News Agriculture

Mixing up root microbes can boost tea’s flavor

Dosing dirt with nitrogen-metabolizing bacteria boosted synthesis of a taste-enhancing amino acid

Tea farm in China

The mountainous region of China known as Wuyishan, shown here, is a renowned source of rougui and other oolong teas.

Wei Xin

By Nikk Ogasa

Researchers may have gotten to the root of tea’s soothing effect.

The quality of a cup of chai can be enriched by modifying the microbial community that populates the plant’s roots, researchers report February 15 in Current Biology. The secret is to inoculate roots with bacteria that boost the synthesis of the amino acid theanine.