>

Tea Manufacturing
Whether a tea leaf ends up being called black (fermented), green (unfermented), or Oolong (semi-fermented) is determined during the manufacturing process. Tea manufacturing is a matter of skilled manual labor.

BLACK TEA

To create black tea (or red tea, as it is known in China for the beautiful liquor color it produces), the leaves are plucked and then treated in a four-step process:

• Withering removes moisture from the freshly plucked leaf, so that it can be rolled. Leaves are spread uniformly on trays or racks in a cool room for 18 to 24 hours. By the end of this stage, the leaves have lost one-third to one-half of their weight through evaporation and are soft and pliable.
• Rolling the leaf, the second step, readies it for transformation. This breaks apart the cells in the leaf, releasing enzymes that will interact with air and cause oxidation, also known as fermentation.
• Fermentation changes the chemical structure of the tea leaf, allowing key flavor characteristics to emerge. (It does not, however, make tea an alcoholic beverage.) The rolled leaves are spread on cement or tile floors and tables in a cool, humid room. They are carefully monitored for the next one to five hours for proper color and pungency.
• Firing is the step that stops fermentation. The leaves are placed in hot pans similar to woks, or in large modern dryers where a constant temperature of 120 degrees F can be maintained. The leaves turn black and lose all but three percent of their original moisture. Improper firing can cause off-color, a loss of flavor and aroma, blistering, mold, and spoilage.

Finally, the tea is sorted, graded, and packed in wooden chests that have been lined with foil to prevent the intrusion of unwelcome flavors and aromas.

GREEN TEA

Leaves intended for green tea are plucked in the same manner as black tea. They are then manufactured in three stages completed in a single day:

• Panfiring (or steaming) occurs immediately after the leaves are plucked. The leaves are placed in a metal pan over a hot flame to render them soft and pliable. The sudden exposure to heat destroys enzymes that would otherwise lead to oxidation.
• Rolling the leaves on heated trays to reduce their moisture content is the next step. The process is done with the fingers and palms, and sometimes with the entire forearm up to the elbow.
• Firing in large mechanical dryers is the final stage of drying. Fired green tea retains only two percent of its moisture. Some green teas produced for export are rolled and fired several times; although this increases their shelf life, it may also impair their taste and character. Green tea is then sorted by leaf size and packed.

The finest and most delicate grades are often put into metal tins or vacuum-packed to preserve their freshness.

OOLONG

This process, whose name in Chinese means "black dragon", was developed in the Wuyi Mountains in the Fujian province. It combines elements of both fermented and unfermented processes. The leaves are picked just as they reach their peak and processed immediately.

• Withering and a brief fermentation are combined, for a total of four to five hours in direct sunlight. The leaves are spread three or four inches deep in large bamboo baskets and shaken frequently to bruise the leaf edges, making them oxidize faster than the centers. This stage is halted when the leaves give off a characteristic fragrance, often compared to apples, orchids, or peaches.
• Firing halts fermentation when it is about half complete. Baskets full of leaves are moved in and out of the flames of a charcoal fire. Finally, the tea is sorted for size and color and packed into foil lined wooden chests for transport.