Improving the flavor of black tea with treatment of cherry blossom and tannase: based on molecular sensory science and chemometrics

Black tea, due to its distinctive flavor, is the most popular type of tea worldwide. Tea producers and scientists devote themselves to the development of novel black tea with better and special flavors. In this study, cherry blossoms and tannase were added to black tea during processing, and their effects on the aroma and taste of black tea were evaluated by analyzing the sensory quality, contents of non-volatile and volatile components, and the antioxidant capacity. Combined with molecular sensory science, the characteristic aroma compounds of cherry blossom black tea were further validated. The results indicate that incorporating cherry blossoms and tannase during the fermentation stage of black tea effectively improved the aroma profile, the taste of the tea infusion, and its antioxidant capacity. This study established the aroma wheel of cherry blossom black tea for the first time and systematically characterized its characteristic aroma compounds, laying foundation for the development and production of cherry blossom black tea.