Abstract: Tea, as a hobby drink, the flavor is its first quality attribute. The presentation of its taste is the comprehensive perception effect of the human taste organs on the flavor components in tea infusion, which is generally manifested as bitter, astringent, fresh, sweet and other sensory experiences. Among them, bitterness is the most easily perceived taste attribute, and as a crucial factor affecting the flavor quality of tea. Meanwhile, due to the bitter taste, summer and autumn tea resources are faced with the dilemma of large abandonment, resulting in a great waste of resources. Based on this, this paper reviewed the physiological basis of bitter perception and the evaluation methods of bitter taste perception. Taking green tea infusion as the main carrier, the bitter taste components of tea were systematically integrated, and the interaction effect between other taste monomers and bitter compounds, as well as the regulatory mechanism of post-treatment on the bitter taste of tea infusion were discussed. It was expected to enrich the theoretical basis of taste chemistry and clarify the flavor characteristics of bitter compounds of tea, the taste mechanism and the interaction effect between taste substances, and provide theoretical reference for promoting the high-value utilization and taste regulation of summer and autumn tea.

Key words: green tea, tea infusion, bitter compounds, taste interaction, regulatory mechanism