차광재배에 의한 찻잎 성분 및 말차 품질 변화

Changes on Physicochemical and Matcha Quality of Tea Leaves (Camellia sinensis) under Shading Cultivation

Morphologic and physicochemical changes of shading cultivated tea (Camellia sinensis) tree leaves were investigated during 26 days with 95% shading treatment. Shading cultivation showed higher leaf area (10%) and moisture content (12%) than non-shading cultivation. The shading cultivation increased the total free amino acid (3.4-fold), theanine (3.7-fold), arginine (10.8-fold) and caffeine levels (2.0-fold) but decreased the total catechin contents, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) and EGC (epigallocatechin) levels of tea leaves. The SPAD value and total chlorophyll contents of the shading cultivation were increased by 1.1- and 2.1-fold, respectively. The results of a color analysis showed that lightness (L*) of non-shaded was higher than that of shading cultivated matcha. However, the greenness (a*) and yellowness (b*) of shading cultivated matcha were higher than those of non-shading cultivation. The surface color of shading cultivated matcha had higher chroma- and G-values than non-shading cultivated matcha, which represents real green color. Thus, the shading cultivation is suitable to prepare a high-quality matcha product.