Sensomics-assisted identification of key aroma components contributing to the characteristic scent of vacuum-extracted Jin Guanyin tea hydrolat and its aroma enhancement potential

Tea hydrolat is an innovative value-added tea product with natural tea aroma. Nevertheless, the dearth of research has hindered its industrial development and commercialization. Therefore, this study is the first to investigate the <i>Jin Guanyin</i> Oolong tea hydrolat under vacuum extraction. Sensory evaluation and volatile analysis revealed that low-temperature, short-duration extraction (optimally 50 °C for 40 min) better preserved aroma quality. The 40 aroma components were detected by gas chromatography-olfactometry, and subsequently jasmine lactone, benzeneacetaldehyde, methyl salicylate, hexanal, benzaldehyde, indole, jasmone, methyl heptenone, <i>β</i>-ionone, (<i>Z</i>)-3-hexen-1-ol, and 1-penten-3-one were identified as the key aroma components of the tea hydrolat based on the aroma recombination and omission tests. Hydrolat scenting demonstrated excellent aroma-enhancing efficacy in tea, achieving up to a 20.69 % increase in key aroma components. These findings indicated the substantial potential for tea hydrolat application in increasing the added value of tea aroma in industry.