Construction and Sensory Characteristics of the Flavor Wheel of Raw Pu-erh Tea

To construct the flavor wheel of Pu-erh raw tea, this study selected 43 samples of Pu-erh raw tea with variations in age, origin, cultivar characteristics, and processing techniques as research materials. A sensory evaluation panel was organized to freely generate basic descriptive terms for the flavor attributes of Pu-erh raw tea. After screening and organizing these terms, multivariate statistical methods—including the M-value method, cluster analysis, and principal component analysis—were applied to refine the descriptive terms further. Ultimately, 15 aroma descriptors, 10 liquor color descriptors, and 17 taste descriptors with significant differentiation and representativeness were identified, and a corresponding application system was established. The final set of flavor profile descriptors enabled the intuitive and quantitative evaluation of the flavor characteristics of raw Pu-erh tea, effectively distinguishing flavor differences among various categories of Pu-erh raw tea. Therefore, these flavor profile descriptors not only facilitate the identification and evaluation of the sensory characteristics of raw Pu-erh raw tea but also serve as a technical support tool for descriptive sensory analysis.