Black tea

There are two methods of manufacturing Black Tea, the first of which is the traditional 'orthodox' procedure. According to this method, the leaves must go through a process of Withering, Rolling, Oxidisation and Drying.

Withering

The objective of withering is to reduce the moisture in the tea leaf by up to 70%, depending on the region it's been grown in.

The tea leaves are laid out on a wire mesh in troughs. Air is then passed through these troughs so that the moisture is removed in a uniform way. The process takes between 12 and 17 hours, by when the leaves are limp and pliable and will roll well.

Rolling

The tea leaves are placed into a rolling machine, which rotates horizontally on a rolling table. This action creates the twisted wiry looking tea leaves. During the rolling process the leaves are also broken open, which starts the third process - oxidisation.

Oxidisation

Oxidisation, otherwise known as fermentation, is an extremely important part of tea production. It's oxidisation that contributes the most to a tea's flavour, colour and strength. This stage is critical to the final flavour of the tea, if left too long the flavour will be spoilt.

To oxidise tea the leaves are put into troughs or laid out on tables. Oxidisation occurs when enzymes within the leaves react with the air and takes from between 30 minutes and two hours at about 26 degrees centigrade. It is during this process that the tea leaf changes from green, through light brown to a deep brown. Once the tea has reached the desired level of oxidisation, light for a light liquoring tea and dark brown for a stronger liquoring tea, the leaves are dried (otherwise known as 'Firing the tea').

Drying

To stop the oxidising process the tea is passed through hot air dryers. This reduces the total moisture content down to about 3% and the dried tea is ready to be sorted into grades before packing.