Development and Formulation of a Herbal Green Tea Blend Using Orange Powder and Ginger Powder as an Antioxidant-Rich Beverage

Abstract

Herbal teas are plant-based infusions that may provide functional properties through naturally occurring bioactive compounds. This study was designed to formulate a fruit-infused herbal green tea premix using green tea powder, orange powder and ginger powder, and to evaluate its physicochemical, proximate, phytochemical, antioxidant, sensory and microbiological characteristics. Five formulations (T0–T4) were prepared with different proportions of green tea, orange and ginger powders. The T3 formulation, containing 60% green tea powder, 20% orange powder and 20% ginger powder, was identified as the optimised blend based on sensory evaluation. The optimised beverage showed a pH of 4.74 and titratable acidity of 1.6%, indicating a mildly acidic profile. The dry premix contained 6.36% moisture, 4.45% ash, 8.94% crude protein, 2.12% crude fat, 3.40% crude fibre and 78.13% carbohydrate, with an estimated energy value of 367.36 kcal/100 g. Phytochemical analysis showed total phenolic content of 24.93 mg GAE/g, total flavonoid content of 19.00 mg QE/g, tannin content of 3.38% and vitamin C content of 80 mg/100 g. Antioxidant activity assessed using the DPPH assay was 479.01 mg AAE/g, suggesting that the combined ingredients contributed to the antioxidant capacity of the blend. Sensory evaluation indicated good acceptability, with an overall acceptability score of 8.06 ± 0.86. Microbiological analysis showed a total plate count of 30 CFU/g and absence of coliforms. The findings indicate that the developed green tea, orange and ginger premix has acceptable sensory quality, antioxidant activity and preliminary microbiological safety as a ready-to-use functional beverage for further product development within controlled laboratory conditions.