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download articleTea
Article index
 | Production process of tea | |
| Withering | |
| Rolling and breaking | |
| Fermentation | |
| Drying (firing) | |
| Sieving | |
| Mixing | |
| Packaging | |
| Plant variations |
According to history, tea is discovered by the Chinese emperor Shen Nung about 2700 years before Christ. He was boiling hot water in a pot and some leaves of an overhanging tea scrub were falling into the pot. The content of the pot was smelling deliciously. The method of extracting tea from leaves gradually expands outside China. But only in 1610, tea arrived in the Netherlands. Through the long travels over sea, tea was very expensive. But in the second half of the 18th century, tea became cheaper. The interest in tea grew enormous.
As the leaves of tea are very dry (low aw-value), the shelf life of tea is high.
Production process of tea
The leaves of tea are always treated in the country of origin. This treatment varies from region to region. In the following description, the general process is given.Withering
After harvesting, the leaves of tea are withered, meaning that the leaves fade with speed. Through this process, the leaves lose moisture and become flexible and soft. Fading occurs on grids at temperatures of 25ºC till 30ºC. Through this action they become more treatable.Rolling and breaking
After withering, the soft leaves are rolled between two horizontal rubbing surfaces. The leave juices giving the specific taste and colour of tea, are liberated. This process takes half an hour. Then the leaves are broken to become different sizes.Fermentation
Then the leaves are fermented. The fermentation bacteria, located on the leaves, are activated by creating the right fermentation conditions. For this process, warm, wet air is ventilated throughout the leaves. The relative moisture content of the air is 95% at a temperature of 25ºC. Through the fermentation process, the leaves obtain the characteristic tea-flavour and taste. The colour becomes red brown.Drying (firing)
Thanks to the moisture in the air during the fermentation process the tea leaves are slightly wet. Through drying (also name ‘firing’) the fermentation process can be stopped. The final moisture content after a 30 minutes drying period is 4 to 6%.Sieving
The dry leaves are sorted for size on different sieves. They are packed according to size in triplex containers or paper bags. Then they are ready for export to their destination.Mixing
In the country of destination, the leaves are treated further : flavour addition or mixing of several leaves.Packaging
The last stage is packaging in consumer portions. Tea is obtainable in 3 forms: Most well known are the tea in tea bags. The laves are filled in the bags in the right mixture. By means of a small cord, the tea bag is brought in hot water. Through extraction, a nice cup of tea is the result. Loosely held tea is sold in wooden boxes. This tea is filled in a metal sieve reservoir and hung in hot water. Loosely held tea is more an exclusive product.The third variant is tea in pads. They are applied in a coffee automate. This machine presses a precise amount of hot water through the tea pad creating a cup of tea of constant quality..
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