Abstract: Texture analyser was utilized to study shoot tenderness in tea cultivar “Longjing 43” and “Zhongcha 108”. The evaluation method was established by taking maximum shearing force to determine shoot tenderness. Low maximum shearing force represents high shoot tenderness. The results showed that it is feasible to use texture analyser to determine shoot tenderness. There was a sharp decrease of shoot tenderness from the third to fifth node. Furthermore, the tenderness of the first and second nodes was relatively high. The shoot tenderness was correlated with maturity, spatial location, plucking time and variety. Pruning significantly increased the tenderness of the third and fourth nodes. A consistently changing pattern of tea shoot tenderness was found by texture analyser in this study, which provided a useful method to evaluate shoot tenderness and its keeping ability in tea plant.

Key words: tenderness, tenderness keeping ability, texture analyser, maximum shear forces