
- HOME >
- Tea constituents and functional effect
What is the ideal tea for fermentation and aging?
The freshly-plucked tealeaf has green leafy aroma. When the fresh tealeaf undergoes appropriate fermentation or maturation, its green leafy aroma will becomes fruity or floral note. The fermentation of tea refers to the enzymatic oxidation, while the maturation means non-enzymatic oxidation. However, even if it undergoes fermentation or maturation, not all tea produces fruity or floral note.
Terpene exists both in fruits and teas
For both fermentation and maturation, poly phenol is the main substance in developing floral or fruity flavor. Poly phenol contains benzene ring with more than two hydroxyl substitutes (-OH) in its molecule. The major poly phenol found in tea is catechin, catechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate and etc. When tea undergoes fermentation or maturation, poly phenol is oxidized and produced the substance called terpene, which is a group of substance, and isoprene is its molecular unit. Terpene also commonly exists in fruits and flowers. It is the substance that gives so-called fruity or floral flavor. The reason why the flavor of oolong or black tea is similar to the fruit or flower is because of these teas contain exactly the same substance as in fruit or flower. For example, the citrus note of oolong is because of the substance called geraniol, which also exists in citrus fruit. Another common substance in tea is called rinalool, which also exists in lavender or Bergamot. These terpene compounds are produced when poly phenol is oxidized through enzymatic or non-enzymatic oxidation. In other words, the more poly phenol the tea contains, the more floral or fruity flavor it produces after fermentation or maturation.
The more fertilizer is given, the more amino acid is formed in tea
The poly phenol content in tea is reflected by the way of farming. I have studied the relationship between the dose of fertilizer and the amino acid or poly phenol content in tea. I found that the more fertilizer is applied, the less poly phenol is formed. The poly phenol content in natural farming tea (grown with completely no fertilizer) is about 3 times higher compare to ordinary tea that is grown with modern agricultural practice. On the other hand, the tea grown with plenty of fertilizer contains a greater amount of amino acid (e.g., theanine).
Umami gives no advantage in fermentation or maturation
In terminology of taste, the amino acid is called “Umami”. Umami in Japanese has two meanings, one is referring to the specific taste of amino acid and another meaning is delicious taste. Due to this confusing meaning, many Japanese misunderstood that the more umami, the better the taste and the better the quality. This misstatement is often seen in many tea articles too. In any case, talking about the fermented tea, the presence of too much amino acid and less poly phenol does not lead to the good outcome in flavor. Amino acid undergoes Maillard reaction when tea is enzymatically or non-enzymatically oxidized. The Maillard reaction is the oxidation between amino acid and either sugar or poly phenol.
Tea that is rich in poly phenol produces fruity or floral flavor
In the initial stage in the Maillard reaction, tea usually develops flavor which is slightly similar to the flavor of hot cake. However, after tea is aged for a long time, the flavor becomes a bit “fishy”, a typical smell of oxidized amino acid. It is due to the further oxidation and degradation of the nitrogen compound produced by the Maillard reaction. On the other hand, tea from natural farming practice contains very high poly phenol and low amino acid, and it will develops floral or fruity flavor as a result of long term storage. As for the aging of tea, pu-erh tea is the most famous and should be the well-known tea for aging. However, there are many other teas that give fruity or floral flavor if it is properly matured, such as Darjeeling, Oolong Tea and White tea. Even the Japanese green tea, tea will develop fruity flavor if it is well-matured under certain conditions. Most importantly, tea is rich in poly phenol. Many famous gardens in Darjeeling carry out the biodynamic farming that uses very less or no fertilizer for growing tea. That is why a number of Darjeeling teas have an intense fruity or floral flavor. On the other hand, generally Assam tea is grown with much more fertilizer than Darjeeling tea. It is one of the reasons that Assam tea often gives the aroma that reminds us of hot cake.
Tea with strong aftertaste contains a lot of poly phenol
If we compare between natural farming tea and tea grown with fertilizer, the natural farming tea gives stronger aftertaste. If we start applying fertilizer to the natural farming tea, it increases the production output but drastically reduces the aftertaste of tea. In a way, the poly phenol content is always in proportion to the aftertaste of tea. The lesser the nitrogen fertilizer is used, the higher the poly phenol content and eventually tea has stronger aftertaste. If less or no fertilizer, the number of tealeaf on the tree is decreased, the size of tealeaf becomes smaller and the growing speed also slower. In the end, each tealeaf of natural farming tea accumulates more minerals. If one hopes for their tea to be matured well, it is important to choose the tea with strong aftertaste.
Related Articles
How to get the latest update on HOJO Tea?
1. Follow Twitter, 2. Click "Like" on Facebook, and 3. Subscribe in newsletter. You can have the latest tea news from HOJO Tea.
Subscribe the Newsletter to enjoy the privileges
- You may receive a free sample upon purchase, or you may have the priority to purchase special products. So please remember to subscribe our newsletter as well as the social network.
