Chun Zou ^1* Yu Xiao ² Jasmina Vitas ³

• ¹ Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China
• ² Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
• ³ University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia

Tea is one of the most popular and widely consumed beverages in the world, and 13 microorganisms are closely related to the tea industry. On the one hand, microbial fermentation is 14 considered a key factor in the formation of sensory quality and health benefits of fermented tea and 15 tea beverages, such as dark tea, kombucha, tea wine, etc. On the other hand, microorganisms are 16 closely related to the growth and development of tea plants and the formation of tea quality. 17Therefore, more and more research has been carried out on microorganisms in tea and tea beverages 18 in recent years. 19During the processing of fermented tea and tea beverages, the metabolism of microorganisms 20 plays an important role in the formation of their flavor and health benefits. Due to the wide variety of 21 microorganisms, it is necessary to detect and identify the key microorganisms in tea and tea 22 beverages. In order to explore the impact of key microorganisms on the flavor quality and health 23 benefits of fermented tea and tea beverages, metagenomics, metabolomics, and other methods can be 24 comprehensively applied. On the basis of clarifying the role of microorganisms, new processing 25 technologies can be developed to improve the quality of tea and tea beverages. In addition, the effects 26 of soil microorganisms and endophytic microorganisms on the growth of tea plants and the quality of 27 tea leaves are also worthy of further research. In this context, the Research Topic on "Microorganisms in Tea and Tea Beverages" has been 29organized. This topic collected six research articles from international researchers. This Research 30 Topic aims to understand the role of microorganisms in tea and tea beverages, and promote the 31 integration of microbiology and tea science. 32 Kombucha is a tea beverage fermented by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Liao et al. 33 systematically investigated microbial community succession and metabolite changes in a back 34 slopping kombucha fermentation process using high-throughput long-read amplicon sequencing and 35 ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. Their study sheds light 36 on the microbial and metabolite dynamics of kombucha fermentation, emphasizing the importance of 37 microbial control and quality assurance measures in the production process. 38The health benefits of kombucha tea have received widespread attention from researchers, 39 especially its effect on gut microbiota.