Sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of various green teas

The green tea market is rapidly growing and identifying the driving factors of consumers' liking for the green tea is important in the tea industries. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of manufacturing conditions of the green tea on its sensory characteristics, to elucidate its relationship with the consumer liking. A descriptive analysis and consumer acceptability test were conducted for various green tea samples. The samples differed with regard to the source of the tea, the amino acid content, and the processing methods including the roasting temperature. Partial least square regressions (PLS-R) were performed to establish the relationship between the descriptive data and the consumer acceptability data. The PLS-R results showed that the majority of the consumers liked a green tea which has a stronger 'sweet taste' and roastingrelated flavors such as 'roasted barley' and 'burnt leaf'. Such sensory characteristics were produced when a sample made of tea leaves mixed with the tea stem was roasted at a high temperature (250°C) in this study.