IIT-Kgp professor develops ‘barbeque’ green tea to lure shunners

Kolkata, June 14 (IANS) Fancy a barbeque in your daily brew ? An agricultural engineering expert from IIT-Kharagpur here has launched two varieties of green tea infused with flavours (jasmine and a smoky taste) to cater to those who are put-off by its bland flavour.

"We have developed green tea with flavours so that people who would like to get the benefits of green tea but are discouraged by the absence of flavour can have it in a more appealing form. One is jasmine flavoured and the other is barbeque tea," B.C. Ghosh, a professor of IIT-Kgp's agricultural and food engineering department told the media here on Tuesday.

To craft the barbeque or smoked green tea, Ghosh and his team devised a method to infuse the aroma of three types of woods through the tea leaves.

"Of 20 to 25 types of wood, we selected three which were good in smell and taste. The smoke emanating from the wood burns was passed through the tea leaves," he said.

In addition, there is the 'quick tea' which can be manufactured in 20 to 25 minutes instead of 15 to 20 hours after plucking.

"And it costs only one-fifth of standard manufacturing process. We will launch the modified green tea varieties through different brands soon," Ghosh added.