Hot air drying of tea flowers: effect of experimental temperatures on drying kinetics, bioactive compounds and quality attributes

Summary The drying process is important for the quality and value of tea flower products. In the present work, the effects of different hot air drying (HAD) temperatures from 60 to 120 °C on drying kinetics, bioactive compounds (catechins, flavonol glycosides and triterpenoid saponins) and quality attributes (volatile compounds, colours and antioxidant properties) of tea flowers were systematically evaluated. The results showed that higher drying temperature resulted in a shorter drying time but with greater loss of bioactive compounds and quality attributes. Flowers subjected to HAD at 60 °C showed the highest bioactive contents and quality attributes of all HAD samples and the quality of HAD 60 °C samples were close to that of freeze‐dried samples. Taking account of the production efficiency and energy consumption, the tea flowers dried at 60 °C for 180 min was preferred. These findings provide a guide for the processing of tea flowers with the aim of improving the overall quality of the product.