Peeping into The Kettle: A Review on the Microbiology of ‘Made Tea’

Author(s): Souvik Roy*, Lopamudra Roy and Nilanjan Das

Abstract: Tea constitutes one of the most widely consumed aromatic beverages of the world, with a multitude of health benefits attributed to it. Post-collection, the tea leaves are subjected to various grades of processing and fermentation to derive its aroma and impart characteristic flavor. Normally, the processed tea is boiled in water, with or without other condiments, milk, sugar, etc to make ‘made tea’. However, use of water at a sub-boiling temperature might not eliminate all microbes, including spores of certain bacteria. Although tea has medicinal and antimicrobial principles, yet it may occasionally be laden with microbes and contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, yeast and molds during processing and storage, which may pose a potential health risk. As every day millions of people drink at least one cup of tea, an overall analysis of the contamination profile of different kinds of made tea is of utmost importance and an absolute mandate these days. Hence, this article intends to review the level of microbial load of made tea based on available literature. Over the past few years, reports have also been accumulated indicative of the presence of different bacterial pathogens in tea leaves, besides its contamination by pathogenic fungal strains and mycotoxins. The potential of a number of other herbal condiments and organic spices that could be supplemented with made tea to impart additional antimicrobial properties to this highly sought-after drink has also been discussed here.

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