Growth and Constituents of Tea Shoots for Powder Green Tea

The significant chemical components estimating the quality and growth characteristics in different parts of tea plants were compared and analyzed in the shoots of shading tea plants. The results are summarized as follows. The leaves length, leaves width and weigth of 100 buds in the leaves were increased with growing, while the leaf moisture was decreased. The contents of total nitrogen, caffeine, vitamin C and saponin in the leaves were decreased with growing, while those of total amino acid and chlorophyll were the highest in the 4th leaves and in 3rd leaves, respectively. The content of tannin ranged from 9.53% to 11.23%. The content of tannin at the 1st leaves was the highest as 11.24%, but that of the 4th leaves was the lowest as 9.53%. the content of fatty acid at the 2nd leaves was the highest as 3,594mg/100g, and that of the 5th leaves was the lowest as 2,782mg/100g. The contents of palmitic acid and stearic acid were the highest in the 5th leaves, but those of oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid were the highest at the 2nd leaves. In conclusion, the 5th leaves among tea shoots plucked after shading for 15 days could be used to manufacture powder green tea.