A comparison of the flavor of green teas from around the world.

Background: Green teas can be grouped based on their flavor profiles. The country of origin appears to have a strong influence on the flavor of green tea probably because similar processing methods are widely used within each particular country and flavor is dependent, in part, on processing. The aim of this article is to determine what flavor differences exist among a wide range of green teas (n = 138) produced in various countries.

Results: In this study we found that roast-processed teas were mostly responsible for brown-related flavors and steam-processed teas were responsible for green-related flavors. The prices of the green teas did not differentiate the flavors of the samples. Often highly priced green teas were grouped with low-priced green teas from the same manufacturer or country of origin according to their flavor attributes.

Conclusions: Differences in the tea plant varieties or cultivars likely affects flavors in green tea. However, those were not known for many samples in this research and more study will be needed to determine the effects of specific differences in varieties or cultivars.