Tea Harvesting and Processing

Most tea plants have a growth phase and a dormant period, usually during the winter. Tea leaves are picked by hand as the new tea shoots (or "flush") emerge, the most desirable being those near the growing tip. In hotter climates, the plants have several flushes and can be picked year-round at 7 - 12 day intervals. In cooler conditions at higher elevations, there is a distinct harvesting season. Leaves from the earlier flushes, usually in the spring, give the finest quality teas.

Tea harvesting is exhaustive and labor intensive (between two and three thousand tea leaves are needed to produce just a kilo of unprocessed tea) and is a procedure of considerable skill. 

The first step in tea processing is withering. The objective of withering is to reduce the moisture in the tea leaf by up to 70% (varies from region to region). Tea is laid out on a wire mesh in troughs. Air is then passed through the tea removing the moisture in a uniform way. This process takes around 12 to 17 hours. At the end of this time the leaf is limp and pliable and so will roll well.

The second step in tea processing is rolling. Tea is placed into a rolling machine, which rotates horizontally on the rolling table. This action creates the twisted wiry looking tealeaves. During the rolling process the leaves are also broken open, which starts the third process.

The third step in tea processing is fermentation in which the tea is either put into troughs or laid out on tables whereby the enzymes inside the tealeaf come in to contact with the air and start to oxidise. This creates the flavor, color and strength of the tea. It is during this process that the tea leaf changes from green, through light brown, to a deep brown, and happens at about 26 degrees centigrade. This stage is critical to the final flavor of the tea, if left too long the flavor will be spoilt. Oxidation takes from between half an hour to 2 hours.

The fourth step is drying. To stop the oxidation process the tea is passed through hot air dryers. This reduces the total moisture content down to about 3% and stops the enzymes. The oxidation will be stopped by this process, and now the dried tea is ready to be sorted into grades before packing. 

Last, the tea is normally packed in large wooden boxes and exported. It can further be packed in smaller packages, tea bags etc.