TEA PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

Now, let us have a look at the general tea processing techniques

Plucking:

 Generally, twice a month, the tea leaves and flushes that includes a terminal bud and two young leaves, are picked from the Camellia sinensis plant. For a higher quality tea, the picking of the tea leaves and young buds is generally done by hand.

Withering or Wilting :

 Once the tea leaves are picked, they soon begin to wilt. In other words, there is a gradual onset of enzymatic oxidation soon after picking of the tea leaves. To avoid this, the technique of withering is used to remove excess water from the leaves and only allow a very slight amount of oxidation. To remove moisture from the leaves. During this stage, the leaves tend to lose more than a quarter of their weight due to moisture loss. This process of watering or wilting of the tea leaves is also essential since it promotes the breakdown of leaf proteins into free amino acids.

Disruption :

Disruption is also known as leaf maceration. In this step, the teas are bruised or torn to promote as well as quicken the oxidation of the tea leaves.. This is done by either shaking and tossing the tea leaves .This is usually done by machinery. This step helps to break down the structures inside as well as outside the leaf cells thereby leading to the beginning of oxidation. The leaf juices are also released which changes the taste profile of the tea.

Rolling :

 The damp tea leaves are rolled into wrinkled strips either by using machines that wrap the tea leaves around itself. This process further enhances the flavor profile of the tea leaves since it causes some of the sap as well as the essential oils and juices of the leaves to ooze out.

Drying :

 This is done to finish the tea for selling. There are many ways in which drying is done. Nowadays, The tea leaves are dried by machines is most commonly used for drying.