Monitoring Changes in the Volatile Compounds of Tea Made from Summer Tea Leaves by GC-IMS and HS-SPME-GC-MS

Compared with spring tea, summer tea has the advantages of economy and quantity. However, research on the aroma characteristics of summer tea is currently limited. In this study, summer fresh tea leaves (castanopsis. sinensis, cv. Fuliangzhong) (FTLs) were processed intoblack tea (BT) and green tea (GT). The changes in the volatile compounds during the tea processing were quantified using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) and head space-solid phase micro-extraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS), and then analyzed on the basis of relative odor activity value (ROAV). Results showed low amounts of flavor compounds, such as linalool oxides, geraniol, and sulcatone, were found in FTLs, but after processing, high amounts of the same in BT and GT. Summer BT and GT contained characteristic compounds similar to spring tea, including linalool, geraniol, (E,E)-2,4-decdienal, β-ionone, methyl salicylate, geranyl acetone, and decanal. All these compounds have high content and ROAV values, which give the same flavor to summer teas as spring tea. This study confirmed that summer fresh tea leaves were suitable to produce black and green tea with good flavor. Monitoring changes in aroma compounds by GC-IMS coupled with GC-MS, the quality of summer tea is expected to be promoted towards the quality of spring tea by improving processing methods for valuable-tea production.