- New Release of Wu Jia Zhai Raw Pu-erh Tea 2018 Loose
- We have released Wu Jia Zhai Raw Pu-erh Tea. It is a Loose Tea (Mao-cha). This tea was made in 2018 and has been aged for nearly three years. Thanks to the aging, it has developed more distinctive flavour with sweet scent of sugar cane and dried fruits. Sustainable Tea Garden at high altitude of …
- New Release of Tong Mu Shui Xian Black Tea
- We have released very rare black tea, Tong Mu Shui Xian Black Tea. This tea is from Tong Mu Guan in Wuyishan, Fujian Province, China. The tea garden is located at 1000m above sea level, and the tea garden is totally sustainable, the tea trees are grown without pesticide and fertilizer. Tong Mu Shui Xian …
NEW ARTICLES
New Release of Wu Jia Zhai Raw Pu-erh Tea 2018 Loose
- We have released Wu Jia Zhai Raw Pu-erh Tea. It is a Loose Tea (Mao-cha). This tea was made in 2018 and has been aged for nearly three years. Thanks to the aging, it has developed more distinctive flavour with sweet scent of sugar cane and dried fruits. Sustainable Tea Garden at high altitude of …
New Release of Tong Mu Shui Xian Black Tea
- We have released very rare black tea, Tong Mu Shui Xian Black Tea. This tea is from Tong Mu Guan in Wuyishan, Fujian Province, China. The tea garden is located at 1000m above sea level, and the tea garden is totally sustainable, the tea trees are grown without pesticide and fertilizer. Tong Mu Shui Xian …
New Release of Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea 2020
- We have launched Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea 2020, in loose tea. For Malaysia, we release the 200g cake version. This year, we have made major improvements in the raw material, producer, and production method, resulting in a very satisfying quality. However, the production volume is extremely small; it will likely to be sold …
Limited Release of Yunnan 10 Years Vintage Black Tea 2010
- We release 10-year vintage Yunnan black tea. This tea was produced in 2010 and aged in Yunnan for 8 years in aerobic storage. We bought this year in 2018, and it has been aged in Japan and Malaysia for two years in anoxic storage condition. The production area is very near to the Myanmar border …
Da Xue Shan Wild Raw Pu-erh Tea 2020 was Released
- We have launched 2020 wild puerh tea. This wild tea is from Da Xue Shan located in Lincang of Yunnan Province, China. We started to introduce Da Xue Shan Wild tea since 2010. But 2020 version was completely renewed. This year, we changed the source of tea, the producers and the production method too. Why …
High Mountain Purple Black Tea 2020 is Now Available
- We have released High Mountain Purple Black Tea 2020. It was unexpectedly well-made this year. I am truly delighted by its outcome. About Purple Tea The High Mountain Purple tea is made from the specific type of tea, the locals called it “Zi Cha”, that means purple tea in English. It is a rare tea …
We have released the Flower of Ancient Tea Tree
- We have released the Flower of Ancient Tea Tree. This is the fresh tea flowers hand-picked from old tea trees of ancient tea gardens. The tea garden is totally sustainable, with natural farming practice and no pesticide or fertilizer at all. The tea garden is located at altitude of 2000-2200m in the western part of …
Limited Sales of Single Tree Raw Pu-erh,White and Black tea 2019
- We have released Single Tree Pu-erh Tea 2019. Literally, the single tree tea is harvested and processed only from one single tea tree. Each single tree tea is sourced from the high mountain in west Lincang, the altitude is at around 2000-2200m. Thick Taste of Old Tree We selected particularly old tea tree for making …
Lapsang Souchong Qi Zhong from Tong Mu Guan in Wuyi Mountain
- We have released Lapsang Souchong Qi Zhong. It is the most premium Lapsang Souchong in HOJO’s line-up. This tea is from Tong Mu Guan in Wuyi Mountain. Qi Zhong is seed-grown tea tree, and tea garden is totally sustainable. Unlike ordinary black tea, this unique black tea gives strong fruity flavor reminiscent of peaches and …
Amazing difference between seedling tea and cultivated tea
- Do you know that tea is divided into two groups: cultivated tea propagated by cuttings, and seedling tea grown from seed?There is actually a big difference between cultivated tea and seedling tea. What is Cultivar? The cultivated tea refers to tea with a name of specific cultivar, such as Yabukita, Benifuki, Okumidori, Tie Guan Yin, …
Shop Info

Address:Lot No. T-215, 3rd Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603-2287-4537
Business Hour: 10am to 10pm
Category
- New Arrival at HOJO Online Shop
- Featured Articles
- Newsletter
- Types of Tea
- Origin of Tea
- Teapot and Tea Equipment
- Tea Column
- How to enjoy tea
- Tea Processing
- How to choose quality tea
- Tea constituents and functional effect
- Safety of Tea
- Foods
- Tea Business Operation
- Hobby and Outdoor Activity
- Ranking of Tea
- Video
- FAQ
- Media Release
Profile

- AKIRA HOJO
- I invite you to experience my tea selections.I was born in Nagano, Japan. In university, I studied agricultural chemistry, and I have the master degree in food science. I worked in Japanese food industry for 10 years. I involved in R&D, QC and QA. As a factory manager, I implemented ISO9000 series and managed the factory.
- The Art of Tea Magazine
- We posted the article on “The Art of Tea Magazine No.9, the magazine is published in Taiwan. We featured some scientific view about the tetsubin
- New Straits Times
- The Malaysian National Newspaper, New Straits Times featured HOJO Tea on 17-Oct-2007.