Chinese Tea Research Articles

Politics, Trade and the Sale of Indian Tea to Tibet: Failure of Dumping of Indian Tea to Tibet During the Late Qing and Republican China Period

Since the late Qing dynasty, the sales volume of Sichuan brick tea in Tibet kept dropping, resulting in a sales crisis for it in Tibet a fear of the occupation of the Tibetan tea market by Indian tea due to its convenient traffic and low prices. During the dull sales of Sichuan brick tea in Tibet, Britain took various means, and even used military force to make Indian tea enter Tibet, whereas Indian tea was not sold in Tibet on a large scale, but only sporadically. The position of Chinese tea in Tibet was never shaken as was supposed by some at the time or later. The attempt for Indian tea on which Britain placed high hopes to be sold in Tibet was frustrated by the conflict between the central government and the Tibetan local government, the longstanding preference of the Tibetans for Sichuan brick tea, etc. The attempt of the British colonists to dump Indian tea into Tibet failed. In the meantime, with sea transport and price advantages, Yunnan tea made up for the reduction of Sichuan brick tea, and took up half of the Tibetan tea market.

Characterization of the Key Aroma Compounds in Different Aroma Types of Chinese Yellow Tea

Yellow tea is one of the six major tea categories in China. The floral fragrance type, high-fired fragrance type, fresh fragrance type, and corn-like fragrance type were the main aroma types of yellow tea screened by QDA. A total of 103 volatiles were identified in yellow teas by HS-SPME/GC-MS analysis. Using multivariate analysis and OAVs, forty-seven aroma compounds were identified as key aroma compounds for the formation of different aroma types of yellow teas. Among them, 8, 14, 7, and 18 key aroma compounds played an important role in the formation of aroma characteristics of floral fragrance, high-fired fragrance, fresh fragrance, and corn-like fragrance types of yellow teas, respectively. Furthermore, PLS analysis revealed that 12 aroma compounds were the key contributors to the 'floral and fruity' and 'sweet' attributes, five aroma compounds contributed to the 'roasted' attribute, and four aroma compounds related to the 'fresh' and 'grassy' attributes. This study provides new insights into the aroma characteristics formation of different aroma types of yellow teas and will provide a valuable theoretical basis for improving the flavor quality of yellow tea during the manufacturing process.

The Complete Chloroplast Genome Sequence of Machilus chuanchienensis (Lauraceae): Genome Structure and Phylogenetic Analysis

Machilus chuanchienensis is an ecological tree distributed in southwestern China. It has a significant valuation with making Hawk tea using its leaves, an ethnic traditional tea-like beverage with a long history in Chinese tea culture. The whole chloroplast (cp) genome is an ideal model for the phylogenetic study of Lauraceae because of its simple structure and highly conserved features. There have been numerous reports of complete cp genome sequences in Lauraceae, but little is known about M. chuanchienensis. Here, the next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to sequence the M. chuanchienensis cp genome. Then, a comprehensive comparative genome analysis was performed. The results revealed that the M. chuanchienensis's cp genome measured 152,748 base pairs (bp) with a GC content of 39.15% and coded 126 genes annotated, including comprising eight ribosomal RNA (rRNA), 36 transporter RNA (tRNA), and 82 protein-coding genes. In addition, the cp genome presented a typical quadripartite structure comprising a large single-copy (LSC; 93,811) region, a small single-copy (SSC; 18,803) region, and the inverted repeats (IRs; 20,067) region and contained 92 simple sequence repeat (SSR) locus in total. Phylogenetic relationships of 37 species indicated that M. chuanchienensis was a sister to M. balansae, M. melanophylla, and M. minutiflora. Further research on this crucial species may benefit significantly from these findings.

Dietary assessment of ochratoxin A in Chinese dark tea and inhibitory effects of tea polyphenols on ochratoxigenic Aspergillus niger.

