Identification of Chinese teas by a colorimetric sensor array based on tea polyphenol induced indicator displacement assay

•An optical sensor array was fabricated based on tea polyphenol induced IDA.•Six tea polyphenols and five concentrations of EGCG were successfully distinguished.•Teas within different categories, grades and origins were classified accurately. In this work, we developed an optical colorimetric sensor array for the discrimination of Chinese teas. The sensor array was carefully designed based on tea polyphenol induced indicators displacement assay (IDA), using phenylboronic acids with different substituents as the receptors to polyphenols. The accurate identification for polyphenols with different species or concentrations proved the potential of the sensor array. The sensor array successfully distinguished tea samples within different categories, grades and origins, coupling with PLS-DA. This work offered an efficient and rapid method to distinguish teas and tea-related products. Besides, the assay is supposed to be suitable for the identification of other polyphenol-related natural products.