Decoding the specific minty-like aroma of ‘Rucheng baimaocha’ (camellia pubescens) black tea

Rucheng Baimaocha (<i>Camellia pubescens</i>) black tea (RCBT) exhibits floral and sweet attributes with a unique minty-like aroma, distinguishing it from traditional and other innovative black teas. However, its key odorants remain unknown. In this study, gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) combined with aroma extraction dilution analysis detected 26 aroma-active compounds (ACCs), of which 20 ACCs were quantified as odorants of RCBT infusion. In addition, aroma recombination models well simulated the overall aroma characteristics of RCBT infusion, which proved the accuracy of identification and quantification. Omission experiments showed that 12 key odorants played crucial roles in aroma formation of RCBT. Among these, four odorants (methyl salicylate, (<i>E</i>, <i>Z</i>)-2,6-nonadienal, methyl geranate, and (<i>E</i>)-2-nonenal), were of great importances for unique minty-like aroma, with significantly higher concentrations compared to other black tea varieties. This study offered a foundational theoretical framework for the processing and quality control of RCBT.

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Publication Details

Journal
Food Chemistry X
Published
2025-02-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fochx.2025.102253
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Tea Polyphenols and Effects
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.89

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article

Decoding the specific minty-like aroma of ‘Rucheng baimaocha’ (camellia pubescens) black tea

Qi Liu, Ronggang Jiang, Ligui Xiong, Jing Wang et al.
4 citations
Food Chemistry X
Tea Polyphenols and Effects
5.89
article

Decoding the specific minty-like aroma of ‘Rucheng baimaocha’ (camellia pubescens) black tea

Qi Liu, Ronggang Jiang, Ligui Xiong, Jing Wang, Zhonghua Liu, Xingchang Ou, Juan Li, Haitao Wen, Jianan Huang, Jing Zhang, He Xie, Huimin An, Jian Ouyang, Wenjie Fu, Hongyu Chen
article en
4 citations

Abstract

Rucheng Baimaocha (<i>Camellia pubescens</i>) black tea (RCBT) exhibits floral and sweet attributes with a unique minty-like aroma, distinguishing it from traditional and other innovative black teas. However, its key odorants remain unknown. In this study, gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) combined with aroma extraction dilution analysis detected 26 aroma-active compounds (ACCs), of which 20 ACCs were quantified as odorants of RCBT infusion. In addition, aroma recombination models well simulated the overall aroma characteristics of RCBT infusion, which proved the accuracy of identification and quantification. Omission experiments showed that 12 key odorants played crucial roles in aroma formation of RCBT. Among these, four odorants (methyl salicylate, (<i>E</i>, <i>Z</i>)-2,6-nonadienal, methyl geranate, and (<i>E</i>)-2-nonenal), were of great importances for unique minty-like aroma, with significantly higher concentrations compared to other black tea varieties. This study offered a foundational theoretical framework for the processing and quality control of RCBT.

Food Chemistry XVol. 26
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (CN), Hunan Agricultural University (CN)
Development and Reform Commission of Hunan Province, Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Department, Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, Agriculture Research System of China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Tea Polyphenols and Effects
5.89
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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