The illustration illustrates the process of black tea production using both traditional and modern methods. Overall, this production could be divided into four core stages, namely tea cultivation and harvesting, processing, fermentation, and firing.
The process begins with the cultivation of tea leaves. When fresh tea leaves reach ideal maturity, only bud and two top leaves are hand-picked to ensure good quality of the tea. Harvested tea leaves are then spread on racks, and fans are used to dry the leaves more quickly. When having lost 60% of moisture, the leaves are ready for the next treatment.
Relatively dry tea leaves continue to be processed by either traditional method or modern one depending on the final product. Regarding the former method which is often used to make loose tea, leaves are rolled flat and broken, a key step that helps release enzymes from leaves. The latter method mainly applies cutting, in which the leaves are cut, turned, and curled so as to create smaller granular pieces suitable for producing tea bags.
Following the processing stage is tea leaves fermentation, also regarded as oxidization. In this stage, rolled leaves are spread on tiles or cement until they change to copper color as a result of natural chemical reaction between enzymes from the leaves and the air. Progressively, the well-fermented leaves undergo firing and drying in either oven or hot air dryers, releasing up to 97% of moisture in the tea leaves.As a result, its flavor and aroma are released, making tea produced by either method readily available for commercial purposes.