In recent years, there has been an increasingly heated debate on whether Chinese dark tea is contaminated with mycotoxins and whether it poses health risks to consumers. In this study, a rapid method based on high-performance liquid chromatography was used to detect ochratoxin A (OTA) in Chinese dark tea samples from different regions of China and different years. Of the 228 Chinese dark tea samples tested, 21 were detected for OTA contamination, with a concentration ranging from 2.51 ± 0.16 to 12.62 ± 0.72 μg/kg. Subsequently, a dark tea drinking risk assessment was conducted, and the hazard quotient for each group was far below the acceptable level of 1.0. Of the 12 Aspergillus spp. strains isolated, one strain of Aspergillus niger had the ability to produce OTA. We also found that tea polyphenols and epigallocatechin gallate inhibited the growth of ochratoxin-producing Aspergillus niger and the expression of non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS), a key gene for ochratoxin synthesis. Thus, OTA contamination of dark tea is at an acceptable risk level, and the inhibition of ochratoxigenic Aspergillus niger by polyphenols provides new insights into the safety of dark tea consumption.

Drug/Natural Products-Related problems in Elderly

Herbal remedies have risen for decades in developed and developing countries. In this systematic review, the herbs such as cannabis, St. John's wort, kava, turmeric, grapefruit, bitter orange, ginger, garlic, and Chinese Herbal tea are discussed to interact with medicines and potentially cause adverse reactions. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and prevalence of drug/NP interactions in healthy volunteers or patients with comorbidities in elderly populations above 65. A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Cochrane, and MedRxiv databases, from May 2022 until July 2022. Studies investigating drug/NP-related problems (DNRP) in healthy patients or patients with comorbidities were included. The data obtained was then commenced with the quality assessment by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tool. The inclusion criteria comprised six studies demonstrating that most drug classes associated with DNRP were represented by Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), kinase inhibitors, and anti-neoplastic agents. Factors linked to DNRP are age, the number of medications, gender, five or more prescribed drug, presence of comorbidity, underestimation of potential adverse events, and length of hospitalization. This systematic review has proven that DNRPs may occur due to herb-drug interaction or multi-medication consumption. Limitations such as patients not disclosing their DNRPs to pharmacists may affect the investigation. At the same time, larger sample sizes are required to unfold the real problem in future studies.

Geographical origin identification of Chinese white teas, and their differences in tastes, chemical compositions and antioxidant activities among three production regions.

The producing area of Chinese white tea has been expanded to Xinyang and Yunnan from Fuding region. In this study, six sensory tastes and fifty-one chemical components including seventeen phenolic compounds, three purine alkaloids and twenty amino acids were determined in eighteen Bai mudan sub-type of white tea by electronic tongue, high performance liquid chromatography and amino acid analyzer for geographical identification, respectively. Additionally, in vitro antioxidant activities were evaluated by five various assays. Multivariate statistical analyses such as PCA, HCA and PLS-DA, completely divided these white teas into Xinyang, Yunnan and Fuding groups, indicating the feasibility of white tea classification by the production region. Twelve characteristic compounds (VIP>1.0, P<0.05) like gallic acid, theaflavin and L-glutamic acid contributed to the geographical identification. In conclusion, this study explored the chemical, taste and antioxidant capacity differences among three main production regions, and revealed their potential relations in white tea.

Ōbaku monk Baisaō and the Development of the Sencha Tradition in Edo Period Japan (1603-1868)

The &amp;#332;baku school, which represents the third major trend of Zen Buddhism along with Rinzai and S&amp;#333;t&amp;#333;, appeared in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868) due to the arrival of Buddhist emigrant monks from China. The article discusses the life of &amp;#332;baku monk named Baisa&amp;#333; who played a decisive role in the development and popularization of the tradition of sencha (brewing leaf tea in hot water) in Japan during the Edo period. This method of brewing tea, popular among &amp;#332;baku monks, which at the initial stage of the development of the teaching was represented by ethnic Chinese, was a reference to the traditions of tea drinking by Chinese intellectuals of antiquity and was actually opposed to Baisa&amp;#333; the existing Japanese tea ceremony. The author concludes that it was familiarity with the teaching of &amp;#332;baku, which personified a corner of Ming China in Japan, that determined the life path of Baisa&amp;#333; associated with the Chinese tea tradition and significantly influenced the formation of the cultural image of the entire epoch - the movement for the popularization of sencha after Baisa&amp;#333;'s death took on a truly large scale. It can be said that his active activity in spreading tea culture in Japan, in which Baisa&amp;#333; himself reflected his spiritual ideals, led to the creation of a full-fledged alternative to the Japanese tea ceremony, thanks to which many of his contemporaries and their descendants fell in love with tea drinking again in the spirit of the Chinese sages of antiquity.

