UNIT 5: BEVERAGES
Beverage: french word ‘bever’ meaning ‘a drink’
Categories of beverages:
1) Alcoholic beverages and 2) non alcoholic beverage
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE
Depressants
Lowering the activity of the brain
Classified into three main groups:
1. Fermented alcohol
 Formed by fermentation of sugar into alcohol and CO2
 5-25% alcohol by volume
Examples:
1. Wine: produced by fermentation of fruit juice mainly grapes,
alcohol content: 7-16%
2. Beer: made by fermenting cereal starch, alcohol content 3-
8%.Nutritive value is due to presence of dextrins, proteins and
phosphate
3. Cider: made from juice of apple, perry, pears, palm etc.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE
2.Distilled alcohol
Obtained by successive distillation of fermented liquors from grains, fruits
or vegetables
Upto 75% alcohol by volume
It has higher caloric content and less nutritional value than fermented
alcohol
Examples:
Whiskey: made from cereals
Vodka: made from any starch containing raw material
Rum: made from sugarcane juice or molasses
Brandy: made from juice of various fruits
3.Compound alcohol
These are flavored alcohol
Contain high alcoholic strength
Example:
Gin: prepared by the distillation of fermented malt of barley and rye flavored
with berries of junipers, lemon peel, cardamom seeds etc.

NON ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE
Does not contain any alcohol or little alcohol
Good for health
Classified into three categories
1. Stimulating
 Helps to stimulate the vital organs of our body
 Coffee and tea are stimulating beverage, they contain cafeine or related
alkaloids
 Cafeine impart mental activity and reduction in fatigue
 Stimulatesincreased production of digestive juice, diuretic action, increase
excretion of uric acid
2. Nourishing
 Helps to gain the energy
 Healthy for body contains lots of nutrients
Examples: juices and milk.
3.Refreshing
 Helps refresh our body as well as our mind
Examples: Squash, coke, pepsi etc

TEA
Scientific name: Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze
Family : Theaceae
Stimulatory property of tea leaf extract was discovered by
Chinese emperor Shen Nung in 2700B.C.
Origin: India or China or both
Cultivation of tea in India: 1818-1834
Tea producing countries: India, China, Srilanka,
Indonesia, Japan, Iran, Argentina etc
Tea growing states in India: Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiris
and Anamalai and others like Ranchi, Dehradun, Kumoan
districts etc.
Two distinct varieties of tea:
1) Small leaved sinensis (China)
2) Large leaved –assamica (Assam)

MORPHOLOGY OF TEA
Habit: evergreen or semi evergreen shrub or small woody tree
9-15cm usually pruned back to shrubs 2m
Leaves: alternate, simple, lanceolate toothed margins
Older leaves leathery bright green in color 5-30cm long acute end.
Young leaves is covered with soft hairs (pubescence) underside
but vanished as they aged
Oil glands on leaves gives characteristic aroma
Flowers: hermaphrodite, 1-3 in number, axillary or sub terminal
cymes aromatic, white or yellow centered white of pinkish
Sepals and petals 5-7, pedicellate
Stamens numerous
Carpels 3-5 carpels, 4-6 ovules.
Fruit: capsules, seeds 3 celled woody capsules
Capsule depressed, globose, brownish
Capsules contains a brown seed in each compartment about 1.25cm
in diameter.

Principal varieties of tea
1.Chinese tea
Camellia sinensis var sinensis
2. Assam tea
C. sinensis var assamica Mast
3. Hybrid of sinensis x assamica

ASSAM TEA VERSUS CHINESE TEA
ASSAM TEA CHINESE TEA
 It is a tree  Shrub
 Quick growing, less hardier, single
stemmed tree 6.1-18..3m tall
 Slow growing, multi stemmed bush
1.22-2.74m tall
 large glossy pale green leaves 15-30
cm long held horizontally or pointing
slightly downward
 Small leathery dark green leaves 4-
7cm long flat surface pointing upward
 Few robust branches  Many branches and whippy
 High yield and medium quality  Low yield but good quality
 Sucesstible to drought and frost  Hardy variety capable of withstanding
cold winters.
 Flower borne in cluster of 2-4  Flowers are borne singly
 Economic life of 40 years  Economic life of 100 years

AGROCLIMATIC CONDITION
Grow successfully in subtropical and tropical areas
Rainfall at least 150cm per annum
Average monthly temperature 21-32°C
Cannot withstand dry weather
Required well drained acidic soils,Ph 4-6 rich in humus
Cannot grow in alkaline soil
Shade loving plant
Partial shade provided by leguminous tree Albizia procera, A. chinensis
However heavy nitrogenous manure in full sun has greater yield
Picking leaves starts when the plants is 3-4 years old
Picking stimulates the development of lateral leaves
Fine grade: 1st two leaves (terminal bud) rich in tannin 28% is known as
“golden tips” caffeine content 4-4.5% of dry matter.

TEA DESIGNATION
1) Orange pekoe : Smallest leaf 28% tannin,high quality
black tea of India and Sri lanka
2) Pekoe: Second leaf 21% tannin, high quality black tea of
Sri lanka, India and Java
3) Pekoe-souchong: Third leaf 18% tannin
4) Souchong: Fourth leaf 14%tannin aromatic black tea from
china
5) Congou: Fifth leaf Chinese black tea