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The Tea Process
Harvesting:
 Tea
comes from the leaves of the plant Camellia Sinensis. Left unattended
the tea plant can grow into trees 30 feet high. For the purposes of harvesting
tea however, the plants are pruned into bushes approximately three feet
high. Harvesting or "plucking" is achieved by picking only the
new shoots from the bush. The new shoots are called a flush and are only
about three inches high. Ideally each plucked shoot is comprised of two
leaves and a bud. However, coarser plucking of several inches in length
are common, with as many as five leaves and a bud. A finer plucking yields
a higher quality tea. The flushing occurs every ten to fourteen days and
is harvested either by hand or machine.
Withering:
The plucked leaf is consolidated and brought to a factory where it is
laid out in ventilated bins. With ambient air circulating through the
leaf for several hours, it looses about 50% of its moisture content, becoming
soft and pliable.
Rolling/Cutting:
The soft leaf is processed through a series of machines designed to break
and tear the leaf cells, exposing the remaining juices to the air. At
this point, enzymes in the leaf sap begin to combine with the air.
Oxidation/Fermentation:
The ground leaf is laid out on conveyor beds to a depth of about six to
eight inches and allowed to oxidize for up to an hour. This is the most
critical stage of manufacturing as time, temperature, and humidity variables
dictate the quality of the tea. A properly oxidized tea will have the
right balance of round, full bodied flavor with some mild astringency
known as "brightness". If done correctly, the brewed beverage
color will be coppery red. If oxidation process goes on to long or at
too high temperature, the product is a dull lifeless tasting tea, brown
and inky in cup color. Conversely, if the process is cut short, the tea
will be bitter tasting and a pale greenish yellow color when brewed. The
process is often called fermentation, which is actually a misnomer. Fermentation
by definition involves the production of alcohol. During the oxidation
process, the color of the ground leaf changes from green to light brown,
the aroma from that cut of cut grass to cut apples.
Drying:
The oxidation process is halted by the use of heat. At the correct time,
the leaf is put through a dryer at temperatures between 150 to 180 degrees
Fahrenheit. When the tea exits the dryer it is dark brown and has a moisture
content of about 3%. This will rise to about 5% ambient humidity.
Sorting:
Once finished, the dried bulk leaf is passed over a series of sieves,
which separates the tea into various sizes from small to large. Large
leaf sizes command a high price in the market, as is it is difficult to
maintain the leaf shape through the many manufacturing stages. The leaf
progressively gets smaller in the "Broken" grades, on to the
fannings and dust, which is used in tea bags. During the sorting process
the pure black tea leaf is also separated from the tan stalk, the excess
of which comes from too coarse a plucking.
Packing:
The bulk tea is then packed into sacks, preferably five ply, aluminum
lined Kraft paper sacks approximately 100 pounds net each. These sacks
are placed twenty to a pallet, stretched wrapped and containerized, twenty
pallets to a forty foot container and shipped to their final destination.
Blending:
The teas chosen for our blends have been specifically selected for their
suitability for iced tea or hot tea consumption. Weather they be the off-grades
used as price reducers or the main grades components that lend flavor
and color to the cup, all are subjected to rigorous quality control parameters,
often claimed to be the strictest in the industry by those who should
know; the grower and producers.
As a further safeguard, all teas are tested upon arrival in the port
of New Orleans and again when received in our facility. This serves to
ensure that each blend is as good as the last.
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