{
  "abstract": "Long-term aging transforms the sensory quality of raw Pu-erh tea, but the temporal coordination between taste-related and aroma-active compounds remains unclear. Here, raw Pu-erh teas aged for 1-22 years, produced in the same region and stored under consistent conditions, were characterized using sensory evaluation, targeted analysis of non-volatile constituents, headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, relative odor activity values (ROAVs), and multivariate statistics. Aging shifted the sensory profile from fresh, strong, and astringent to mellow and aged, accompanied by a change in liquor color from yellow-green to orange-red. Non-volatile profiles resolved four aging stages (1-4, 6-10, 14-18, and 19-22 years), whereas key aroma-active compounds resolved three stages (1-10, 14-19, and 20-22 years). Tea polyphenols, catechins, and free amino acids generally declined, while theabrownins, thearubigins, gallic acid, and selected flavonoids accumulated. Among 523 detected volatile compounds, 39 exhibited ROAVs ≥ 1; β-ionone and (E)-2-nonenal formed a persistent floral-woody aroma backbone, while stage-specific changes increasingly favored resinous, camphoraceous, roasted, and aged notes. Notably, differences in non-volatile composition weakened after 14 years, whereas aroma profiles continued to reorganize. This asynchronous evolution constitutes the central finding of this study, demonstrating that taste-related composition approaches relative stability before aroma maturation is complete and providing a chemical basis for aging-stage classification and quality evaluation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "College of Tea Science, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China.",
    "Yunnan Liuda Chashan Tea Industry Co., Ltd., Kunming 650224, China."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Miao Zhou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xinya Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Dianrong Ruan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xin Fang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jun Gao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Changmin Cai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yujie Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shijie Lu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zuzhen Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiujuan Deng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Baijuan Wang",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-2102-411X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6yvmam27436sd.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/foods15193448",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13663928",
  "id": "6yvmam27436sd",
  "issns": [
    "2304-8158"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883555",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2734|Tea Polyphenols and Effects"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214578110",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13663928?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13663928",
  "pmid": "42883555",
  "published": "2026-09-27",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6yvmam27436sd.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:16Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42883555",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883555"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2734|Tea Polyphenols and Effects",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Quality Evolution of Pu-Erh Raw Tea over 1-22 Years of Aging.",
  "title_text": "Quality Evolution of Pu-Erh Raw Tea over 1-22 Years of Aging.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:16Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6yvmam27436sd",
  "venue": "Foods (Basel, Switzerland)",
  "versions": []
}