# Metabolite Analysis of Hangzhou Gongmei White Tea of Different Varieties
## 4 Conclusions  
The sensory attributes, chemical compositions, and both volatile and non-volatile metabolites of HGW, derived from fresh leaves of major cultivars grown in Hangzhou during late spring, were first systematically analysed. Significant differences were observed in the sensory quality, chemical composition, and metabolite profile of white tea produced from various tea cultivars. HGW produced from the cultivars FD, JK, LJ, and YS exhibited superior quality. Specifically, FD was characterised by a clean and pekoe aroma, whereas JK and LJ predominantly exhibited fruity or floral aromas. Elevated concentrations of water extract, tea polyphenols, and complex catechins were associated with increased astringency in the tea infusion. A multivariate analysis identified linalool, geraniol, 2-ethylhexanol, hexanal, methyl salicate, linalool oxide I, (_E_)-hex-2-enal, \(\beta\)-myrcene, (_Z_)-hex-3-en-1-ol, phenylethyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, (_E_)-citral, nonanal, and _trans_-\(\beta\)-ionone as the principal differential components of HGW. Among the cultivars, 753 differential non-volatile metabolites were divided into 11 categories, with flavonoids being the most frequent. The abundance levels of the differential non-volatile metabolites were higher in JK and LJ compared to FD. This study provided theoretical support for the breeding and quality improvement of Hangzhou white tea, as well as the development of flowery and fruity flavoured white tea products. The next step will be to develop precise processing technology for flowery and fruity flavoured white tea with JK or LJ. The flavour characteristicsand degradation mechanism of these flavonoid glycosides can also be studied to improve the sweetness of white tea.  
The following supporting information can be downloaded at [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods14091622/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods14091622/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods14091622/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods14091622/s1)): Figure S1: The concentration of main chemical compositions in tea infusion; Table S1: Sensory evaluation results of HGW from different varieties; Table S2: The expression levels of all the non-volatile metabolites; Table S3: The differential non-volatile metabolites in HGW.  
Conceptualization, C.A. and H.H.; methodology, C.A. and H.H.; software, C.A. and X.N.; validation, H.H., J.Y. and Z.C.; investigation, C.A. and X.N.; resources, H.H. and J.Y.; data curation, C.A. and X.N.; writing--original draft preparation, C.A.; writing--review and editing, H.H.; project administration, H.H. and Z.C.; funding acquisition, Z.C. and J.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was funded by the Key Projects of Agriculture and Social Development of Hangzhou City (20231203A04), and the National Tea Industry Technology System (CARS-19-02A).  
The national laws do not require ethical approval for sensory evaluation. There are no human ethics committees or formal documentation procedures available for sensory evaluation.  
Verbal informed consent was obtained from the participants. Verbal consent was obtained rather than written because in China, sensory evaluation of tea is a widely used method for evaluating tea quality. The Chinese National Standard \"Methodology for sensory evaluation of tea\" (GB/T 23776-2018) specifies sensory evaluation methods and personnel requirements.  
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.  
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.