Sensory characterization of pu-erh tea beverages

The aim of this study was to develop a sensory profile of pu-erh tea beverages. Additionally, sensory evaluation results were compared with the color of the beverages measured in the CIE L*, a*, b*. The results showed that the color of infusions was a combination of black and brown with a high proportion of copper (15.00 – 63.75). The most fresh were Bio-Active and UNO-Foods. In turn, the strongest brew was prepared from Grande tea. All products were characterized by citrus flavor. Principal component analysis helped reduce the number of variables that describe presented tea, to just two. The first includes differentiators describing flavor infusion and infusion appearance, while the second cover the citrus flavor of beverages. Both groups represent 51% of the inputs.