From water migration to aroma development: Revealing the influence of environmental airflow on the aroma of white tea during withering

Environmental airflow is an important factor affecting withering, primarily influencing the development of white tea's aroma. To examine how the aroma of white tea develops under the effect of environmental airflow during withering, tea shoots exposed to airflow (0.5 ± 0.2 m/s) were sampled and analyzed for water distribution, antioxidant enzyme activity, and volatiles content. The results indicated that environmental airflow hastened the evaporation of free water from witheing leaves during the pre-withering stage, facilitated the transformation of free water to bound water, stimulated antioxidant enzyme activity. Additionally, volatiles associated with green and grassy notes in white tea were dramatically reduced, including 3-hexen-1-ol, methyl salicylate, and (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol acetate. In contrast, volatiles responsible for floral and fruity scents, including linalool and nerolidol, became more concentrated. These findings provide important theoretical insights into increasing white tea manufacturing efficiency and quality.