The Influence of Water Composition on Flavor and Nutrient Extraction in Green and Black Tea

Abstract

Tea is made from the processed leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, which is a tropical and subtropical evergreen plant native to Asia. Behind water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. Factors that affect tea brewing include brewing temperature, vessel, and time, water-to-leaf ratio, and, in some reports, the composition of the water used. In this project, we tested if the water used to brew tea was sufficient to influence perceived flavor to the everyday tea drinker. Black and green tea were brewed with bottled, tap, and deionized water, with brewing temperature, vessel, time, and the water-to-leaf ratio matched. The samples were analyzed with a human consumer sensory panel, as well as instrumentally for color, turbidity, and Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) content. Results showed that the type of water used to brew tea drastically affected sensory properties of green tea (and mildly also for black tea), which was likely driven by a much greater degree of extraction of bitter catechins in teas brewed with more purified bottled or deionized water. For the everyday tea drinker who drinks green tea for health, the capability to double the EGCG content in tea by simply brewing with bottled or deionized water represents a clear advantage. Conversely, those drinking tea for flavor may benefit from instead brewing tea with tap water.

Bridging Sensory Evaluation and Consumer Research for Strategic Leafy Brassica (Brassica oleracea) Improvement

“…Regardless, these samples occupy new space on the sensory map and demonstrate the capacity of consumer clustering in understanding varietal distinction, market class plasticity, and consumer‐defined quality within leafy Brassicas. Clustering of liking patterns is reasonable in a vegetable such as kale, as bitter compounds capable of activating receptors with known polymorphisms in human populations can drive disliking in foods (Franks, Lawrence, Abbaspourrad, & Dando, ; Wieczorek, Walczak, Skrzypczak‐Zielińska, & Jeleń, ). Regular kale consumers appreciate the curly, bitter identity of traditional kale genotypes (for example, ‘Darkibor’), but also prefer thin leaves that leave little bitter aftertaste.…”

Taste, Nutrition, and Health

“…Gous et al [22] developed 36 model grapefruit beverages varying in taste, aroma, flavor, and color to characterize their sensory profiles and to identify the formulations best-liked by consumers. Franks et al [23] present unique findings showing that the type of water (tap, bottled, or deionized) used to brew tea influences sensory characteristics and nutrient extraction. Color, flavor, and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) extraction were higher for teas (especially green tea) made with purified water, but consumer liking was higher for less intensely flavored green tea made with tap water.…”

An integrated sustainable approach for the development of Kyoho skin functional tea

“…water), which may cause cloudiness and produce tea scum in tea infusion. A study investigated the influence of water composition on flavour and nutrient extraction in tea (green and black) reported the influence of water composition to increase the turbidity of the tea samples (Franks et al, 2019). Based on the results, samples dried at 50 and 60°C preserved colour (10.83 and 9.11) attributes and turbidity (218.33 and 276.33 NTU), which could attract consumers to experience the taste of Kyoho skin functional tea.…”