Comprehensive multi-omics analysis of Mengding bud yellow tea in the intangible cultural heritage: insights into taste formation

Mengding bud yellow tea (MDBYT) is a renowned Chinese yellow tea characterized by its mellow, umami, and sweet taste. This study integrated flavoromics and metabolomics to investigate dynamic changes in non-volatile metabolites and sensory attributes during traditional “three yellowings and three fryings” processing. Sensory evaluation revealed progressive quality improvement, with the yellowing critical for enhancing umami and sweetness. Untargeted metabolomics identified 156 differentially abundant compounds. Theanine glucoside emerged as a potential contributor to the characteristic taste. KEGG pathway analysis highlighted amino acid biosynthesis and flavonoid metabolism as significantly enriched. Comparative metabolomic analysis with green tea identified 19 potential biomarkers, prominently including N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidinone-substituted flavan-3-ols (EPSFs), which were the most prominent. Correlation analysis between biomarkers and sensory attributes revealed distinct patterns in yellow and green teas, supporting their potential functional roles. These findings provide systematic and novel insights into the taste characteristics and underlying formation mechanisms of yellow tea.