GC–MS, GC–O, and sensomics analysis reveals the key odorants underlying the improvement of yellow tea aroma after optimized yellowing.

[Display omitted] • The optimized yellowing process enhanced the sweet and floral aromas of yellow tea. • The optimized yellowing process increased the content of sweet and floral odorants. • β -Damascenone was the main odorant for sweet aroma enhancement. • β -Ionone was the main odorant for floral aroma enhancement. An optimized yellowing process for yellow tea (YT) was recently developed. The study found that the optimized yellowing process caused a significant increase in sweet and floral aromas by 31.3% and 24.0%, respectively. A total of 21 aroma-active compounds were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC-O) combined with sensomics analysis. Quantification of the 15 aroma-active compounds and calculation of odor activity values (OAVs) showed that the OAVs of sweet and floral aroma compounds increased significantly by 986.2% and 46.4%, respectively, after the optimized yellowing process. Sensory-directed aroma reconstitution and omission experiments confirmed that dimethyl sulfide, 3-methylbutanal, β -ionone, β -damascenone, geraniol, phenylacetaldehyde, and linalool were the key odorants in YT after the optimized yellowing process. Odorant addition tests further demonstrated that β -damascenone (OAV 590.4) was the main odorant for YT sweet aroma enhancement, while β -ionone (OAV 884.6) was the main odorant for YT floral aroma enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]