Determination of volatile compounds in green tea and black tea from Turkey by using HS-SPME and GC-MS

Abstract

Background and Aims: The tea plant, Camellia sinensis (L.) O.Kuntze is cultivated in the temperate parts of the world because of its economical value and has been known for ages. According to the processing method, tea can be classified mainly into three types; green, oolong and black tea. The composition of tea obtained from C.sinensis heavily depends on geographical location, harvesting time, storage condition and manufacturing process. So the purpose of this paper is to study the volatile composition of green and black tea volatiles manufactured from C.sinensis cultivated in North Anatolia. Methods: The volatiles in green and black teas were extracted by using HS-SPME and analysed by GC-MS/FID analysis. The major compounds in each tea were identified. Results: Totally, twenty-one and sixteen compounds were separated from green tea and black tea samples, respectively. The main components of green tea aroma were cis-3-hexenyl hexanoate (11.26%), n-octanol (8.55%) and n-decanal (8.02%), while the phenylacetaldehyde (11.26%) and n-decanal (9.93%) were found abundately in black tea aroma. Conclusion: As aroma is a strong determinant for consumer demands and decisive in tea product speciality, a suitable selection of raw material and location, modification of the manufacturing process could be a reasonable approach to enrich the target aromatic profile of tea products.