Changes of Volatile Components in White Tea Processing

White teas made from the leaves of Zhenghe Dabaicha, Fu'an Dabaicha, and Zhenghe group species were studied with respect to the leaf property, processing technology, and product quality. Along the processing, volatile components of the fresh, withered, and processed leaves were analyzed by sensory evaluation and determination by GCMS. Sensory evaluation results showed that three different varieties of white tea displayed pekoe-type and floral scent. Meanwhile, Fu'an Dabai tea and Zhenghe group species have varied degrees of sweet fragrance. GC-MS results showed that there were 7 kinds of common characteristic volatile components in the 3 white tea, namely terpinolene, 3-carene, 2-methylbutyraldehyde, dihydro cuminyl alcohol, 2-hexenal, (-)-verbenone and β-pinene, respectively, which may be the reason that makes them have some similarity on aroma of the three tea products.