Sensory Characteristics and Consumer Preference Trends of Rose Tea: A Systematic Review

¹ Food Technology and Agricultural Product Study Program, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia.
² Culinary Arts Education, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia.
³ Culinary Management Study Program, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia.
⁴ Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, National Research Council of Science & Technology, Daejeon, South Korea.
⁵ Science and Biotechnology Department, Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia.

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Rose tea, produced from the infusion of Rosa petals, has gained increasing attention as both a traditional beverage and a functional drink owing to its distinctive sensory profile and perceived health benefits. Despite its growing popularity, research addressing the sensory characteristics and consumer acceptance of rose tea remains limited, fragmented, and methodologically inconsistent. This systematic review, conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, aims to synthesize current evidence on the sensory attributes, hedonic responses, and acceptance trends of rose tea, while critically evaluating the methodologies applied across studies. Literature searches were performed across major scientific databases, resulting in 167 identified records, of which only five studies met the predefined inclusion criteria. The findings indicate that floral aroma and flavor consistently represent the most dominant and positively perceived sensory attributes, accompanied by moderate sweetness, sourness, and bitterness. Consumer preference tended to favor sweet and floral notes, whereas grassy, milky, fermented, and overly acidic characteristics were generally less desirable. Overall acceptance ranged from moderate to high, with appearance, aroma, and taste exerting a stronger influence on liking than tea residue or infusion by-products. Although measured color intensity was often low, color acceptability remained moderate, suggesting that visual attributes contribute to consumer perception but are secondary to aroma and taste. Importantly, substantial heterogeneity was observed in sensory scales, panelist characteristics, and evaluation approaches, which limits cross-study comparability. This review highlights the urgent need for standardized sensory frameworks, harmonized lexicons, and integrated assessment of hedonic, intensity, and acceptance dimensions to strengthen research reliability and support the future development and global commercialization of rose tea as a high-quality functional beverage.