Comparison of the Characteristics of the Major Components of Various Grades of White Tea Produced in Different Regions

This study sought to compare and analyze the characteristics of the major components of representative Chinese white tea and domestically produced white tea according to the production regions and grades. The aim was to provide the basic data necessary for setting the quality standards for domestic white tea production. Three grades of white tea from Fuding and Yunnan in China, and ‘WP’ from Jeju and Hadong in Korea were analyzed. The total amino acids and individual amino acid contents were higher in the teas from Fuding than in those from Yunnan, higher in domestically produced tea than in Chinese tea, and lowest in ‘SM’. On the other hand, the total polyphenol and catechin contents were higher in the teas from Yunnan than in those from Fuding, higher in Chinese tea than in domestically produced tea, and highest in the order of ‘BHYZ’, ‘WP’, and ‘SM’. The theaflavin and thearubigin contents were lower in domestically produced tea than in Chinese tea, and highest in ‘SM’. The results of this study indicate that white tea of ‘WP’ grade or higher contain high amounts of amino acids, polyphenols, and catechins, indicating good quality. Also, there were differences in the characteristics of the components depending on the production region.