Developing an ultrasensitive immunochromatographic assay for authentication of an emergent fraud aminopyrine in herbal tea

Aminopyrine is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug only for medical purposes, however, it has been illegally added in traditional Chinese herbal teas for fraud activity recently. In this study, a specific antibody against aminopyrine with IC50 of 3.00 ng/mL was obtained for the first time by a rational hapten design. Furthermore, an ultrasensitive gold nanoparticles immunochromatographic assay (AuNPs-ICA) for determination of aminopyrine based on a portable reader was firstly developed, with cut-off value of 100.00 ng/mL, limit of detection (LOD) of 4.80 ng/mL and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 5.71 ng/mL for herbal tea, respectively. The recovery rates ranged from 93.21 % to 105.61 %, with inter-assay coefficient of variation (CV) from 1.08 % to 3.82 %. Additionally, 24 blind samples were examined simultaneously by AuNPs-ICA and LC-MS/MS, demonstrating a good consistency for each other. The proposed AuNPs-ICA is an ultrasensitive and reliable tool for on-site surveillance screening of fraud additives in herbal tea.

Induction of Apoptosis via Inactivating PI3K/AKT Pathway in Colorectal Cancer Cells Using Aged Chinese Hakka Stir-Fried Green Tea Extract.

Food extract supplements, with high functional activity and low side effects, play a recognized role in the adjunctive therapy of human colorectal cancer. The present study reported a new functional beverage, which is a type of Chinese Hakka stir-fried green tea (HSGT) aged for several years. The extracts of the lyophilized powder of five HSGT samples with different aging periods were analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography. The major components of the extract were found to include polyphenols, catechins, amino acids, catechins, gallic acid and caffeine. The tea extracts were also investigated for their therapeutic activity against human colorectal cancer cells, HT-29, an epithelial cell isolated from the primary tumor. The effect of different aging time of the tea on the anticancer potency was compared. Our results showed that, at the cellular level, all the extracts of the aged teas significantly inhibited the proliferation of HT-29 in a concentration-dependent manner. In particular, two samples prepared in 2015 (15Y, aged for 6 years) and 2019 (19Y, aged for 2 years) exhibited the highest inhibition rate for 48 h treatment (cell viability was 50% at 0.2 mg/mL). Further, all the aged tea extracts examined were able to enhance the apoptosis of HT-29 cells (apoptosis rate > 25%) and block the transition of G1/S phase (cell-cycle distribution (CSD) from <20% to >30%) population to G2/M phase (CSD from nearly 30% to nearly 10%) at 0.2 mg/mL for 24 h or 48 h. Western blotting results also showed that the tea extracts inhibited cyclin-dependent kinases 2/4 (CDK2, CDK4) and CylinB1 protein expression, as well as increased poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PRAP) expression and Bcl2-associated X (Bax)/B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl2) ratio. In addition, an upstream signal of one of the above proteins, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signalling, was found to be involved in the regulation, as evidenced by the inhibition of phosphorylated PI3K and AKT by the extracts of the aged tea. Therefore, our study reveals that traditional Chinese aged tea (HSGT) may inhibit colon cancer cell proliferation, cell-cycle progression and promoted apoptosis of colon cancer cells by inactivating PI3K/AKT signalling.

Sichuan dark tea improves lipid metabolism and prevents aortic lipid deposition in diet-induced atherosclerosis model rats.

Sichuan dark tea (ST), Zangcha, is a traditional fermented Chinese tea found in Sichuan and Tibet and claimed for beneficial effects against lifestyle-related metabolic disorders. We examined the effects of ST on lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. Sichuan dark tea was given to fat-rich diet-induced atherosclerosis model rats in comparison with dark-fermented Chinese Pu-erh tea (PT) and Japanese green tea (GT). After 8 weeks of feeding, ST and PT induced an increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and a decrease in glucose, and ST decreased triglyceride in plasma. ST also induced low pH in the cecum. There was no significant change in their body weight among the fat-feeding groups but a decrease was found in the visceral fat and liver weight in the ST group. Accordingly, ST reduced lipid deposition in the aorta in comparison with PT and GT. ST increased mRNA of LXRα, PPARα, PPARγ, and ABCA1 in the rat liver. The extract of ST stimulated the AMPK pathway to increase the expression of ABCA1 in J774 cells and increased expression of lipoprotein lipase and hormone-sensitive lipase in 3T3L1 cells, consistent with its anti-atherogenic effects in rats. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis showed unique spectra of original specific compounds of caffeine and catechins in each tea extract, but none of them was likely responsible for these effects. Sichuan dark tea increases plasma HDL and reduces plasma triglyceride to decrease atherosclerosis through AMPK activation. Further study is required to identify specific components for the effects of this tea preparation.

