The yellowing process is the crucial step to form the characteristic sensory and chemical properties of yellow tea. To investigate the chemical changes and the associations with sensory traits during yellowing, yellow teas with different yellowing times (0–13 h) were prepared for sensory evaluation and chemical analysis. The intensities of umami and green-tea aroma were reduced whereas sweet taste, mellow taste and sweet aroma were increased under long-term yellowing treatment. A total of 230 chemical constituents were determined, among which 25 non-volatiles and 42 volatiles were the key chemical contributors to sensory traits based on orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA), multiple factor analysis (MFA) and multidimensional alignment (MDA) analysis. The decrease in catechins, flavonol glycosides and caffeine and the increase in certain amino acids contributed to the elevated sweet taste and mellow taste. The sweet, woody and herbal odorants and the fermented and fatty odorants were the key contributors to the characteristic sensory feature of yellow tea with sweet aroma and over-oxidation aroma, including 7 ketones, 5 alcohols, 1 aldehyde, 5 acids, 4 esters, 5 hydrocarbons, 1 phenolic compound and 1 sulfocompound. This study reveals the sensory trait-related chemical changes in the yellowing process of tea, which provides a theoretical basis for the optimization of the yellowing process and quality control of yellow tea.

The consumer‐centric tea‐sensory evaluation is the premise and guarantee for product optimization and consumer guidance. However, there is no effective consumer‐centric tea sensory characterization tool till now. The goal of this study was to explore a novel application of check‐all‐that‐apply with semi‐trained assessors (ST‐CATA) on tea sensory characterization and hedonic driver investigation, using Longjing teas with complex flavor characteristics as a case study. In this study, a 17 attributes lexicon and corresponding references were developed as attributes marker for sensory training. 17 Longjing teas with different sensory characteristics were analyzed by ST‐CATA (N = 40). Tea characterization by ST‐CATA based on correspondence analysis (CA) and multidimensional alignment (MDA) showed that fresh‐type, roasty‐type and defect‐type Longjing teas were distinguished successfully. Penalty analysis based on hedonic scale from ST‐CATA indicated that fresh‐type and roasty‐type Longjing tea were two directions for consumer preferences. Attributes “tender flavor”, “umami”, “sweetness”, “Orchid‐like aroma”, “roasty”, and “fresh” were the key drivers for overall liking, while “grassy flavor”, “strong”, “bitterness”, and “astringency” were negatively associated with overall liking. Overall results verified ST‐CATA is a valuable consumer‐centric tool for tea sensory characterization, which have powerful potential for identifying liking drivers and directions for consumption preference. Practical Application Tea sensory characteristics are complex and variable. This study developed a novel consumer‐centric method for tea sensory evaluation based on check‐all‐that‐apply with semi‐trained assessors (ST‐CATA). An effective tea characterization was performed by ST‐CATA and used to hedonic analysis with acceptable sensitivity. The novel application of ST‐CATA was verified to be suitable for tea sensory analysis and consumer preference with the advantage of easy‐to‐understand and intuitive consumer experience, which provided effective information for tea product optimization and consumer guidance.