How Is Tea Made?
As noted in question 1 above, all tea comes from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, so the major differences we see between the various tea families and styles cannot be attributed to botanical distinctions (although some do exist, i.e. Assam and Cambodian varieties). Instead, it is mainly the way tea is processed that results in its wide variety. Unlike most other herbs, which are simply picked and dried, tea goes through many distinct stages of processing between harvest and infusion. GREEN tea is (generally speaking) processed least, usually undergoing only 2 or 3 processes, as follows. After plucking, the leaves are allowed to “wither”, during which time they loose some of their moisture content, becoming soft and fragrant. Next, they are heated (e.g. by steaming or pan-firing) in order to prevent oxidation and preserve their green color and fresh flavor. This heating may dry the tea completely, or the leaves may be shaped (e.g. by rolling) before final drying. OOLONG and BLACK tea
How can a plant grown in an eastern nation find its way into the teapots, tea bags, and cups of people worldwide who greatly enjoy the timeless beverage? It all starts from the plant itself. Tea leaves are harvested from the shrub, Camellia sinensis, an evergreen member of the taxonomic family Theaceae. Tea has four main types, black tea, green tea, white tea, and oolong tea. There are generally eight steps in tea processing. Here is a brief discussion of the parts of the process. Picking is the harvesting of the tea leaves from the shrubs. These are handpicked, and as an example, tea pickers in Sri Lanka can harvest millions of leaves by hand per day. The plucked parts are the terminal bud and the two youngest leaves, which grow on each branch end of the shrub. Early spring and summer are the two seasons when this is done. After picking, the tea leaves are allowed to stay under the sun or in a cool room to allow water to evaporate from the leaves. This step is called wilting. Wilting
The tea plant grows mainly in the Far East, with India leading the world in production. These plants are raised from seeds produced by the white flowers on the plants. They are grown on large farms called tea gardens. When the tea plant is from three to five years old and about three to four feet high, it is ripe enough for its
Although all tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, the difference between the various teas is a process called oxidation. Tea is processed by breaking down the cell walls of the individual tea leaves through a process called withering and then exposing the tea to air that directly interacts with enzymes in the tea leaf. Much like a banana that turns brown when exposed to air for a period of time, tea leaves go from their natural state to various stages of oxidation and during the process, change color and develop the unique flavors associated with the individual types of tea.
