Digital evaluation of tea aroma intensity and odor characteristics changes during processing

Abstract

Background: Huangjingui (Camellia sinensis)，a kind of oolong tea, is native to Anxi County, Fujian Province, China, and is a national tea tree species. Tea processing is the key link in the formation of its aroma characteristics, and it is important to analyze the influence of each processing process on the aroma intensity and odor characteristics of tea, in order to optimize the tea processing process and improve the quality of tea. Results:The processing process favored the accumulation of volatile compounds in oolong tea, as evidenced by the increase in their content from 9.793 to 123.052 μg/kg, of which the highest content was mainly in terpenoids, alcohols and esters substances.The aroma formation of oolong tea was mainly composed of 14 key compounds, among which the most critical compounds were four substances such as geraniol, α-pinene, methyl salicylate and trans-β-ionone. The typical odor characteristics of oolong tea were floral and wood, among which the formation of floral odor mainly came from geraniol and methyl salicylate, and the formation of wood odor characteristics mainly came from α-pinene and trans-β-ionone. Further analysis showed that the aroma quality of oolong tea could be improved by focusing on key processes such as fermentation and kneading during the processing of oolong tea. Conclusion:The processing was conducive to the accumulation of aroma compounds of oolong tea, improving the aroma intensity of tea leaves and forming the unique floral and wood odor characteristics of oolong tea.

Aviation Mutagenesis Alters the Content of Volatile Compounds in Dahongpao (Camellia sinensis) Leaves and Improves Tea Quality

“…Changes in the content of volatile compounds can directly affect the type and intensity of aroma in tea [ 26 ]. It has been reported that beta-myrcene, 2-p-tolylethanal and 2-methyl-benzaldehyde are important compounds that make up the aroma of tea, and their main odor characteristic is floral [ 27 ].…”

Effect of processing on aroma intensity and odor characteristic of Shuixian (Camellia sinensis) tea

“…Terpenoids and esters were the main components of tea volatile compounds, especially the contents of terpenoids were closely related to tea aroma intensity, and the contents of terpenoids could be used as an important index to evaluate tea aroma intensity ( Zhu et al, 2020 , Deng et al, 2020 ). Many scholars also concluded that tea aroma intensity was significantly related to the contents of terpenoids and esters in tea leaves, and the higher the content, the better the quality ( Di et al, 2019 , Yin et al, 2022 , Wang et al, 2023 ). It could be seen that, with the extension of tea processing process, the content of terpenoids and esters in Shuixian tea increased continuously, and the contents of two types of compounds accounted for more than 75% of the total compounds, and the two types of compounds played an important role in the formation of aroma intensity and odor characteristics of Shuixian tea.…”

Identification of Key Components Responsible for the Aromatic Quality of Jinmudan Black Tea by Means of Molecular Sensory Science

“…Methyl salicylate had the highest score (6.83), followed by 1-(2-pyridinyl)-ethanone(4.31), which has a nutty and popcorn-like aroma, and by 2H-pyran-2-one,tetrahydro-6-methyl(4.05), which has a burn-like aroma. Methyl salicylate thus plays an important role both in JBT and FBT, as well as in other processed teas such as white tea [28] and oolong tea [29]. This compound also contributes to the clean and fresh fragrance.…”