MANUFACTU

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The fundamental process in Black Tea manufacturing is that of enzymic fermentation of certain organic
compounds in the leaf. The various stage of tea manufacturing may be briefly described as follows:

 CTC

 Withering

This is the process by which tea leaf is induced to loose moisture substantially. Normally this is carried
out by spreading leaves thinly on troughs through which warm air is circulated by fans. The average
length of withering depends on the quality of the leaf peculiar to the region.

 Crushing Tearing Curling

When a satisfactory withering has been obtained the leaf is ready for rolling, which twists the leaf,
breaks it up and expresses the juices. The CTC process of rolling is a comparatively rigorous
rig one for the
leaf, which is forced through a machine having two steel cylinders. The cylinders move in inverse
direction at a speed of 700 RPM and 70 RPM with marginal clearance between them. The leaf as it
passes consecutively through a bank of three to four such machines gets much reduced in size and its
cell get ruptured for accelerated as well as intensive fermentation. The whole process leaves the leaf
granulated. It gives much better thicker liquor and yields more cups
cups of tea per kg of leaf as compared to
the Orthodox type of tea.

 Fermentation

Normally the tea ferments or oxidizes from 660 to 100 minutes depending upon the leaf quality and on
climatic condition. Under South Indian condition ambient humidity is low and the presence of dry air can
retard fermentation, hence cool humid condition are essential to enable larger retention time to
produce blacker, grainy and heavier teas.

 Drying

The next process is known as Drying. The objectives of drying is to i) arrest fermentation and ii) remove
moisture and produce teas with good qualities. The mass of leaf is exposed to hot air when it passes
through a chamber with perforated moving trays. The temperature of the air blowing through the
chamber is maintained at temperatures
temperatures between 100 to 130 degrees centigrade as its base range. It
takes 15 minutes to half an hour to dry the leaf, when the enzymes are fully activated. After completion
of the drying process the tea becomes fully black in color.

 Sorting and Grading

Sorting is the operation in which tea particles of the bulk are separated into various grades of different
sizes and forms confirming to trade requirements. The process of sorting has two objectives
i) to enhance the value and
ii) to impart quality.
The basic sorting procedure follows a set pattern:-

a) While the tea is still relatively warm, the tea is first passed through the minimum of four slow speed
electrostatic fiber extractor to clean it of floating fiber. Over large pellets and flat pieces of caked tea are
removed at the same time and kept aside for grinding and reconditioning.

b) The next stage is to divide the bulk tea into grades by passing through the meshes of 24, 20, 16, 10
and 6 to get the grades. The grades generally produced are named as follows: Broken Orange Pekoe
(BOP), Broken Pekoe (BP), Fanning and Dust. The grade specifications are entirely artificial though not
completely arbitrary. After sorting and grading the tea has to undergo a further cleaning process, which
is necessary for removing any stalks, fibrous residues and other foreign matter, which is separated out.
Winnowing in some form or other is a routine practice and according to the size and density of the
particles this separates the fanning and dust. It also carries away the fibrous residue and tea fluff, which
is of no commercial value as a grade.

 Storage and Packaging

Tea is a markedly hydroscopic material and while cooling and sorting it absorbs moisture. Before packing
tea the accumulated series of daily batches of each grades are bulked and mixed to obtain the highest
possible degree of unity. Before packing tea is passed under powerful magnets to prevents possible
pieces of iron mixing with the tea. Packing is the process of preserving the product using the cheapest
but most appropriate material taking into account the product properties and the specific needs of the
end user.

 ORTHODOX

 Withering

The withering for Orthodox is much harder than that of CTC. In orthodox withering upto 54% of the
moisture is allowed to evaporate. For this more use of warm air is required.

 Rolling

In case of Orthodox tea the withered tealeaf is rolled on Tea Rollers. A tea roller consists of three parts –
the table, the box or jacket and the cap used for applying pressure. The existing roller in the Company’s
Orthodox unit is imported from Sri Lanka to give the best rolling and quality tea. During rolling, the leaf
heats up considerably, especially with a heavy charge. Some of the rise in temperature is due to the heat
of fermentation, evolved by the chemical changes taking place in the leaf juices and this is greatest
during the first hour or so, after which it tails off. After rolling the leaf is taken out and transported to
the Googie to separate the first fines. The fines that passed over the Googie are taken straight for
fermentation. The dhools that passes through the Googie is taken for second roller and for the third roll
if required.

 Fermentation

The Orthodox tea ferments or oxidizes from 150 minutes depending on the leaf quality and on climatic
conditions.

 Drying

The next process is known as Drying and is similar to the one as described in the CTC section. The only
difference is that the temperature of the air blowing through the chamber is maintained at
temperatures between 140 to 150 degrees centigrade as its base range, as firing at this temperature
results in improved appearance and bloom.

 Sorting and Grading

The process of sorting and grading is the same as described in the CTC section. In case of Orthodox
sorting, the dried tea is passed through some additional machines to complete the sorting process. The
grades generally produced in the case of Orthodox tea are named as follows:

Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (TGFOP), Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (GFOP), Fanning Broken
Orange Pekoe (FBOP), Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP), Golden Broken Orange Pekoe (GBOP), Fanning and
Dust. The grade specifications are entirely artificial though not completely arbitrary.

 Storage and Packaging

The storage and packaging system is the same as described in the CTC section.
TEA CULTIVATION & MANUFACTURING PROCESS FLOW

CTC / ORTHODOX

Cultivation

Plucking Green Tea Leaves

Withering

Rolling

Fermenting

Drying

Sorting / Grading / Packing