Evaluation of sensory and composition properties in young tea shoots and their estimation by near infrared spectroscopy and partial least squares techniques

An evaluation of sensory and composition properties in young tea shoots and their estimation by near infrared spectroscopy and partial least squares techniques was investigated. The fresh mean weight of four variety control samples from bud to the first, second, third and fourth leaves were calculated for each position. All moisture contents of the samples were calculated as fresh weight (FW) %. Chemical compound analysis was undertaken as total nitrogen content was determined according to the Kjeldahl method; amino acids content was determined by the ninhydrine method and caffeine was determined by a UV spectrophotometric method; the lignin content was determined according to the general method; sample quality indexes (QI) were calculated using the formula, moisture total nitrogen/lignin. All data analysis methods were performed using the Bruker OPUS 6.5 software package. From the analysis of both approaches we can conclude that both points of view are mutually supportive. The approach of constituting raw material out of a mix of bud and leaf in variable samples is more appropriate to tea manufacturers.