2016

NPC Natural Product Communications Vol. 11

No. 8
Characteristic Aroma Features of Tencha and Sencha Green Tea 1171 - 1173
Leaves Manufactured by Different Processes
Toshio Hasegawaa*, Yuta Shimadaa, Hiroki Saitob, Takashi Fujiharaa, Kenji Haraguchic, Atsushi Takahashid
and Kenta Nakajimad
a
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
b
Department of Chemistry, Saitama University, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
c
Kyoto Prefectural Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Technology Center, Tea Industry Research Division,
Kyoto 611-0022, Japan
d
Saitama Tea Research Institute, Saitama 358-0042, Japan

toshihas@mail.saitama-u.ac.jp

Received: May 18th, 2016; Accepted: July 2nd, 2016

There are many varieties of tea (Camellia sinensis) obtained by different processing methods. In Japan, sencha tea has been used to brew beverages for
centuries, and tencha leaves are used to make powdered green tea, matcha, which is used as an important food additive to impart the odor of green tea. We
investigated the differences between the odors of sencha and tencha and their aroma profiles. We used our new technique to evaluate the odor of green tea,
based on the theory that the aroma characteristics of materials arise from the interactions of groups of compounds with similar structures. Hexane extracts from
sencha and tencha leaves were analyzed by gas chromatography-olfactometry. We detected several important compounds for tencha. The hexane extracts were
separated by distillation, and groups of compounds with different boiling points were obtained. We investigated the group of high-boiling point constituents,
which had a matcha-like odor and consisted of a group of odor constituents common to sencha and tencha. Tencha had a characteristic seaweed-like odor, and
the low-boiling point constituents caused the differences in the tencha and sencha odors.

Keywords: Aroma feature, Green tea leaves, Tencha, Sencha, GC-O analysis, Matcha-like odor.

Tea is one of the most common beverages worldwide. It is
classified as green tea, oolong tea, or black tea based on the degree
of fermentation after picking. Green tea is drunk mainly in Japan,
oolong tea is drunk in China and South-East Asia, and black tea is
drunk all over the world, but particularly in Europe and Asia. Thus,
tea is an essential part of daily life. In addition, tea is a functional
beverage, containing catechins and caffeine, which are functional
compounds. Catechins have anticancer activity [1] and caffeine has
an excitatory effect on the central nervous system. Taste and
fragrance are the main factors that determine the quality of tea. For
example, the relaxation effects of tea arise from (3Z)-hexenol,
aldehydes, aromatics, terpenoids, and nitrogen-containing
compounds. The odor constituents of tea have been investigated
which has a fresh green odor. There are more than 600 compounds
that are odor constituents in tea leaves [2], including alcohols,
thoroughly [3-6]. The green tea odor of Japanese green tea is
affected by many factors, including cultivar, growing region, and
manufacturing process [7]. Many green teas with characteristic
odors are produced in Japan. However, no single constituent with a
green tea-like odor has been reported. The aroma of tea is a
complex odor caused by the interaction of many odor constituents.
The aroma profile of green tea has been investigated in relation to
human olfactory reception [8] Black tea leaves derived from the
green tea cultivar Sayamakaori have a different odor from
commercially available black tea. To explain this difference, hexane
extracts of sencha (green tea), black tea from the Sayamakaori
cultivar, and commercially available black tea were divided into
distilled oil and residue fractions by bulb-to-bulb distillation, and
the groups of compounds in the fractions were compared (Figure 1).
In contrast to the residue of commercially available black tea, the
residues of Sayamakaori black tea and sencha had a matcha-like
(powdered Japanese green tea) odor, characteristic of sencha. Thus,
the odor properties of black tea derived from Sayamakaori were
changed by the presence of the matcha-like odor compared with
commercially available black tea [9]. The same method was used to
analyze various green teas, and it was found that all green teas had a
common group of constituents with a matcha-like odor as a base
note. This result showed that the matcha-like odor is characteristic
of green tea (Figure 2) [8].

Figure 1: Proposed method for investigating green tea odor.

Figure 2: Approaches for investigating tea odor.
1172 Natural Product Communications Vol. 11 (8) 2016 Hasegawa et al.

Matcha has strong odor and is used for many of foods to add a
green tea flavor [10], and thus the odor of the group of constituents
characteristic of green tea is referred to as ‘matcha-like odor’.
Matcha is made by powdering tencha tea leaves from several
cultivars. Consequently, matcha has a different odor from a single
tencha cultivar and cannot be compared directly with the odor of the
other green tea leaves.

Figure 4: Results of hexane extraction of tencha and sencha leaves.

