Comprehensive profiling of volatile components in Taiping Houkui green tea

Taiping Houkui green tea is well-known in China for its noble aroma. Six tea strains from the Shidacha population (the predominant raw materials for Taiping Houkui green tea) and three other varieties were used to prepare green teas via the conventional techniques of Taiping Houkui green tea manufacture. Aroma evaluation confirmed that green teas produced from Shidacha strains possessed good aroma qualities. A total of ninety-six volatile compounds were identified and quantified. Hierarchical cluster analysis separated the nine green teas into three groups, and principal component analysis identified 16 volatiles (with variance importance values greater than one) that contributed to the separation. Thirty-three volatiles with odor activity values above one were identified, the highest twenty being methyl epi-jasmonate, octanal, (Z)-jasmone, β-ionone, geraniol, indole, methyl jasmonate, nonanal, decanal, linalool, benzeneacetaldehyde, phenylethyl alcohol, α-ionone, 1-octen-3-ol, cedrol, benzaldehyde, dimethyl sulfide, hexanal, 3-methylbutanal, and β-cyclocitral. All of these may be key odorants in Taiping Houkui green tea. This study suggests that the unique aroma of Taiping Houkui green tea depends both on a premium tea plant and the manufacturing process.