4. Conclusion
EGC and EC contribute to the sweet aftertaste of green tea infusions.
Suitable EGCG/EGC and ECG/EC ratios of 2:5 and 1:6, respectively,
can yield excellent sweet aftertaste of green tea infusions,
while keeping a reasonable amount of bioactive EGCG or ECG. An
EGC/EC ratio of 2.5:1 gave the most satisfying sweet aftertaste,
with a total concentration of EGC and EC of 3.5 mmol/L. Moreover,
astringency significantly inhibited the development of a sweet
aftertaste, while bitterness did not significantly influence the
sweet aftertaste, with umami slightly improving the sweet aftertaste
of EGC and EC solutions. Overall, this study suggests that
the sweet aftertaste of green tea infusion can be improved by
increasing non-gallated catechins through a tannase treatment.