a non-return valve. In the teapot with a non-return valve that keeps the water in the blend the ingredients get soaked with water thus creating a flavour that we want to offer in a cup. The water having a temperature of 90 °C is kept in the teapot for 1 to 2 seconds and then the liquid flows to the cup with an adequate concentration of ingredients.

The beverage thus prepared can be added milk depending on the selected beverage.

The tea blend, its composition and the method for its preparation of the invention is a healthy replacement for espresso, wherein the tea blend so prepared is prepared like espresso in a bar. The prepared beverage of the invention can offer a full flavour of an adequate concentration of a tea blend.