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Tea Manufacture
Glossary
A B C
D
E F
G H I J K L
M N O
P
Q R
S
T
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C
C.T.C
Cut,
Tear and Curl describes a machine which literally cuts, tears and curls
the withered leaf, breaking the leaf veins. This releases the juices or
enzymes of the leaf and completes the second stage of manufacture. Today,
CTC tea, or Unorthodox tea is applied to all types of manufacture other
than Orthodox. It is used in the second stage of manufacture where the tea
leaves are broken into particles before fermentation and drying.
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D
Drying
See
Firing.
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F
Fermentation
The tea trade term for the third stage of tea manufacture whereby the
leaf enzymes oxidize on contact with air. The broken and crushed leaf is
laid out on trays or in troughs and slowly as oxidization takes place,
changes from green to a rusty brown color. For black tea oxidization
period can take up to four hours, for a semi-fermented tea the leaf is
fired or dried before oxidization is complete.
Firing
The tea trade term for the drying of tea
after oxidization. This is the fourth stage of manufacture. The oxidized
leaf, or partially oxidized leaf in the case of semi-fermented tea, is
tipped into an oven onto a conveyor belt that carries the fermented leaf
through the oven slowly drying it. It comes out of the oven as black tea,
or semi-green in the case of the semi-fermented teas.
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L
Leg Cut
A
mechanized method for cutting leaves prior to fermentation and firing or
drying. Eliminated the withering stage of manufacture and produces smaller
leaf particles such as fannings and dust. This machine is not widely used
and has been replaced by more modern machines that do not eliminate any
stages of manufacture.
L.T.P.
Lawrie Tea Processor, a modern CTC machine.
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O
Orthodox
A
machine, which takes its name from the first mechanized method used in the
second stage of tea processing that rolls the withered leaves thus
breaking the veins and releasing the leaf enzymes. Teas made by this
method are known as Orthodox teas.
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P
Packing
The
final stage of manufacture. After sorting, each grade of tea is placed
into either tea chests or tea sacks. Each chest or sack is stamped with
the name of the estate, grade of tea and weight
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R
Rotovane
A
modern machine for the second stage of manufacture which produces a CTC
tea.
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S
Sorting
The
fifth stage of manufacture. The dried leaf is sorted mechanically by
sifting the different leaf size particles or grades through different size
meshes.
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T
Tasting
The
sixth stage of manufacture where all the grades of tea are tasted after
each make to maintain strict quality control at all making stages and to
ensure consistent making standards.
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W
Withering
The first stage of tea manufacture in the tea factory. Plucked
leaf is spread on tables or trays and left to wither in the natural warm
air. Today, in some tea factories warm air fans are built under the
withering area to aid this process.
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