Abstract: Pickled tea is an ethnic fermented tea with a refreshing flavor and slight sour taste. In recent years, pickled tea has been a popular research subject because of the medicinal and culinary purposes as a rich source of nutrient and its unique ethnic cultural attributes. Most studies to date have focused on the flavor compounds, microbial community structure and antioxidant activity of pickled tea, but the literature lacks systematic studies on the fermentation process of pickled tea and the underlying mechanism. In this paper, the geographical distribution, fermentation process, microbial community structure and physiological characteristics of pickled tea are reviewed. Moreover, future research directions are also proposed, in order to provide valuable data for the inheritance and protection of pickled tea.

Key words: pickled tea, distribution, fermentation process, microbial community structure, physiologically active substances, physiological functions