A comparative study of volatile components in Dianhong teas from fresh leaves of four tea cultivars by using chromatography-mass spectrometry, multivariate data analysis, and descriptive sensory analysis

- The volatile compounds of four varieties Dianhong tea were identified by using HS-SPME-GC-MS method.
- PLS-DA and HCA heat map were applied to find the differential compounds in Dianhong tea samples.
- Eleven flavor attributes were detected in four varieties of Dianhong teas by using descriptive sensory analysis (DSA).

Dianhong teas produced from fresh leaves of different tea cultivars (YK is Yunkang No. 10, XY is Xueya 100, CY is Changyebaihao, SS is Shishengmiao), were compared in terms of volatile compounds and descriptive sensory analysis. A total of 73 volatile compounds in 16 tea samples were tentatively identified. YK, XY, CY, and SS contained 55, 53, 49, and 51 volatile compounds, respectively. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were used to classify the samples, and 40 key components were selected based on variable importance in the projection. Moreover, 11 flavor attributes, namely, floral, fruity, grass/green, woody, sweet, roasty, caramel, mellow and thick, bitter, astringent, and sweet aftertaste were identified through descriptive sensory analysis (DSA). In generally, innate differences among the tea varieties significantly affected the intensities of most of the key sensory attributes of Dianhong teas possibly because of the different amounts of aroma-active and taste components in Dianhong teas.

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