Abstract:This study aimed to elucidate the quality differences of spring black tea using different evaluation methods. Black tea，prepared from fresh tea leaves harvested in spring，was used as the research subject. The analysis involved sensory quality assessment，color difference evaluation，and measurement of physical，chemical，and biochemical indicators. Cluster analysis based on the content of 11 biochemical components was used to analyze the similarities and differences among the spring black tea samples. The findings indicate that the sensory characteristics of spring black tea are characterized with a tight，curved，and fine appearance，dark and glossy，with or without golden fluff. The tea infusion exhibited a bright orange or bright red color，while the infused leaves appeared delicate，soft，and bright red，with minimal variation. Color difference analysis alone is inadequate for fully describing the quality of black tea. However，component analysis revealed significant differences in moisture，ash，water extract，tea polyphenols，and tea polysaccharides across different black tea samples （P<0.05）. Furthermore，cluster analysis demonstrated that the biochemical component contents of various spring black tea varieties differed，allowing for classification based on quality，which closely aligned with the results of sensory evaluations. Both sensory evaluation and component heat map clustering effectively differentiated the quality characteristics of spring black tea and may serve as reliable methods for assessing black tea quality.