Research on the Development of Tea Culture Tourism Products under the Background of Cultural and Tourism Integration

China is the origin country of tea.Over the years, the tea industry in China has developed vigorously and becomes increasingly prosperous.Under the background of cultural and tourism integration, cultural creativit y is increasingly valued in the process of tourism product development.In the development process of Chinese tea products, the industrial chain is short and the added value is low.This paper will focus on the development of tea industry. Taking Taiping Houkui tea industry as an example, through data analysis, it will find out the reasons that hinder the sustainable development of Taiping Houkui tea industry, so as to develop and design tea tourism products, and discuss the basic path of sustainable development of tea tourism industry.

Identification and Field Evaluation of Sex Pheromone Components and Its Antagonist Produced by a Major Tea Pest, Archips strojny (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

Pesticide application is the only known control method for the tea tortrix Archips strojny (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), which is a major pest of spring tea in China. To develop sex pheromone-based, environmentally safe control strategies, here we identified the sex pheromone components of this species. The male moths' antennae responded electrophysiologically to two compounds in female pheromone gland extracts. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis indicated that the two bioactive compounds were (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (Z11-14:Ac) and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl alcohol (Z11-14:OH). Field trapping assays showed that lures baited with only the major component Z11-14:Ac were the most attractive to male moths, and the attractiveness decreased significantly when the lure was impregnated with increased relative ratios of the minor component Z11-14:OH. Our study demonstrated that Z11-14:Ac was the major attractant in the A. strojny sex pheromone, and the minor component Z11-14:OH seemed to serve as an antagonist. The results indicate that lures baited with 1 mg of Z11-14:Ac could be used as a monitoring or mass trapping tool for A. strojny management in Chinese tea plantations. Furthermore, Z11-14:Ac was identified as a common sex pheromone attractant of nine Archips species; these results lay the foundation for developing mating disruption techniques that target multiple leafroller pests.

Occurrence, fate, and probabilistic risk assessment of fipronil residues in Chinese tea

The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of fipronil and its three metabolites in tea samples collected from 2011 to 2018 in China, where the use of fipronil in agriculture had been banned since 2009. Among the 726 tea samples, the total fipronils (∑FIPs, non-detected (ND)− 140 µg/kg) were dominated by the parent compound fipronil (ND-80.6 µg/kg) and its major metabolites fipronil desulfinyl (ND-36.9 µg/kg) and fipronil sulfone (ND-24.2 µg/kg), while fipronil sulfide (ND-6.78 µg/kg) contributed little to the total. A total of 20.0 % and 30.7 % of the tea samples detected ∑FIPs residues exceeded the maximum residue limits of 0.005 and 0.002 mg/kg set by the European Union and Japan, respectively. The average concentration of ∑FIPs decreased by 22 times during the three survey periods. By the probabilistic model, the chronic exposure risk of Chinese tea consumers was less than 25 % of the acceptable daily intake of fipronil, and a ten-fold decrease was observed within eight years. The ∑FIPs residues in tea were within a low health risk for Chinese tea consumers. This was the first study to provide the basic information on the occurrence and the temporal variation of fipronil in tea samples from China.

Marketing Strategy and the U.S. Market Based on the Performances of Existing Chinese Milk Tea Brands

This study aims to discuss and find solutions for Mixue Ice Cream &amp; Tea, a milk tea brand known for its social media presence and low price in China, regarding its emerging hindrance in the domestic milk tea market. The hindrance is the increasingly saturated market and heating up competition among all the brands, which is also a ubiquitous problem for all these brands. By examining the situation and finding the solutions, Mixue and similar brands can be benefited and seek further development overseas. This study used data analysis to elucidate the current status of Mixue and probed a precedent brand with similar problems as a case study to estimate the efficiency and practicability of certain strategies. The conclusion is drawn after scrutinizing the data and facts collected: to adapt to the overseas market, Mixue will have to reinforce the management of the franchisees, expand supplier chains, and adjust brand culture and brand image accordingly to the local environment.

