Are you wondering about the different steps to make the delicious, full-bodied teas that your customers love? Tea making is a fine art and there is a world of difference between the ways in which standard supermarket teas are made and the ways that high-end teas are made from a specialty tea company. In this blog, we’ll look at each of the steps used to make the highest quality teas.
What are the five steps of tea making?
Before tea can be processed, camellia sinensis plants have to be expertly grown and harvested using the correct methods and growing conditions. These processes and choices can result in a hugely varied tea as they greatly impact the resulting flavor and quality. In fact, the character and taste of tea leaves can be discerned entirely by the region in which they are grown, because of the soil, climate and surrounding wildlife. As an example of this, Japanese green tea is grown in shady conditions to promote the maximum development of theanine and chlorophyll.
1. Withering
Once the leaves have been, ideally, hand harvested, they are withered, or softened so that they can become pliable. This is done on stretched fabric layers and it reduces the leaf water content by up to half. Without this stage, the leaves can become akin to wet vegetables, rather than specialist tea leaves ready for blending and brewing.
2. Bruising
The leaves are then bruised by twisting, crushing and rolling, depending on their tea and style. This breaks down the leaf cell walls and supports oxidation. This used to be a very demanding process and some dark teas have to be repeatedly bruised. Today, small-scale machines still support artisanal creation.
3. Oxidation
After they are bruised, leaves being used for black or oolong teas are left to turn brown in a process of oxidation where they are laid on trays and allowed to wither. This is a very complex and technical process and the leaves are carefully monitored and assessed for humidity and heat.
4. Fixing it
The leaves are heated to stop the period of oxidation and to ensure that the enzymes are denatured. This defines the resulting tea category and is a careful process to ensure that the tea oxidation process stops at exactly the right point to produce the intended tea.
5. Drying
All tea is then dried to remove any remaining moisture and to make it stable for sale. This stage can also change the tea flavor dramatically. For example, some leaves are charcoal roasted and this adds a rich flavor quality, but white tea is gently baked for a sun-dried effect.
Why choose a specialty tea company?
If your customers love high-quality tea, then an artisan and specialist tea company can introduce you to delicious new flavors, blends and types of tea. The important thing to know is that your tea is free from artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and chemicals and that it has been created with artisanal methods that preserve the flavor, character and quality of the blend. Whether your focus is on white, green, black, oolong or herbal, you’ll discover a wonderful array of teas from around the world at Blue Ocean Teas.