Acta Agriculturae Zhejiangensis ›› 2026, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (6): 1087-1098.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-1524.20250552

• Future Foods and Health • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study on the quality of West Lake Longjing tea in different regions based on soil properties

SUN Da1(), MAO Binyu1, HUANG Danyi1, CUI Hongchun2, XIA Bing3, ZHENG Xuxia2,*()   

  1. 1 Zhejiang Institute of Economics and Trade, Hangzhou 310018, China
    2 Hangzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China
    3 Zhejiang Tea Group Co., Ltd., Hangzhou 310065, China
  • Received:2025-08-20 Online:2026-06-25 Published:2026-07-14

Abstract:

To explore the soil-driven mechanism underlying the quality formation of West Lake Longjing tea, this study selected tea plants of Longjing 43 and local populations from six typical production areas across different protection zones of West Lake Longjing tea. The soil physical and chemical properties and tea quality components were systematically analyzed. The results showed that soil nutrient characteristics differed obviously among various production areas, which could be classified into three categories: high phosphorus-zinc type, high potassium-magnesium type, and medium-fertility heterogeneous type. A stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SLDA) model was established based on seven key indicators, including soil organic matter, available phosphorus, mercury, cadmium, chromium, zinc and magnesium contents, which achieved a regional discrimination accuracy of 90.5%. Tea quality was highly correlated with soil types. Tea produced in the gardens with high potassium-magnesium soil exhibited a higher content of water extracts. Compared with the local populations, Longjing 43 presented superior performance in appearance and quality stability, while the local populations had greater potential in aroma intensity and richness. Production area, cultivar, and their interaction exerted highly significant (p<0.01) effects on the contents of water extracts, free amino acids and moisture in tea. This study identified soil nutrients as the key driver of flavor differentiation of West Lake Longjing tea from different production areas, and provided a theoretical basis for geographical traceability, precision fertilization and cultivar improvement.

Key words: Longjing tea, soil physical and chemical property, sensory quality, physicochemical composition, stepwise linear discriminant analysis, k-means clustering

CLC Number: