Inhibiting catechin conversion during shading reduces which common tea characteristic?

Astringency or bitterness

Catechins are the specific class of polyphenols found in tea leaves that are primarily responsible for causing dryness or astringency on the palate, a sensation often associated with standard or over-steeped green teas. The agricultural intervention of shading suppresses the plant's metabolic conversion pathway that creates these catechins from L-theanine. By minimizing the final catechin count, the resulting shaded teas achieve a remarkably smooth, thick texture, often referred to as 'body,' and lack the sharp, drying qualities of sun-grown varieties.