Tea production

The tea production traditions are long and knowledgeable. Each farm has its own tea master who determines each step of the production based on their own wishes or traditions, and each step is carefully planned based on the desired result.

The first step in tea production, after the bush has grown, is picking. Two leaves and a bud are carefully pinched off the stem. Traditionally, this is done by hand to best preserve the leaves and bud. In mass production, picking is done by machine, which means that twigs with leaves are cut off and later chopped up, which reduces the quality of the tea.

After picking, the leaves are traditionally left to wither to remove moisture. This is done in some places in the sun, but usually in separate drying rooms. The cell walls in the leaf become weaker during drying, which makes it easier for moisture to escape from the leaf in the following phases as well. If the leaf is not given time to wither, the moisture will give the tea a bitterness. During drying, a slight oxidation also occurs in the leaf and the leaf. The production of white tea is essentially finished here and the result is a dry and white leaf that has lost its green color.

To produce green tea, the leaves are steamed or roasted. This will preserve the green color in the leaf and is the reason why white tea and green tea look different, even though they come from the same picked leaves. Steaming is most common in Japan, while roasting is a simpler process and is done on the type of green tea we are most used to in Norway. Below you can see how Dragon well is produced. This picture was taken in the middle of the roasting process where the leaves are circulated and pressed by hand against a hot frying plate. In this process, the leaves are shaped like "swords" and dried. This is a long process and you can see they only process a few hundred grams at a time.

To make black tea, the leaves must be oxidized. This process turns the leaves black, unlike white and green tea. Have you ever cut open an apple and seen it turn brown? This is the same oxidation process that happens to tea leaves.

Oxidation can be done in different ways depending on region and tradition. The surface of the leaves must be broken and this can be done in a drum, by kneading or by being run over. What happens is that the chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down. The enzymes in the leaf act as a catalyst for the oxidation and the leaf gradually turns from green to dark.

(The oxidation process is also called “fermentation” by some, which is a misleading term since no fermentation takes place.)

Depending on the type of tea, oxidation is stopped when the tea producer wishes. This process is called “kill-green.” It is done by roasting or steaming the leaves.

The leaves, which are damp after the Kill-green process, will now be rolled or shaped. Normally, the leaves are rolled to twist around themselves and form into strips. After rolling, the leaves can be shaped into other elaborate shapes. These shaping processes can cause juices to ooze out of the leaves and add extra flavor to the tea.

After shaping, the leaves must be dried. This is usually done in an oven at about 50 degrees, but can also be air-dried, sun-dried or in a pan.

The tea is now finished, but some types receive finishing treatments such as flavoring (Earl Grey) and aging (Pu-erh).