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How Is Tea Made? The Process Explained

VWB Blog 2 years ago 22

Are you looking for a form of caffeine that’s refreshing and delicious? Have you always wondered how someone actually makes the tea that you drink? If so, then you need to learn all that you can about how is tea made.

Doing so can help you learn more about the tea brands you should entrust. By understanding what processes are more natural, you can unlock a brand-new level of tea drinking into your home.

See below for an in-depth guide on how tea is made and why the process plays such a huge role in the drinking tea you’ve purchased.

1. Tea Plants Are Grown

For those of you that may not have known, tea gets its name from the tea plant that’s used to create the tea packets you drink. These tea plants are grown all around the world, making for different tastes and bold new flavors depending on a variety of factors.

The tea you drink is the perfect culmination of the environment that the tea plant was raised. The flavor of your tea can differ due to the climate the tea plant was raised in, elevation, how acidic (or not acidic) the soil was, and so forth.

Tea plants require a lot of rainfall, which is. why they’re primarily found in tropic climates. It’s also why most leaves meet one of three different classifications: Assam leaves, China leaves, or Cambodian leaves.

Those that harvest the tea leaves generally wait until the tea plant is around 3 years old. This is when the leaves are in the healthiest condition and ready to be used to make tea.

Farmers tend to keep the tea plants at or below waist height, making it easier to maintain the plants and pick off any healthy leaves as they grow. That makes it easier to fit the growing demand for tea in the world.

2. Gather Healthy Tea Leaves

Once our little tea plant has reached full maturity (3 years or so), it’s time to gather the healthy tea leaves that it’s grown. There are two essential stages to harvesting the tea leaves: gathering and quality control.

First, farmers take a walk around their land and pluck as many healthy tea leaves as they can. They typically only pluck leaves on the top two inches of the plant, as these areas tend to yield new leaves in 2 to 3 weeks (thus increasing production).

These farmers pluck the leaves and gather them into baskets, which are then given to a quality control expert (AKA “tea master”) to inspect the haul leaf by leaf.

Teamsters want to ensure that all the leaves they use are healthy, free of damage, and aesthetically pleasing. As they sort through the leaves, they look for any that have excessive sun or water damage.

More specifically, they look for leaves that are large and have bold coloring. If the leaves aren’t already sorted by tea category, the tea master will perform this step as well. This will make it far easier to process the tea leaves into the drinking tea that we all love, such as the ones from this tea company.

3. Tea Leaves Are Processed

Now that the tea leaves have been picked and sorted through, it’s time to start production! This is what creates the different types of teas that we know and love, such as black tea, green tea, white tea, etc.

There are two categories for production: oxidized or non-oxidized. In other words, tea leaves are either processed with oxygen or with as little of it as possible.

Black tea, for example, is completely oxidized during production. Tea factories start this process by drying up the leaves. They expose the leaves to cold air for up to a full day for the best results.

After that, the leaves are hand-rolled to further encourage oxidation. This helps develop more flavor and scent, which gives black tea an attractive aroma.

4. Production Begins

The type of process that a tea leaf has experienced will dictate how it’s processed. Black tea, for example, has been oxidized and is immediately ready to be shaped into the cuts you’ll find in a tea packet.

Meanwhile, green tea still has a few steps to undergo during production. Once the leaves are pan-fried, they are continuously rolled and dried to get the desired result. After they’ve reached an optimal shape, they’re packaged.

Then there are teas like white tea that are intentionally made without any modern-day production. The creator of white tea typically prides themselves on making everything by hand.

5. Purchase Your Tea From Trusted Sources

Once the tea has been processed, it’s shipped off for the tea drinkers of the world to enjoy. Tea is distributed all across the world, making for a product that beautifully connects all corners of the Earth together.

We encourage you to try as many different teas, flavors, and aromas as possible. Don’t be bogged down by the household names either. Find a trusted tea company to purchase organic tea blends.

Not sure where to start? Ask an expert. There are many more articles on teas that can guide you in the right direction, or simply visit your local tea store for more insight.

How is Tea Made: With Care and Hand-Rolled Diligence

Now that you have seen an answer to your question of “How is tea made?”, be sure to use this information to your advantage.

Take the time to browse our website for more articles on making tea, as well as many other topics that you will find enjoyable.

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