South Asia

Tea Process

Learn more by clicking on one of the links below...

              Plucking ...>            

           Withering ...>            

                Rolling ...>             

        Fermentation ...>        

               Baking ...>             

  Sorting and Grading ...>  

Plucking

The fresh young shoots of the mature tea bush are plucked by hand.  Each pluck takes only the “flush” or “two leaves and a bud” of fresh growth. Within a week to ten days the bushes sprout again.

Withering

At the time a tea leaf is plucked it contains moisture of around 75%, which will be reduced to 45% during the withering process.  Fresh leaves are spread on long troughs about a foot deep.  A strong flow of air filters through the bed of leaves causes evaporation of moisture. This can last from 8 to 18 hours depending on weather conditions. 

Rolling

The withered leaves are transferred to a machine which “rolls” them, establishing the proper conditions for enzymatic oxidization of the flavanols in tea by atmospheric oxygen.  This disruption of cell structure is achieved through the mechanical process of gentle rolling.  Today, machines perfected over a century ago perform a critical role in preparing leaves for brewing. 

Fermentation

Fermentation is also known as oxidization, which is when green leaves are converted to black tea.  The temperature of the leaves is maintained at around 25 degrees.  Mild acidification of the oxidized tea increases levels of the tea flavins.

Baking

Hot air is passed over the tea leaves to deactivate oxidization and reduce the moisture level in the tea further to 2-3%.  This is critical as incomplete firing can cause the tea to deteriorate during storage.

Sorting and Grading

Baked tea is sorted into different grades by passing leaves over a series of vibrating screens of different mesh sizes.  Electrostatically charged rollers preferentially attract stalks to remove them from the tea.  Many estates use Color Sorters, which remove stalks by identifying their colors in a very sophisticated process.  Today, some specialty teas are still sorted by hand.     

      There are several grades of tea, such as leaf grades, broken grades, fannings and dust grades.  Each grade represents a different character, although all come from the same tea leaves.