Figure 3: Three approaches to investigate the aroma profile of tencha

In this work, we investigated the aroma profile of green tea by

examining the differences in odor arise from the cultivar properties,
the growing conditions, and the processing of the tea. We
determined the aroma by approaches A and C. In approach A, the
tencha and sencha leaves were derived from the Samidori cultivar.
Tencha leaves are covered for at least two weeks before picking,
whereas sencha leaves are grown in the open. In approach C, three
kinds of sencha leaves were used that were derived from the
Samidori (used for producing tencha), Yabukita (standard Japanese Figure 5: Important constituents for tencha odor.
cultivar), and Sayamakaori (representative cultivar in Saitama
prefecture, Japan) cultivars. Additionally, we investigated the (Z,E)- -Farnesene (E,E)- -Farnesene Nerolidol
difference in the odor of tencha extracts caused by extraction
conditions (approach B). Sequentially collected extracts from the
OH
same tencha leaves have a different odor compared with the original
leaves (Figure 3).

Approach A
4-Pyridinecarboxaldehyde 12 -Acetyloxyergost-4-en-3-one
Tencha and sencha leaves (Samidori cultivar) were extracted with
hexane (Figure 4). The sencha leaves were almost odorless after O
O H
extraction. However, the tencha leaves retained the same odor after O
extraction. Extracts of tencha and sencha were compared and 14
constituents were identified. N

O
Approach B
Because the tencha leaves retained their odor after the first
1-Decanol Hexahydrof arnesol
extraction, the leaves were repeatedly re-extracted to achieve
complete extraction of the aroma compounds. The odors of the first
and second extracts were similar, whereas the odor of the third OH OH

extract was different. The first and second extracts had a seaweed-
like, floral odor, whereas the third had a seaweed-like, roasted odor. Squalane
After the third extraction, the odors of the extracts became fainter,
and the leaves were odorless after the fifth extraction. The
characteristic tencha odor constituents were identified by comparing
the odor constituents of extracts with different odors. Twenty-two
constituents were detected in the tencha extracts by comparing the 1-Hexacosene
tencha and sencha by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O)
analysis.

Approach C Figure 6: Key components for the characteristic odor of tencha.

Next, the key compounds for tencha odor were identified
by examining the difference in the odor of different cultivars.
Aroma features of Tencha and Sencha green tea Natural Product Communications Vol. 11 (8) 2016 1173

Constituents of the extracts of sencha leaves derived from Samidori,
Yabukita, and Sayamakaori cultivars were compared. Eight
characteristic constituents in the Samidori extract were identified by
comparing the Samidori and Yabukita extracts by GC-O analysis.
In approach A, 14 constituents were detected as characteristic
compounds of tencha odor. In approach B, 22 constituents were
detected as important compounds for tencha odor. Eleven common
constituents were found in approaches A and B, suggesting that
they are key compounds for tencha odor. In approach C, eight
constituents were detected as characteristic compounds of the
Samidori cultivar. Therefore, a total of 19 constituents detected by
comparing these leaves are the important constituents for Samidori
tencha (Figure 5).
In this study, the important constituents of tencha tea odor were
investigated. Comparing the differences arising from growing
conditions, manufacturing processes, extraction conditions, and
cultivars indicated that there are 19 compounds that are key to
creating tencha odor. Nine of the 19 compounds were identified by
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) (Figure 6).
Experimental
Plant Materials: The tea leaves of Camellia Sinensis L. cultivars
Yabukita and Sayamakaori (Sencha) were collected at a tea
plantation at the Green Tea Laboratory, Saitama Prefectural
Agriculture and Forestry Research Center, Japan. Leaves of the
cultivar Samidori (tencha and sencha) were collected at a tea
plantation at the Green Tea Laboratory, Kyoto Prefectural
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Technology Center Agriculture
and Forestry Technology Department Tea Industry Research
Divisions, Japan.
Materials: Hexane and dichloromethane were purchased from
Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd., Osaka, Japan. GC analysis
was conducted with a GC-353 gas chromatography system and an
OP275 olfactometry port (GL Science Inc., Tokyo, Japan). The
column was an InertCap Pure-WAX (GL Science Inc., 30 m × 0.25
mm I.D.) with a film thickness of 0.25 μm. Helium was used as the
carrier gas. MS was performed on a GC-MS system (SCION SQ
456, Bruker Daltonics, MA, USA). The column was an InertCap
Pure-WAX (GL Science Inc., 30 m × 0.25 mm I.D.) with a film
thickness of 0.25 μm. The column temperature program was 40 °C
(5 min) to 250 °C (30 min) at rate of 4 °C/min. Helium was used as
the carrier gas at flow rate of 1 mL/min, and the split ratio was 1:30.
The injection temperature was 250 °C.
Extraction of Sencha: Tea leaves (100 g) were added to hexane (1
L) and stirred at room temperature for 23–25 h. Removal of the
solvent under reduced pressure afforded an oily residue.
Extractabilities: 0.59% (Samidori), 1.71% (Yabukita), 1.07%
(Sayamakaori).
Extraction of Tencha: Tea leaves (20 g) were added to hexane (400
mL) and stirred at room temperature for 22 h. The solvent was
removed under reduced pressure to afford an oily residue. The odor
remained in the tea leaves after extraction, so the leaves were
extracted again with hexane (200 mL) for a further 22–94 h.
Extractabilities: 0.76% (first), 0.19% (second), 0.42% (third),
0.13% (fourth), 0.09% (fifth).

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