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Journal of Tea Science ›› 2023, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (5): 593-606.doi: 10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2023.05.010

• Review •     Next Articles

Research Progress on Colored Substances in Tea

LONG Piaopiao, SU Shengxiao, ZHANG Liang*   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization/Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
  • Received:2023-06-14 Revised:2023-08-14 Online:2023-10-15 Published:2023-11-06

Abstract: The color of tea leaves and infusions is an important attribute to tea flavor and quality. Colored substances contain chromophore and auxochrome groups, which contribute to producing different shades of green, yellow, and red hue in tea infusion. As the concentrations of colored substances increase, the tea infusions’ color will increase accordingly, presenting different colors such as yellowish-green, reddish-yellow and reddish-brown. Furthermore, fermentation (enzymatic oxidation) and drying stages during processing, as well as temperature, pH, and concentration in sensory evaluation, affect the color and brightness of tea infusions. This review revealed the color formation mechanisms by summarizing the chemical structures, color characteristics, coloration mechanisms and other factors of color substances in tea. It also provided a theoretical evidence for the quality improvement of tea flavor and the innovation of processing technology.

Key words: tea, color, flavor chemistry, colored substances, oxidation products

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