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Effect of spreading time on the taste quality of steamed green tea based on E-tongue evaluation and chemometric statistical analysis

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Abstract

Processing plays a decisive role in the flavor of steamed green tea (SGT), especially spreading, which is the basis of its taste formation. However, the effect of spreading time on the taste quality of ‘Qiancha 1’ (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis) steamed green tea (QSGT) has not been reported. In this study, fresh leaves from ‘Qiancha 1’ were made into SGTs after spreading at different times and evaluated using a chromatographic method combined with an electronic tongue (E-tongue) and sensory evaluation, using ‘Huacha 1’ (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis) steamed green tea (HSGT) as the control. Galloylated catechins were transformed to non-galloylated catechins more drastically in ‘Huacha 1’ than in ‘Qiancha 1’ during spreading. QSGT made from fresh leaves after 6 h of spreading was among the best with umami and mellow tastes in the sensory evaluation, and QSGT had higher bitter, astringent, umami, and sweet taste values than HSGT in the E-tongue evaluation. In QSGT, l-theanine, l-glutamate (Glu), (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), l-histidine (His), and l-methionine (Met) were the predominant compounds for umami, bitter, and astringent tastes, while in HSGT, l-theanine, Glu, EGCG, His, Met, and l-arginine (Arg) were predominant. The principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analyzes further revealed that differences in the metabolism of polyphenols contributing to the formation of bitter and astringency tastes were essential indicators for distinguishing SGTs made from different spreading times and cultivars. Overall, this study provides an approach for the enhancement of taste in SGT using the personalized processing method for different tea cultivars.

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Funding

Funding was provided by the Science and Technology Support General Projects of Guizhou Province (Grant No. [2021]109), the Guizhou Provincial Basic Research Program (Natural Science) ZK2023 (Grant No. 166), the Guizhou Provincial Basic Research Program (Natural Science) ZK2023 (Grant No. 165), the Science and Technology Innovation Project of the Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Grant No. [2023]12), and the Science and Technology Support Key Projects of Guizhou Province (Grant No. [2022] 011).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Tea Science, Guizhou University, West Side of Jiaxiu South Road, Guiyang, 550025, Guizhou Province, China

    Ting Yang & Jie Yin

  2. Guizhou Tea Research Institute, Jin’nong Road, Guiyang, 550006, Guizhou Province, China

    Ting Yang, Tuo Zhang, Shimao Fang, Yuqiao Dai, Xueyin Luo, Zhongying Liu, Qin Li, Qiang Shen & Ke Pan

  3. Guizhou Guitianxia Tea Group Co. Ltd., Guiyang, 550001, Guizhou Province, China

    Lin Long

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  1. Ting Yang
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Yang, T., Zhang, T., Fang, S. et al. Effect of spreading time on the taste quality of steamed green tea based on E-tongue evaluation and chemometric statistical analysis. Food Measure (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-024-02394-0

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