TEA PRODUCTION SYSTEM:
The production system for made tea is similar to that of any other industry. That is, ‘Tea Manufacturing System‘ comprises of an input, an output and a process. bellow shows the tea production system.
The inputs are in the form of green tea leaves plucked from the garden. These leaves are carried to the factory for further processing. Process is the tea manufacturing process which takes place inside the factory. The plucked tea leaves, which is the raw material in the factory undergo various· processes: The output is the final made tea.
Based on different types of processing techniques, tea can be classified into four broad type :
Green Tea or Unfermented Tea
Oolong Tea or Semi fermented Tea
Instant Tea
Black Tea or Fermented Tea
GREEN TEA
A brew made from green tea is similar to the one prepared from dried tea leaves in taste and composition. In the manufacture of Green tea, three principal operations are involved – pan firing or steaming, rolling and drying. The objective is to destroy the enzymes in the tea leaf as soon as it is plucked, thus preventing fermentation all together.
OOLONG TEA
It is an intermediate type of made tea between green and black tea. While the latching process is the same as that of green, Oolongs are allowed to ferment while green are not. On the other hand, the fermentation is only partial and not optimum as in black tea. The oolong tea has the colours and appearances of black tea but it has flavour and taste of green tea.
The green leaf in case of Oolong manufacture, IS slightly withered before panning, thereby allowing a light fermentation to develop.
INSTANT TEA
It is a ready-to-drink beverage just like instant coffee. The basic objective in the manufacture of instant tea is to extract the water soluble solids from a pure tea brew, and convert them into a powdery form. The brew can be prepared from black tea, or from partly processed green leaves. This method has been patented by Tocklai Tea Experimental Station, Jorhat (Assam).
BLACK TEA
The basic objective of black tea making is to condition green leaf for fermentation, and when that has been achieved, arrest the fermenting process through application of heat. Thus heat is to be applied at a much later stage than that of green tea manufacture. The basic operations involved in black tea manufacturing are: Withering, Rolling (plus crushing, tearing and curling in case of C.T.C.), Fermenting, Firing, Sorting and Grading, Storage and Packing.
Due to heavy demand of black tea, most of the tea estates are concentrating their production on black tea only. Black tea can be further subdivided into:
Orthodox Tea
CTC Tea