GC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics reveals the key volatile organic compounds for discriminating grades of Yichang big-leaf green tea

In this work, headspace gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) combined with multivariate statistical analysis was applied to reveal volatile markers from different grades of Yichang big-leaf green tea (YBGT). A total of 94 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected and identified, which can be categorized as alkanes, terpene, aromatics, ketone, ester, alcohol, heterocyclic compounds, aldehyde, olefin, acid, amine, and nitrogen compounds. The differences between low-grade and high-grade YBGT were demonstrated by principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Based on orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), 19 VOCs were screened as markers for the discrimination of first-grade and second-grade YBGT, and 25 VOCs were screened as markers to distinguish first-grade from third-grade YBGT. Among them, 16 VOCs are common, which can be used as characteristic markers to distinguish low-grade from high-grade YBGT. Overall, our findings indicated that there are significant differences in VOCs among different grades of YBGT, and HS-GC-MS in combination with chemometric multivariate statistical analysis can be extended as a reliable strategy for discriminating grades of other Chinese green teas.

Characterization of Key Odorants in Lingtou Dancong Oolong Tea and Their Differences Induced by Environmental Conditions from Different Altitudes.

Lingtou Dancong oolong tea is a famous Chinese oolong tea due to its special honey-like aroma. However, little is known about its specific aroma profile and key contributors. Furthermore, whether the aroma characteristics of Lingtou Dancong oolong tea are affected by the environmental conditions at different altitudes is unknown. In this study, the aromas in Lingtou Dancong oolong tea were extracted and analyzed by stir-bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) combined with gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the aroma profiles of tea plants grown at different altitudes were compared. We detected 59 odor compounds in Lingtou Dancong oolong tea. Eight compounds with honey and floral odors were identified as key components on the basis of GC-O, GC-MS, odor activity value, and flavor dilution analyses. Differences in the contents of precursor geranyl diphosphate and transcript levels of structural genes were found to be responsible for the differential accumulation of linalool and hotrienol among plants grown at different altitudes. This is the first report on the aroma characteristics and key contributors of Lingtou Dancong oolong tea and their differences, as affected by altitude. These results provide details of the chemical basis of the aroma quality of Lingtou Dancong oolong tea.

Discrimination of geographical indication of Chinese green teas using an electronic nose combined with quantum neural networks: A portable strategy

Sensory attributes of teas are related to their geographical origin and directly affect consumer preference and thus the value of products. In this paper, we propose a portable strategy of identifying five famous green teas with official geographical indications of China using a lab-made electronic nose combined with a quantum neural network (QNN). QNN can be regarded as a modified version of back propagation neural network (BPNN), in which transfer functions are superposed by several sigmoids forming multilevel intervals and can be adjusted during training. Firstly, principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis are used for low-dimensional visualization. Then different QNNs with 2–6 quantum intervals are trained and tested compared with BPNN, support vector machine (SVM) and k-nearest neighbor (k-NN). The results show that averaged classification accuracies of QNNs are higher than that of BPNN, SVM and k-NN, and they raise with increasing of initial quantum intervals but vary a little when quantum intervals exceed 3, and reach highest to 99.38 %, indicating 3 quantum intervals is adequate for this application considering the trade-off between calculating cost and classification accuracy. The results demonstrate that QNN is a promising pattern recognition method for portable electronic noses due to its better generalization ability but simple implementation as a conventional BPNN.

An integrated approach to Q-marker discovery and quality assessment of edible Chrysanthemum flowers based on chromatogram–effect relationship and bioinformatics analyses

