Evaluation of Quality Characteristics of Black and Green Teas Produced from Kashef and Lahij Cultivars

In this study, tea shoots of Kashef and Lahij cultivars were plucked from tea shrubs of Lahijan Fajr research station in three seasons (spring, summer, and autumn), and tea was made in four methods on the laboratory scale (green Orthodox, green Crush Tear Curl (CTC), black Orthodox, and black CTC). The chemical properties of tea samples, including the amounts of total polyphenols, antioxidant activity, theaflavin, thearubigins, and organoleptic score, were determined. The experiment was conducted in a factorial split plot based on a completely randomized design with three replications. The main factor was harvest time and sub-factors were the cultivar (in two levels) and tea-making method (in four levels). The results showed that the highest amounts of qualitative characteristics such as sensory score, theaflavin, and ratio of theaflavin to thearubigin, antioxidant activity, and polyphenol for all tea making methods were observed in the Kashef cultivar. The black CTC tea obtained the higest scores for quality characteristics, especially for the ratio of theaflavin to thearubigin compared to Orthodox tea in both cultivars. The antioxidant activity of green tea was not significantly different between cultivars (p≤0.05). In both cultivars, Orthodox green tea had a higher score than CTC green tea due to differences in the color of brewed beverage.