Effect shading intensity on color, chemical composition, and sensory evaluation of green tea (Camelia sinensis var Assamica)

Matcha gained popularity due to its health benefit as the awareness of the consumers' well-being increased. The product contains antioxidants, mainly catechin, and a unique taste. Matcha is commonly produced from Camelia sinensis var sinensis, whereas in other Asian regions with shading practices, C. sinensis var assamica is primarily cultivated. Both varieties have different flavors of teas due to genetic differences and cultivation techniques. In tea cultivation, shading is one of the important practices to increase the quality of matcha. Therefore this study aimed to investigate the effect of cultivation technique, namely shading intensity (0%, 50%, 70%, 90%) on C. sinensis var assamica on the physical, chemical, and sensory profile of matcha produced. This study exhibited that the resultant matcha cultivated with the higher intensity of shading tends to have a darker color in terms of lightness (from 61.43 to 53.64), lower moisture content (from 9.26% to 8.64%), and solubility index (from 17.10% to 15.37%) in 0% and 90% shading respectively. At the same time, the protein content of the plant tends to fluctuate in several shading intensities. In corresponding to the decreasing phenolic (from 50.78 to 46.09 mgGAE/g) and flavonoid content (from 41.89 to 15.15 mgQE/g) of the matcha in higher shading (from 0% and 90% shading, respectively), the catechin and antioxidant activity (52.3 to 68.85 of IC₅₀) also decreased in 0% and 90% shading intensity. Meanwhile, the sensory evaluation of the resultant matcha from the higher intensity (from 0% and 90% shading) exhibited higher acceptance (from 3.02 to 3.42 of overall acceptance in 7-scale hedonic response). Overall, it should be considered that as the shading intensity gets higher (from 0% to 90%), which might result in better consumer acceptance, the bioactive compounds, namely phenolics, flavonoids, and catechins, might have a lower amount in the shaded plants.