7/27/2019 Tea Types and Production Process006

1/2

Tea Types and Production Process

Introduction to Tea

Tea is a natural beverage brewed from the leaves of an evergreen plant called Camellia sinensis. While ithas become common place for people to refer to any hot beverage that is brewed from naturally occurringplants or plant extracts as "tea" technically, those herbal hot beverages should be called "teassanes", asthe word "tea" is reserved for beverages brewed from leaves of Camellia sinensis.

The camelia sinensis is a very versatile plant that can grow under almost any conditions. Thus, tea isgrown around the world from the Indian Sub-continent in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, to China, Japan,Indonesia, Vietnam, to the African subcontinent in Kenya, to Latin America in Argentina. As can beimagined, the quality of tea varies dramatically from region to region, with most of the variationsoriginating in the variation in the climactic conditions of the regions where the tea is grown and not fromthe differences in the tea bush itself.

Types of Tea

White Tea: Recently popular, white tea is produced when two leaves and a bud arepicked just before sunrise to preserve the moisture in the leaf. White tea are from twovarieties of the Chinese tea bush-the Shui Hsien and the Dai Bai. This tea is

characterized by a delicate flavor with very little color, however it is highly pricedbecause a days picking produces only about 1 - 2 kgs. Although it is called white tea,the tea does have some light green color charactersitic of the newest budsoriginating on the bush. The buds are steamed to destroy the enzymes that wouldotherwise destroy the tea and dried either in the dryer or in the sun.

Green Tea:Green tea is produced by steaming the leaves to destroy the enzymesthat might otherwise ferment the leaves. The leaves are then rolled either by hand orby mechanical rollers, to bring out the juices in the leaves that are responsible for itsflavor. The rolled leaves are then fired to dry them. The entire process of rolling andfiring is repeated several times until the leaves are completely dry. The process ofproducing green tea is very exacting because variation in the drying time can resultin fermentation of the leaves which spoils its flavor. Green tea is mainly produced inJapan and China, allthough increasingly, the Indian estates are producing high

quality green tea to supply to the increasing connoisuer demand in Japan and other markets.Oolong Teas:Oolong teas are semi fermented teas that are partially fermented before drying to preservethe natural flavors. Legend has it that a tea farmer, while producing the tea, wasscared away by a black snake. When he returned he found that the tea had beenermented to a red color and produced a most delightful flavor.f

The process of producing Oolongs begins with picking of the two leaves and a bud,generally early in the morning. The leaves are then partially dried indoors to promotefermentation. When the leaves start turning red - at a stage, when 30% of the leavesare red, and the rest 70% are green, the leaves are rubbed repeatedly by hand ormechanically to generate flavor and aroma, and finally dried over charcoal. The final stage in productionof Oolong teas is blending the teas to produce the characteristic flavor of the garden or the brand.

Black Tea:Arguably, the most widely consumed beverage, black tea is a closecousin to the Oolong in that if the tea is fermented long enough, the leaves turnblack, hence the term "black tea". Although Black teas could be produced in China,Chinese producers have focussed entirely on production of Oolongs to satisfy thegreat demand from the local market. On the other hand, the Indian, Russian, andMiddle Eastern markets demand black teas, and in response to this demand, theIndian, Sri Lankan and African producers have focussed mostly on producing blackea.t

7/27/2019 Tea Types and Production Process006

2/2

There are two types of black teas: Orthodox teas and CTC teas. Most teas we find in the west tend to beOrthodox teas. Orthodox teas have the appearance of a leaf either whole or broken and are distinctlydifferent from CTC teas which tend to be in the form of round globules. Like the other teas, the process ofproducing orthodox black tea begins with picking of the top three leaf and a bud.

Manufacturing Process

The tea manufacturing process is quite an involved one, the tea has to be plucked. Once the leaf basket iffull, the picker brings it to the central station where the basket is weighed and passed on to the factoryfloor. On the factory floor, the tea undergoes a withering process designed to remove as much moistureas possible from the tea, to prepare it for oxidation and drying. Usually, the tea leaves are spread out on alarge tray of wire mesh, and hot air blowers are used to heat the leaf and drive the mositure out. At thispoint, the leaf has become limp and turned into a darker shade of green. The next step in the process isRollingwherein the leaf is put into roller machines which twist and turn the leaf and break it, giving it thewirey shape characteristic of Darjeeling orthodox leaf. This process of rolling releases the enzymes fromhe leaf as the leaf breaks, exposing the juices to natural process of oxidation.t

In the next stage, the Oxidation stage (for black tea), the leaf is allowed to oxidise by exposing it to air inlarge trays. As the leaf oxidizes, it generates heat, and slowly changes in color from green to red to browno eventually black. Proper oxidation of the leaf is critical in the final flavor and color produced in the leaf.t

Finally, the tea is ready for drying. Once again, the leaf is exposed to hot air from air blowers, which drive

he remaining moisture out of the leaf.tOnce the leaf is dry, the tea is marked and tasted by an expert taster who describes the tea and issuesthe certificate of release. Often times, a blender blends various batches of tea to produce a characteristicflavor, however, most blending work is not done at the tea garden level. Rather, this happens at theblender and packers warehouse.

PackingTastingDrying

RollingWitheringPlucking

Oxidationfor

Black Tea

Reference:

http://www.jayateas.com/about_tea/manufacturing_tea.html

http://www.jayateas.com/about_tea/manufacturing_tea.htmlhttp://www.jayateas.com/about_tea/manufacturing_tea.html