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Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin ›› 2023, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (21): 151-157.doi: 10.11924/j.issn.1000-6850.casb2022-0708

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Study on Flavor Characteristics of Hehong Tea in Different Grades

LI Chen1(), JIANG Xinfeng1(), CAO Huihua1, ZHANG Jiangen1, YU Zhi2, NI Dejiang2, DONG Chunwang3, JIANG Heyuan3   

  1. 1 Jiangxi Industrial Crops Institute/ the Key Laboratory of Tea Quality and Safety Control in Jiangxi Province, Nanchang 330046
    2 College of Horticulture & Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070
    3 Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008
  • Received:2022-08-22 Revised:2022-12-13 Online:2023-07-25 Published:2023-07-24

Abstract:

The study aims to clarify the flavor chemistry characteristics of Hehong tea and the quality differences of different grades. Different grades of Hehong tea were selected as the materials in this study; the sensory evaluation of tea samples was carried out by using the national standard method. The contents of water extract, tea polyphenols, free amino acids, caffeine, catechin, tea pigments (theaflavins, thearubigins and theabrownins) and other quality components were determined. The aroma components in Hehong tea were analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that Hehong tea had lasting fresh aroma, mellow taste, bright orange soup color, red and bright leaf bottom. The comprehensive evaluation of sensory quality of different grades of Hehong tea showed that Hehong gongya(T1, T2)>Hehong xiaozhong(T3, T4)>Hehong laocong(T5). There were significant differences in the components of different grades of Hehong tea, the contents of tea polyphenols, free amino acids and catechin components were higher, and the content of water extract was lower in higher grades Hehong tea. The contents of theaflavin and thearubigins were significantly higher in the first grade of Hehong xiaozhong(T3) than that of other groups. The main volatile components of different grades of Hehong tea were geraniol, β-Linalool, Ocimene, 2-Pentylfuran, β-Ionone and so on; some of them increased relatively with the decrease of grade, and were critical for Hehong tea to present the second type of black tea aroma. This study preliminarily proved the differences in flavor characteristics of different grades of Hehong tea, and provided a theoretical basis for the regulation of flavor quality.

Key words: Hehong tea, sensory quality, aroma components, taste components, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry