Aroma characteristics of Wuyi rock tea prepared from 16 different tea plant varieties

Chuan Yue; Hongli Cao; Shaorong Zhang; Zhilong Hao; Zongjie Wu; Liyong Luo; Liang Zeng

doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2023.100586

Aroma characteristics of Wuyi rock tea prepared from 16 different tea plant varieties

Food Chem X. 2023 Jan 23:17:100586. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2023.100586. eCollection 2023 Mar 30.

Authors

Chuan Yue¹, Hongli Cao¹, Shaorong Zhang¹, Zhilong Hao², Zongjie Wu³, Liyong Luo¹, Liang Zeng¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science/Tea Research Institute, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, China.
² College of Horticulture/Key Laboratory of Tea Science in Universities of Fujian Province, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
³ Wuyi Mountain Yan Sheng Tea Industry Co., Ltd, Wuyishan 354301, China.

Abstract

Wuyi rock tea (WRT) is famous for its long history and unique characteristic of floral, fruity and nutty flavors. This study investigated the aroma characteristics of WRTs prepared from 16 different oolong tea plant varieties. The sensory evaluation results showed that all WRTs had an 'Yan flavor' taste, and the odor was strong and lasting. Roasted, floral and fruity odors were the prime aroma profiles for WRTs. Furthermore, a total of 368 volatile compounds were detected using HS-SPME-GC-MS and analyzed with OPLS-DA and HCA methods. The volatile compounds heterocyclic compounds, esters, hydrocarbons, terpenoids and ketones were the major aromatic components of the WRTs. Specifically, the volatile profiles among newly selected cultivars were comparatively analyzed, and 205 differential volatile compounds were found with variable importance in the projection (VIP) values above 1.0. These results indicated that the aroma profiles of WRTs were mainly dependent on the cultivar specificities of volatile compounds.

Keywords: Aroma profiles; Oolong tea cultivars; Sensory evaluation; Wuyi rock tea (WRT).