Abstract:

Spontaneously fermented Pu er tea and solid-state fermented Pu er tea using artificial inoculation of fungi species, including Aspergillus niger, Penicillium and yeast were compared for differences in sensory, chemical and microbiological attributes and health care functions such as hypoglycemic effect and anticancer, and so on. Results showed that when compared with spontaneous fermentation, artificial fungus-inoculated solid-state fermentation could not only maintain the main flavor quality of spontaneouslly fermented Pu er tea, but also result in excellent sensory characters including infusion color, taste and aroma, higher contents of water extract and tea polyphenols and lower coliform count, below 30 MPN/100 g ( no pathogenic bacteria were detected), which could satisfy the requirement for microbiological safety stipulated in the Yunnan province standard DB53/103 2006. Both Pu er tea showed significant protective effects on diabetes, obesity, immunodeficient, leukemia, stomach cancer and blood diseases and the effects of spontaneouslly fermented tea were slightly stronger.

Key words: Pu er tea, pile fermentation, fungi artificial inoculation, quality , function