Abstract:
South Africa has a traditional heritage of using indigenous herbal teas, and the demand
for herbal teas motivated by the functional health benefits has far exceeded global supply. This has
led to worldwide interest in the sensory characteristics and volatile compound characterisation of
herbal drink formulations. The objective of this study was to investigate the descriptive sensory
analysis and volatile compounds of bush, special, honeybush and rooibos tea and the blend of
bush tea with special, honeybush and rooibos, respectively. The trained sensory panel scored each
tea sample for aroma, taste, aftertaste and mouthfeel attributes using sensory evaluation practices.
Compound identification was performed by gas chromatography connected to a mass spectrometer
(GC-MS). The results of the study demonstrated that rooibos and honeybush tea had an overall
sweet-caramel, honey-sweet, perfume floral and woody aroma while bush tea and special tea depicted
green-cut grass, dry green herbal and astringent/dry mouth feel. The GC-MS analyses depicted the
following compounds 2-furanmethanol, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, D-limonene, dihydroactinidolide,
linalool, (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal, and phytol. The blending of bush tea with rooibos and honeybush tea
toned down its astringent mouth feel. Compounds identified in this study may be useful markers for
potential herbal tea sensory characteristics.
