Tea processing is quite a daunting and challenging task. Series of processes are involved before you avail best quality tea on your table.
Tea processing is quite a daunting and challenging task. Series of processes are involved before you avail best quality tea on your table. If you are fond of Assam black tea, then you must be aware that Assam is specialized in manufacturing this. Assam black tea leaf is highly popular worldwide.
Tea store Boston, like many other prominent stores worldwide, keeps only such aromatic and refreshing tea for their valuable customers who have a fetish for the best quality Assam tea.
Presented here is vital information on Assam black tea processing.
- Plucking
Skilled women are involved in this. They pluck two tender leaves along with the bud. To retain the freshness of the leaves those are sent to factories directly from the field thrice or four times daily.
- Withering
This is vital as far as tea processing is concerned. This involves conditioning of the tea leaves. The leaves get ready with this to go through further processing. With this, the green leaves get tender, and extra water in them is extracted out. The entire processing time generally varies between 3 -18 hours. This enhances the smell and color of the tea.
The entire process can be done following two different methods. Tea leaves are spread on the laths and are covered with nylon nets, wire or jute.
Here big sized troughs are covered with wired grids along with big sized ventilators. This process is also implemented for warming of tea leaves at times, as that reduces the withering time.
- Green Leaf Sifting
The green leaves, at this stage, go through a sifting process. This happens with the successful elimination of extra dirt attached to the leaves like stones, sand, metal pieces, and so on.
- Leaf conditioning
During CTC processing, leaf conditioning is an essential procedure. This is mainly done with the help of a rotor vane or leaf shredder by the tea master.
- Leaf Maceration
With the completion of leaf conditioning starts the rolling process of the product. With this, the cell walls of tea leaves get ruptured. This results in the accomplishment of leaf maceration. As oxygen in the atmosphere gets in contact with the ruptured, cell enzymes and chemical constituents start getting infused. Once the process is done the oxidation process initiates for which the color or the flavor of the product may get hampered. Thus, in the overall processing, maceration is one of the key steps that are to be done with caution.
- Drying of the leaves
This process is done by ceasing any kind of oxidation activities so that the moisture level in the processed tea goes down to approximately around 3%. The primary reason to go through this procedure is to avail the best quality Assam black tea leaf with a decent shelf life. This is done majorly through Fluid Bed Dryer.
- Tea sorting
Tea sorting is done by sifter. Here the tea is broken into almost equal sizes. With the completion of the process, segregation takes place. Tea is now diversified into four broad categories- broken, whole leaf, dust, and fanning. Further subdivisions take place as per the quality and refinement of tea.
Now you know the intensive processes of Assam black tea leaf manufacturing. Until the processing is done with accuracy, tea lovers will never be satisfied with the taste or quality of the product. Tea store Boston always takes this crucial aspect into consideration. Hence you can expect nothing but the best quality products from such esteemed stores.
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