Abstract:

Biochemical components of one bud with two leaves from 27 tea varieties planted in Chongqing were detected in
comparison to those from their original habitats in order to analyze the characteristics and tea-processing suitability of the
samples from Chongqing by correlation, multidimensional scaling and cluster analyses. The results showed that the samples
from the cultivation area exhibited the largest change in amino acids as compared to those from the original habitats,
followed by caffeine and tea polyphenols. There were high variability in ECG, C and EGC contents, catechin quality index,
and PPO and POD activities. The content of tea polyphenols had a negative correlation with amino acids; caffeine content
had a significantly positive correlation with tea polyphenols, catechins and the ratio between tea polyphenols and amino
acids. PPO activity had a significantly positive correlation with POD activity. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analyses
separated the 27 tea varieties into 4 groups and the processing suitability of each group was different.

Key words: tea varieties, biochemical components, correlation analysis, multidimensional scaling analysis, cluster analysis