Abstract:
The most popular beverage in the world is tea, which is made from Camellia
sinensis (L). O. Kuntze. Polyphenols are abundant in tea leaves. The
antioxidative property of tea polyphenols has been partially attributed to the
potential health benefits of tea consumption. The objectives of this study are
to determine the total polyphenol content of fresh leaves from 15 different
tea cultivars and black tea prepared using the same cultivars. The tea leaves
were collected from tea estate managed by TRISL, which were then freeze
dried. The total polyphenol of the freeze-dried tea samples was analyzed by
spectrophotometer using folin-ciocalteu method. Using a miniature
manufacturing process, fresh leaves were turned into black tea. Then the total
polyphenol content of the black was analyzed. The presence of more than
18% of polyphenol content in the processed black tea were considered the
best samples. The sensory evaluation using 5-point hedonic scale was
conducted for the black tea produced from cultivars TRI 3041, TRI 3055,
TRI 4049 and TRI 4042 by using thirty untrained panelists. According to the
results total polyphenolic content was significantly (p<0.05) high in fresh
leaf of TRI 3035 (26.739%) and for black tea TRI 3041(23.189%). The
sensory evaluation revealed that there were significant differences (p<0.05)
in the sensory attributes among the black teas that were prepared, and the
cultivar TRI 3055 was chosen as the best by the sensory panel. Thus, TRI
3055 demonstrated the best outcomes based on sensory evaluation and
polyphenol content. The TRI 3055 cultivar may be utilized in the future to
boost the polyphenols content in black tea and to raise human immunity.
