The provided pictorial process diagram illustrates the transformation of tea leaves into five different varieties of tea, which consumers can use to create a variety of recipes.
Overall, it is clear from the image that the production of each type of tea involves essential steps, with three steps being common to all: plucking, wilting (also known as withering), and oven drying.
Initially, the leaves are cultivated, then they are either hand-plucked or harvested using machinery, followed by the withering of the leaves. After this stage, different methods of production are applied. Notably, white tea is distinctive because it undergoes no further processing after oven drying.
In contrast, green tea, oolong tea, and large leaf black tea all undergo a rolling process. Green tea is steamed prior to rolling, but it is not fermented. In comparison, both oolong and large leaf black tea are rolled before fermentation; oolong requires only slight fermentation, while full fermentation is necessary for large leaf black tea.
Finally, small leaf black tea is neither steamed nor rolled but is crushed prior to undergoing full fermentation.