The diagram illustrates how tea is produced using two different methods.
Overall, five primary stages are employed in the process, which start with fresh tea leaves being picked manually by farmers, followed by the mixing of enzymes and air, which causes a change in their colour, concluding with the release of flavour and aroma to create products.
The first stage happens when people collect fresh tea leaves. At this stage, only buds and two top leaves are harvested so that they can produce high quality tea. Subsequently, people wither the leaves by placing them on a rack. Meanwhile, air is passed through the leaves, which aims to remove 60% of their moisture.
After being dried, the leaves can be treated using either the traditional method or the modern method. In the traditional method, which aims at producing loose tea, the leaves are rolled flat and broken. As a result, enzymes are released from the leaves. In the modern method, which produces tea bags, the leaves are cut, torn and curled. This method is quicker and produces smaller granular pieces.
Following that, the rolled leaves experience the stage of oxidation or fermentation. During this step, enzymes and air react, which changes the color of the leaves to copper. Finally, the leaves are fired or dried in an oven or by hot air dryers, which releases their aroma and flavor. At the end of the process, 97% of moisture is removed in total.