Objective Suitability for processing and biochemical composition of the new tea variety, Yiluxiang, were studied.
Method In the consecutive springs from 2020 to 2022, fresh leaves plucked from Yiluxiang tea bushes, along with those from Fuding Dabaicha and Huangdan as references, were processed into black, green, white, and Minnan oolong teas. A blind sensory evaluation on the resulting products was conducted.
Result The brewed Yiluxiang black tea had a bright red color with sweet and flowery fragrance. Its 3-year average sensory score was 1.2 higher than Fuding Dabaicha’s. The brightly yellow-green brewed green tea, on the other hand, had a delicate and floral aroma with a refreshing taste and the 3-year sensory score 0.45 higher than Fuding Dabaicha’s. The delicately aromatic brewed white tea delivered a sweet and refreshing taste with a sensory score 0.53 higher than Fuding Dabaicha. While the Minnan oolong tea made of Yiluxiang was strong in the floral note but mellow in taste that carried a sensory score 1.25 higher than Huangdan’s. Biochemically, the contents of polyphenols, caffeine, free amino acids, and water extracts in Yiluxiang oolong tea were higher than those in Huangdan; polyphenols, caffeine, and water extracts in the black and green teas, higher than those in Fuding Dabaicha; free amino acids, comparable to those in control; polyphenols and water extracts in the white tea, higher than those in Fuding Dabaicha; and caffeine and free amino acids, lower than those in Fuding Dabaicha.
Conclusion It is preliminarily concluded that the new Yiluxiang variety tea could be used to make black, green, white, or Minnan oolong tea that contained more polyphenols and water extracts than did Fuding Dabaicha or Huangdan varieties.
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