by WTN Staff

A recent study suggests that plants producing high-quality tea cannot simply be reproduced in other regions with the same outcome.

Researchers at Maseno University, Egerton University and Moi University, all in Kenya, conducted the study, which will appear in the April 2010 issue of the scientific journal Food Chemistry.

They started from this idea: "A superior quality genotype in one location is assumed to replicate the same attributes when planted in different regions, especially when climatic variations are minimal."

The team noted that previous studies had determined there would be differences in aroma, volatile flavour compounds composition and black tea plain flavor parameters among different teas grown in different regions. However, there was a lack of research measuring these quality parameters on the same tea in different growing regions.

So, the researchers studied 20 different genotypes of tea plants that produce high-quality black CTC tea. Each of the 20 was grown in three different regions of Kenya at similar altitudes (between 1,800 and 2,180 meters), and managed and processed the same way.

To test the quality of the tea, professional tea tasters from tea broker firms in Mombasa conducted sensory evaluations. They were based on briskness, brightness, color, flavor, thickness, infusion and quality on a scale of 0-20 for each tea. Each tea was evaluated by two separate tasters on three different occasions.

The results showed significant differences in the quality of the plain tea produced among the varying locations of production. A closer look further indicated that the changes in the tea were not systematic, because the same genotype reflected different changes in different regions.

The study led the team to conclude: "A genotype selected in one site for high quality may not retain the relative quality over other genotypes in new areas. It is necessary to test genotypes in new areas of production to fully evaluate their relative quality potentials."

For an abstract of the study, click here.