Abstract
Chungtaejeon is a traditional tea introduced in the age of the Three States and is the only "Don-cha" culture in the world that survived on the southwestern shore of Korea. To restore Chungtaejeon and to make the tea with consistent quality, the microorganisms involved in traditional type fermentation of Chungtaejeon were isolated, and the tea was prepared with high fermentation ability starters. The sensuous characteristics of Chungtaejeon were also examined. Only Bacilli were found in 3 and 5 year aged Chungtaejeon samples. The Lactobacilli were isolated from properly fermented kimchi and one of them showed high growth capability in media containing green tea extract and also showed strong antagonistic activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, S. aureus, Salmonella, and E. coli. It was identified and named Lactobacillus plantarum CHO25. Chungtaejeon was fermented with a single starter of L. plantarum CHO25 and with a mixed starter (L. plantarum CHO25, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens CHO104). The single fermented sample had the highest cell growth after 5 days of inoculation and the level decreased slowly thereafter. The mixed fermented sample showed strong growth of S. cerevisiae. The highest hunter values were the a value of the single fermented sample and the b value of the mixed sample. The single fermented tea showed the best incense score.
