## 3 Results and Discussion
### Determination of Catechin Profile and Caffeine (CAF) Content  
The data presented in Table 3 indicates that the total ECD content (EC, EGC, EGCG, and ECG), which has long been used as an important parameter to evaluate tea quality, was significantly higher in all samples, and ranged from 341.07 to 361.17 mg/g DE (341.07-355.51 mg/g DE in 2019 and 351.18-361.17 mg/g DE in 2020). However, total ECDs were higher in 2020 compared to 2019 for each month, and the same pattern was observed for the total esterified or gallated catechins. The results also show that the individual ECD contents of the studied samples decreased as follows: EGCG \(>\) ECG \(\gg\) EC \(\gg\) EGC. In addition, the contents of the esterified catechins (EGCG + ECG + GCG) were significantly higher in all samples with respect to the non-esterified catechins (C + EC + EGC + GC), presenting the following ranges: 283.78-356.20 mg/g DE and 28.20-101.22 mg/g DE, respectively. Regarding CAF content, the values ranged from 12.86 to 20.45 mg/g DE in 2019 and from 13.19 to 29.35 mg/g DE in 2020, and a similar result was also observed by [PERSON] et al. [37]. The results also show that the samples from April and June exhibited similar CAF values in both years. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{1}{c}{**Months of**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**TP (mg GAE/g DE)**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**TF (mg RE/g DE)**} \\ \cline{2-5}
**Sample Collection** & **2019** & **2020** & **2019** & **2020** \\ \hline April & 291.14 \(\pm\) 0.76 \({}^{\text{c}}\) & 300.25 \(\pm\) 0.75 \({}^{\text{c}}\) & 67.93 \(\pm\) 1.09 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 69.57 \(\pm\) 0.86 \({}^{\text{a}}\) \\ May & 306.19 \(\pm\) 0.09 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 302.47 \(\pm\) 1.76 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 67.01 \(\pm\) 0.63 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 60.26 \(\pm\) 1.34 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\ June & 312.80 \(\pm\) 1.45 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 307.25 \(\pm\) 1.89 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 53.60 \(\pm\) 1.38 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 59.29 \(\pm\) 2.32 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\ July & 326.92 \(\pm\) 1.07 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 320.58 \(\pm\) 0.59 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 53.26 \(\pm\) 1.13 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 50.27 \(\pm\) 1.27 \({}^{\text{c}}\) \\ August & 325.14 \(\pm\) 0.88 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 315.86 \(\pm\) 2.24 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 51.85 \(\pm\) 0.88 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 68.88 \(\pm\) 0.72 \({}^{\text{a}}\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} \({}^{\text{1}}\) Values are mean \(\pm\) SD (\(n=3\)). Different superscript letters are significantly different (\(p<0.05\)) within the same column. GAE—gallic acid equivalents; RE—rutin equivalents.  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Total phenolic (TP) and total flavonoid (TF) contents in dry extracts (DE) of Azorean _Camellia sinensis_ (L.[PERSON] green tea samples from Gorreana Tea Plantation that were obtained during the collection seasons of two different years \({}^{\text{1}}\). The content of EGCG, the major bioactive tea catechchin, was higher in all samples from 2020 compared to those from 2019, presenting the following ranges: 214.52-240.16 mg/g DE and 140.91-210.81 mg/g DE, respectively. In 2020, the EGCG and esterified catechins increased from April to August, but in 2019, we found an inconsistent pattern. Conversely, the other esterified catechins, ECG and GCG, exhibited higher values in 2019 compared to 2020, presenting the following ranges: 112.46-119.18 mg/g DE (2019) and 90.01-106.34 mg/g DE (2020) for ECG, and 19.87-37.39 mg/g DE (2019) and 17.74-26.03 mg/g DE (2020) for GCG. According to [PERSON] et al. [16], the combined content of EGCG and ECG has long been considered a key factor affecting the antioxidant activity of tea extracts. Thus, our findings reveal the potential of Azorean _C. sinensis_ green tea as a natural resource with high nutraceutical value. Relative to the total non-esterified catechin content, the main contributor in all samples was the EC, presenting the values of 18.68-72.61 mg/g DE for 2019, and 17.52-30.45 mg/g DE for 2020.