History of Tea
It is believed that tea was discovered by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung by accident in 2737 BC. As boiling water, some tea leaves had fallen into the water by accident. When the Emperor Shen Nung drank the water with the leaves in it, he found it relieved his thirst and it had energizing qualities. It is known that the first tea ever was green tea. In spite of ancient tea customs, black tea did not exist until 780 B.C. It is assumed that black tea came from China and probably it was created while fermenting green tea in the search for new and refined variations. Black tea remained of little importance until it was rediscovered and cultivated in India. The time that tea is harvested and the shape of the leaf give tea its characteristic flavor. Also soil and climate help to form tea character. Valuable teas are grown where both special climatic conditions and highly developed methods of cultivation meet. There are only a few countries in the world that meet this criterion: India with Assam and Darjeeling, Ceylon, China, Japan and Kenya. More than 3 billion cups of tea are consumed every day across the world, making tea the most popular and cheapest drink in the world after water. Tea fragrance, flavor and gentle aroma generate a sense of pleasure, well-being and solidarity across the world, day and night.
Tea production plant
As the tea production plant is located on the tea estate, the freshly picked tea leaves are processed immediately this is the first step to achieve the superior quality. Tea is produced in four different sieved qualities Leaf Tea, Broken Tea, Fanning’s and Dust. In addition to these descriptions there are lots of other abbreviations on the packet of a quality tea. These abbreviations letters have nothing to do with the character or the flavor of tea, but they are more detailed explanations on the sieving result or leaf grade designation.
Orthodox teas or traditional teas:
Black tea with two varieties the traditional orthodox tea in leaf form and the modern CTC tea in granular form is the most consumed tea in the world followed by green tea and oolong tea.
Withering
Withering is the first step of black tea production process. Withering room is the place where the moisture is extracted from the tea leaves over the few hours. Any mistakes made during withering process means that the tea created will only be average at best. An experienced withering master watches over the process. He passes his hands through the leaves at regular intervals. Withering master smell, feel and see how far the process has advanced. When the tea has lost about 60% of its moisture, the leaves are ready for the next step rolling & cutting.
Rolling & Cutting
Rolling & cutting is the second step of black tea production process. The rolling machines in case of orthodox tea or cutting machine in case of CTC Tea breaks down the cells of the leaves. In the following the cell sap is released and reacts with the oxygen in the air. In case of CTC tea, after cutting, the tea is passed through a rotating machine which forms the round granules. In the following the moist mass of leaves is transferred immediately to the fermentation room.
Fermentation
Fermentation is the third step of black tea production process. The oxidation continues in the fermentation room. A great experience is required here to know when oxidation has reached its peak. The leaves turn a golden rust color and the tea obtains its characteristic aroma. With great sensitivity and while constantly checking the temperature, the experienced fermentation master recognizes when it is time to start the next step or drying step.
Drying
Drying is the fourth step of black tea production process. With standing at the multi-level dryer, we can see the tea travelling over a complex system of conveyor belts. During drying process, the moisture evaporates and the oxidized cell sap with all its valuable ingredients caffeine, tannin and essential oils dries on the leaf. The black tea is ready now.
Sorting
Sorting is the last step of black tea production process. The different grades of leaves are now sorted by vibrating sifts. This is the time when the black tea is created: leaf tea, fanning’s and dust is produced.
CTC teas:
CTC (crush, tear & curl) is a method of processing black tea in which black tea leaves are run through a series of cylindrical rollers. The rollers have hundreds of sharp teeth that crush, tear, and curl the leaves and produce small, hard pellets made of tea. CTC method is different from traditional method in which the tea leaves are simply rolled into strips. Tea made by CTC method is called CTC tea.
When the tea is crushed and torn, the pressure causes the tea to naturally break down the cells. The broken cells become fully oxidized, causing the tea to taste strong, but lose its subtlety. CTC teas can be mixed with inexpensive teas, making it harder to distinguish the actual types of tea leaves used in the tea. If at the start of the CTC process the tea is high quality, the finished CTC tea product will also be good quality.
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