Black Tea Production Methods

There are three different manufacturing methods of black tea, all of which have diverged gradually.

The orthodox method

 

The first method is the orthodox production method, which was introduced by the British and is now used worldwide. They pass through 14 steps from plucking to packaging and it is mostly by hand.

The CTC method

 

This production method is named after the actual process, the crushing, ripping (tearing) and rolling (curling) being purely mechanical. This production method consists of seven steps.

The LTP Method

 

This name is derived from the Lawrie tea processor. This method is purely mechanical. The LTP was invented by Lawrie, who designed it to produce fine tea to be served in tea cups in the fastest way possible. This method consists of ten steps. This method is used for the production of the finest types of tea like "Fanning and Dust".

The orthodox production of black tea

 

The orthodox tea production was introduced worldwide by the British who took over the traditional tea production methods. Some of the manual production processes have been mechanized. This method is the only one used for the production of the so-called leaf teas and thus the highest quality teas. The content of the popular tea bag put in glass teapots is made in other ways. Four kilos of plucked tea leaves are necessary for the production of a kilo of black tea using the orthodox method.

The plucking

 

The three youngest tea leaves are hand-picked. This means that about 100 g of tea leaves are picked. After being plucked, the leaves are weighed for further processing in the factory, where they are dried immediately.

The wilts

 

The tea leaves are spread on so-called wilts (long lattice or linen towels on bamboo racks) and ventilated with fans for several hours. This can take anywhere from eight to twelve hours. It can even take 30 hours, depending on whether there are fans or not. The leaves lose up to 37 percent of their water content and up to 30 percent of their weight during this process. This makes them softer and suppler for the next manufacturing stage.