The Microbiome in Fermented Tea
A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1801
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Dark tea has been consumed for hundreds of years and its first documents date back to the 15th century. It has historically held an important position in China’s tea trade, as an indispensable beverage for people living in border regions of northwestern China. Nowadays, it is a functional beverage preferred by consumers, especially in China and Southeast Asia. Its production in China reached 458,000 t in 2023, which accounted for 6.94% of global tea production and exceeded the production of oolong tea (China Tea Marketing Association, 2023).
The microbes involved in pile fermentation are crucial in forming the sensory quality and biological functions of dark tea. During pile fermentation, various indigenous microbes propagate vigorously under high-humidity and high-temperature environments and induce multiple metabolic transformations with microbial action. Consequently, the chemical profile of raw tea leaves changes dramatically, endowing dark tea with unique sensory qualities and multiple health-promoting benefits. To date, our understanding of the microbial community has advanced rapidly due to the breakthroughs and broad application of microbiomes. Notably, a growing number of core functional microbes have been isolated from dark tea and applied in dark tea fermentation. The metabolic functions and quality contribution of tea-derived microbes have been revealed, and their mycotoxin risk in dark tea manufacturing has been investigated, which provides a theoretical basis for the improvement in quality and the safe manufacture of dark tea.
Dr. Lizeng Cheng
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- dark tea
- tea-derived microbes
- microbial conversion
- quality improvement
- mycotoxin risk
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