Abstract: Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) combined with gas chromatography-olfactory-mass spectrometry (GC-O-MS) was used to identify and describe the key aroma components of three representative oolong tea varieties, Huangdan, Tieguanyin and Jinguanyin. Comparative analysis was conducted in terms of odor activity value (OAV), aroma character impact (ACI) value and sensory evaluation. The sensory evaluation showed that each variety showed obvious aroma characteristics. Huangdan oolong tea had an obvious floral aroma as well as a slight milky aroma. Tieguanyin oolong tea had a strong floral aroma. Jinguanyin oolong tea had a sweet fruity aroma as well as a slight woody aroma. According to the results of OAV and GC-O-MS analysis, geraniol, phytol, methyl jasmonate, trans-nerol tertiary alcohol, 2-nonone, and phenyl ethanol were identified as key aroma components in Huangdan oolong tea, which provided it with clean and high floral aroma and obvious milky aroma characteristics. In Tieguanyin oolong tea, linalool, 3,5-octylodiene-2-one, linalool oxide, cis-jasmonone, dehydrolinalool, and α-terpineol showed diverse floral aromas, which were closely related to the characteristic aroma of Tieguanyin oolong tea. The key aroma components identified in Jinguanyin oolong tea included linalool, canalaldehyde, geranyl acetone, cis-jasmonone and isoeugenol, which were responsible for the characteristic sweet floral and woody aromas of Jinguanyin oolong tea.

Key words: oolong tea, aroma, stir bar sorptive extraction, gas chromatography-olfactory-mass spectrometry, odor activity value