Once the tea leaf is plucked, it is processed in the factory to bring out the flavors in it. There are essentially two types of teas: Orthodox, and CTC. The Orthodox tea is the whole leaf tea that is generally popular in the west, but in India, CTC tea is wildly popular for the type of tea they make there, called Chai, involving boiling the tea over and over to extract the most out of it. The teas sold by Jaya are predominantly Orthodox teas, but we are planning to carry some outstanding varieties of CTC teas in near future. Within Orthodox tea, depending on the degreee of fermentation, the processed tea is called White (steamed), Green (least fermented), Oolong (semi-fermented) and Black (fully fermented).
Recently popular, white tea is produced when two leaves and a bud are picked just before sunrise to preserve the moisture in the leaf. White tea are from two varieties of the Chinese tea bush-the Shui Hsien and the Dai Bai. This tea is characterized by a delicate flavor with very little color, however it is highly priced because a days picking produces only about 1 - 2 kgs. Although it is called white tea, the tea does have some light green color charactersitic of the newest buds originating on the bush. The buds are steamed to destroy the enzymes that would otherwise destroy the tea and dried either in the dryer or in the sun.
Green tea is produced by steaming the leaves to destroy the enzymes that might otherwise ferment the leaves. The leaves are then rolled either by hand or by mechanical rollers, to bring out the juices in the leaves that are responsible for its flavor. The rolled leaves are then fired to dry them. The entire process of rolling and firing is repeated several times until the leaves are completely dry. The process of producing green tea is very exacting because variation in the drying time can result in fermentation of the leaves which spoils its flavor. Green tea is mainly produced in Japan and China, allthough increasingly, the Indian estates are producing high quality green tea to supply to the increasing connoisuer demand in Japan and other markets.
Oolong teas are semi fermented teas that are partially fermented before drying to preserve the natural flavors. Legend has it that a tea farmer, while producing the tea, was scared away by a black snake. When he returned he found that the tea had been fermented to a red color and produced a most delightful flavor.
Oolong teas were first produced about 400 years ago in the Fujian Province at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, Oolongs have been produced in many other parts of China and other parts of the world. Today, the most popular Oolongs are produced in the island of Taiwan or Formosa, however, more recently, delightful Oolongs produced in the Indian estates of Darjeeling region are gaining rapid market acceptance due to their delicate character.
The process of producing Oolongs begins with picking of the two leaves and a bud, generally early in the morning. The leaves are then partially dried indoors to promote fermentation. When the leaves start turning red - at a stage, when 30% of the leaves are red, and the rest 70% are green, the leaves are rubbed repeatedly by hand or mechanically to generate flavor and aroma, and finally dried over charcoal. The final stage in production of Oolong teas is blending the teas to produce the characteristic flavor of the garden or the brand.
Arguably, the most widely consumed beverage, black tea is a close cousin to the Oolong in that if the tea is fermented long enough, the leaves turn black, hence the term "black tea". Although Black teas could be produced in China, Chinese producers have focussed entirely on production of Oolongs to satisfy the great demand from the local market. On the other hand, the Indian, Russian, and Middle Eastern markets demand black teas, and in response to this demand, the Indian, Sri Lankan and African producers have focussed mostly on producing black tea.
There are two types of black teas: Orthodox teas and CTC teas. Most teas we find in the west tend to be Orthodox teas. Orthodox teas have the appearance of a leaf either whole or broken and are distinctly different from CTC teas which tend to be in the form of round globules. Like the other teas, the process of producing orthodox black tea begins with picking of the top three leaf and a bud. The leaf is then brought to the factory where it is dried on ventilated trays until the teas loose some moisture and become limp. These limp leaves are then gently rolled under mechanical rollers to break them and bring out their juices and oils (good black tea feels quite oily to touch).
The exact time of rolling is determined by the size of the leaf, with smaller leaf being rolled for shorter period than larger leaf. Rolling induces fermentation of the leaf, and when the leaf is judged to be appropriately fermented, the process is slowed by allowing the leaves to cool off on ventilated trays for 3 to 4 hours. Finally, the fermentation process is stopped by drying the teas under hot blowers, at which point the tea leaves turn from reddish hue to black. The teas are then passed through various sieves to grade them. Tea production process is a fascinating one, and the aroma in the tea factory is undoubtedly heavenly! If you ever have an opportunity to witness tea production, I would highly recommend it to you. Nothing can capture the aroma of fresh leaves being fermented in large trays!
Production of CTC teas: CTC is an acronym for crush, tear and curl. CTC teas are highly popular on the Indian subcontinent for they produce the strongest brew that is consumed with tea in the traditional Indian method of brewing tea. In the CTC production process, the tea is passed through mechanical rollers that crush and tear the leaves and finally roll them into little balls. The cell sap collected in the process is added back to the teas to give them additional flavor. While CTC teas have not yet gained acceptance in the West, this is more due to lack of knowledge than any thing else. The fact is, if you are really interested in Chai, the traditional Indian tea, Orthodox tea just doesn't do it; you need CTC tea to brew Chai.