Medicinal Juhua (the flower head of five cultivars of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.), Jinsi Huangju (the flower head of another cultivar), and Yajuhua (the flower head of Chrysanthemum indicum L.) are widely consumed as a traditional Chinese medicine and tea. Although they are similar in appearance, difference in the species or cultivation environment result in variations in their chemical constituents, pharmacological effects, and qualities. To assess the quality and authenticity of Chrysanthemum flowers, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and chemometrics were used to determine differential components. The components were identified by comparison with reference standards or by analysis of mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance data after HPLC-guided isolation. Then, the antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activities of the samples and reference standards were studied, and chromatogram–effect relationship models were established to screen out the constituents significantly contributing to the bioactivities of the flowers. Subsequently, the quality markers (Q-markers) were determined based on their testability, characterization, and effectiveness. Finally, the Q-markers were investigated for potential antihypertension targets and pathways to further confirm their effectiveness using bioinformatics techniques, including network pharmacology and molecular docking . This developed integrated approach is robust and powerful for Q-marker discovery, quality assessment, and authentication of Chrysanthemum flowers and can also be extensively applied for the quality control of other herbal materials. • It was specified that Chrysanthemum flowers differ chemically and bioactively. • Five compounds were identified to be the Q-markers of Chrysanthemum flowers. • The antihypertension targets and pathways of the Q-markers were clarified. • This method can also be applied for quality control of other herbal products.

Tea-Soybean Intercropping Improves Tea Quality and Nutrition Uptake by Inducing Changes of Rhizosphere Bacterial Communities.

The positive aspects of the tea plant/legume intercropping system draw attention to the Chinese tea industry for its benefit for soil fertility improvement with low fertilizer input. However, limited information exists as to the roles of intercropped legumes in the rhizosphere microbiome and tea quality. Hereby, soybean was selected as the intercropped plant to investigate its effect on bacterial communities, nutrient competition, tea plant development, and tea quality. Our data showed that intercropped soybean boosted the uptake of nitrogen in tea plants and enhanced the growth of young tea shoots. Nutrient competition for phosphorus and potassium in soil existed between soybeans and tea plants. Moreover, tea/soybean intercropping improved tea quality, manifested by a significantly increased content of non-ester type catechins (C, EGC, EC), total catechins and theanine, and decreased content of ester type catechins (EGCG). Significant differences in rhizobacterial composition were also observed under different systems. At the genus level, the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria, such as Bradyrhizobium, Saccharimonadales and Mycobacterium, was significantly increased with the intercropping system, while the relative abundance of denitrifying bacteria, Pseudogulbenkiania, was markedly decreased. Correlation analysis showed that Pseudogulbenkiania, SBR1031, and Burkholderiaceae clustered together showing a similar correlation with soil physicochemical and tea quality characteristics; however, other differential bacteria showed the opposite pattern. In conclusion, tea/soybean intercropping improves tea quality and nutrition uptake by increasing the relative abundance of beneficial rhizosphere bacteria and decreasing denitrifying bacteria. This study strengthens our understanding of how intercropping system regulate the soil bacterial community to maintain the health of soils in tea plantations and provides the basis for replacing chemical fertilizers and improving the ecosystem in tea plantations.

Deep Learning Model for Soil Environment Quality Classification of Pu-erh Tea

Pu-erh tea, Camellia sinensis is a traditional Chinese tea, one of the black teas, originally produced in China’s Yunnan Province, named after its origin and distribution center in Pu-erh, Yunnan. Yunnan Pu-erh tea is protected by geographical Indication and has unique quality characteristics. It is made from Yunnan large-leaf sun-green tea with specific processing techniques. The quality formation of Pu-erh tea is closely related to the soil’s environmental conditions. In this paper, time-by-time data of the soil environment of tea plantations during the autumn tea harvesting period in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China, in 2021 were analyzed. Spearman’s correlation analysis was conducted between the inner components of Pu’er tea and the soil environmental factor. The analysis showed that three soil environmental indicators, soil temperature, soil moisture, and soil pH, were highly significantly correlated. The soil environmental quality evaluation method was proposed based on the selected soil environmental characteristics. Meanwhile, a deep learning model of Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) Network for the soil environmental quality of tea plantation was established according to the proposed method, and the soil environmental quality of tea was classified into four classes. In addition, the paper also compares the constructed models based on BP neural network and random forest to evaluate the coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), mean square error (MSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and root mean square error (RMSE) of the indicators for comparative analysis. This paper innovatively proposes to introduce the main inclusions of Pu’er tea into the classification and discrimination model of the soil environment in tea plantations, while using machine learning-related algorithms to classify and predict the categories of soil environmental quality, instead of relying solely on statistical data for analysis. This research work makes it possible to quickly and accurately determines the physiological status of tea leaves based on the establishment of a soil environment quality prediction model, which provides effective data for the intelligent management of tea plantations and has the advantage of rapid and low-cost assessment compared with the need to measure the intrinsic quality of Pu-erh tea after harvesting is completed.