The diagram illustrates how black tea is produced in two different ways.
Overall, there are five main stages for manufacturing black tea, starting from picking tea leaves, divided into traditional methods and modern methods before reaching the final stage called drying.
In the first process, fresh tea leaves with good quality are carefully selected which containing only buds and two top leaves. These leaves are then placed on racks, where air from fans removes 60% of their moisture in the withering stage.
Following this, the withered leaves are processed using either traditional or modern methods. The conventional method, the leaves are rolled and broken to release enzymes. However, the modern method involves cutting, tearing, and curling tea leaves, which is quicker and produces smaller, granular pieces.
During the oxidation stage, the processed leaves are spread on surfaces such as tiles or cement to allow the enzymes to react with air, transforming the leaves into a copper color. Finally, the leaves undergo firing or drying, where they are placed in ovens or hot air dryers to remove 97% of their moisture which tea’s flavor and aroma will be released in this stage.