Loose tea processing is summed up in six basic stages, though there are many variations within the six stages:
1. Plucking
The top two leaves and bud are carefully and expertly plucked by the many
pluckers employed by the garden. Ahmad Tea uses only hand-plucked teas.
2. Withering
Once collected the leaves are spread over a long tray and dried with hot air.
Withering takes place in order to remove the moisture from the leaves.
3. Rolling
In the traditional, ‘orthodox’ process, tea is placed into a rolling
machine which produces the familiar wiry, curled shape of tea. Another process
is used for some of the much finer teas used in teabags. The CTC process,
cuts, tears and curls the tea using hundreds of small sharp metal teeth.
4. Fermentation
Rolling breaks the veins of the leaves, releasing the enzymes that start fermentation
(also known as oxidation). The leaves are placed in a cool, airy and humid
room to ferment. This stage is important in determining the taste of the tea.
While black tea is fully fermented, green tea is heated at an earlier stage
to minimise fermentation. Oolong tea undergoes partial fermentation.
5. Firing
Drying the leaf in an oven destroys the enzymes and thereby stops fermentation.
6. Grading
Once the firing stage has been completed the leaves must be graded into differing
sizes and categories before final bulk tea packaging. There are many grades
of tea, from dust through to whole leaves.
