DEVELOPMENT OF A SENSORY LEXICON FOR VIETNAMESE GREEN TEA: AN INITIATIVE RESEARCH

Abstract

The study aimed to develop a sensory lexicon for Vietnamese green tea, with the goal of providing a new tool for sensory descriptive analysis of green tea, as well as contributing to the quality control and product development processes. The sensory panel included twelve panelists who have been trained for 40 hours to improve their ability in description, discrimination, repetition, and reaching agreement with others. The panel developed 107 descriptive terms upon evaluating thirty green tea samples (10 Lam Dong and 20 Thai Nguyen tea). These descriptors were then classified into 23 groups, including 21 groups of aroma/flavor, one group of basic tastes, and one group of mouthfeels. Among those, eleven attributes were found to frequently exist in Vietnamese green teas, i.e. green-leafy, green-grassy, burnt leafy, smoky, seaweed, floral, nutty, bitterness, umami, astringent and sweet aftertaste.