Tea drying (Firing)

THE LEAF IS THEN TRANSFERRED TO THE DRYING MACHINES LARGE IRON CHAMBERS FITTED WITH TRAYS WHICH CIRCULATE RATHER ON THE 'ENDLESS CHAIN' PRINCIPLE FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. HOT AIR IS FORCED INTO THE CHAMBER , STOPPING THE OXIDIZATION / FERMENTATION. THIS STAGE TAKES ABOUT HALF AN HOUR-AND IT ENSURES THAT THE  NEW 'BLACK-LOOKING' TEA LEAF WILL KEEP UNTIL IT IS BREWED IN WHATEVER FAR-OFF COUNTRY WILL BE ITS DESIGNATION.

Tea Regions --- Uva Region

Uva Region

Grown 3,000 to 5,000 feet up on the eastern slopes of Sri Lanka’s central mountains, teas from the Uva districts have quite a distinctive flavour and pungency, and are widely used in many blends. It deserves also to be enjoyed as a self drinking tea , especially during the Uva quality season from July to September each year.                    

Uva Sub-Districts

Malwatte/Welimada

From this valley comes a range of teas that are at the very heart of what has come to be known as the Uva district. Their pungent character is renowned all over the world and enhances amny a specialised blend. Many of the individual plantations and factories achieve their own unique variations of flavour and lend themselves to single garden marketing opportunities.

Demodera/Hali-Ela/Badulla

Travellig through Nuwara Eliya to descend to Badulla, capital of Uva, one passes through Demodera and Hali-Ela from which areas a range of strong flavoury teas are produced.

Passara/Lunugala

The district is better known for its range of black leaf, strong liquoring teas.

Madulsima

Madulsima stands out as a dog’s paw extending to about 25 miles north of Passara. When the strong winds originating from the South Western Monsoon arrive at this furthest point they are a spent force. However, they still transmit a certain degree of flavour to the tea. The result is a tea of all round taste with a hint of special character.

Ella/Namunukula

Plantations lie on slopes of the Namunukula range which includes the tallest mountain of Uva known by the same name. Tea from the district are of the medium strength, but take on a mild aromatic character during the season.

Bandarawela/Poonagala

The teas are grown at a high elevationsand the climat cooler. Winds that blow through the access passes play an important part in achieving the lighter tasting teas that are produced throughout the year.

Haputale

The edge of the central massif where on a clear dayyou can see not forever but at least to the plain and if you are lucky, the sea. It produces a range of rounder teas with delicate Uva character.

Koslanda/Haldummulla

The foothils, of the central massif where tea is grown on the lower slopes give strong liquors.

Tea Regions --- Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya               

Nuwara Eliya offers a combination of attractions, such as healing climate, scenic beauty, wooded wilderness, flowery meadows and its highplateau. Nuwara Eliya is an oval shaped mountain valley, the plateau being 6,240 feet above the sea level.

Nuwara Eliya produces tea with an unique flavour. The air is scented with the fragrance of the cypress trees that grow in abundance and mentholated with the wild mint and eucalyptus. It is a combination of all these factors that produces a tea that is recognised by connoisseurs of tea in the world. The tea when brewed is light but has an exquisite flavour and aroma. It has truly been said that Nuwara Eliya is to Ceylon Tea what Champagne is to French Wine.

Tea Regions --- Kandy

Kandy                        

The plantations around Kandy, the ancient capital of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) , supply what are known as mid country teas. These are notable for full bodied strong tea, which appeal to everyone who likes a good thick coloury brew. The tea plantations are located from 2,000 to 4,000 feet and is the region where tea was first grown in Sri Lanka.

Main sub districts:

Pussallawa/Hewaheta

A range of hills that extends to Nilambe, Kotmale and Gampola areas. The valley is protected from strong monsoon rains and the teas are darker and stronger in cup. Those plantations in Hewaheta, which experience weather changes associated with the South-West Monsoon winds, acquire a flavoury character during the eastern quality season.

Matale

Located on the edge of Kandy is Matale. a selection of coloury, strong teas could be had from this district throughout the year. The area encompases the Madulkelle, Knuckles and Rangala mountain range.

Tea Regions --- Udupussellawa

 Udupussellawa                                               

On the fringe of Uva and leading on to Nuwara Eliya is the Uda Pussallawa mountain range. It experiences the same North-East Monsoon as Uva. Two planting districts account for the tea produced. Unlike Uva, Uda Pussallawa enjoys two periods of superior quality. The traditional eastern quality season is from July to September, will be its peak period. But the conditions will brighten up during the western quality seasonin the first quarter of the year.Plantations in upper Uda Pussallawa closer to Nuwara Eliya gain the of dry cold conditions that bring about a range of rosy teas.

Main Sub-Districts

Maturata

The area is located on the eastern edge of Nuwara Eliya, at the gateway to Uda Pussallawa. The teas are as delicate as its neighbour’s, but retain the subtle character whilest gaining more body.

Raga/Halgranoya

As you move deeper into the Uda Pussallawa range, teas from this area are of medium body and rosy character, which is maintained throughout the year.

Tea Grades

Ceylon tea is divided into various grades. These grade names are an indication of size or appearance of manufactured leaf and not of its quality. 

BOP – Well-made, neat leaf of medium size without excessive stalk or fiber. There should not be any fine particles (fannings and dust) which are not true-to-grade.
BOP Sp – Larger in size than a BOP lack and clean in appearance. Note: BOP & BOP special be treated as two grades, but for cataloging purposes treat as one grade.
BOPF - Neat leaf, fairly clean. ….. but smaller than the BOP grade. There should not be any fine dust present.
BOP 1 – Should be wiry and twisted, but shorter than an OP1.
FBOP – Smaller/shorter than BOP1 with presence of tips, but larger than FBOPF1.
FBOP 1 – Long, twisted, wiry leaf. Fairly tippy. Longer than BOP1.
PEKOE – Shotty, curly or semi-cirly leaf of large size of any elevation.
PEKOW1 – Same as Pekoe, but smaller in size than Pekoe of any elevation. This replaces the Flowery Pekoe grade.Note: Pekoe and Fekoe 1 will be treated as two grades, but for cataloguing purposes treat as one grade.
FBOPF (FF) – Similar in size to BOP……… and must contain tips.
FBOPF 1 (FF1) – Larger than BOP. Smaller than a FBOP with a show of tips.
FBOPF – Similar in size to BOP with a fair presence of tips.
FBOPF Ex. Sp. - Small leaf and must have an attractive show of golden or silver tips with little black leaf.
FBOPF Ex. Sp1 - Leafy and must have an attractive show of golden or silver tips with little black leaf.
OP 1 – Long, wiry well or partly twisted.
OP - Less wiry than OP1, but much more twisted than OPA.
OPA - Long bold leaf tea with air twist.
BP – (Off Grades) – Should e choppy, hard leaf.
BOP 1A – (Off Grades) – Any flak leaf without stalk and fiber (Clean tea).
BM (BROKENS) - (Off Grades) Mixed flaky leaf tea. Can have more fiber and stalk than BOP 1A.
BT – (Off Grades) – All mixed teas of varying sizes, with or without stalk and fiber.
FNGS 1 (FGS1) – (Off Grades) – Flaky leaf of small size. Can contain more fiber than BOPF, but reasonably clean.
FNGS (FGS) – (Off Grades) – Same as Fannings 1. Can be more fiber and uneven and not as clean as Fannings1.
DUST1 - Smaller than BOPF. (Rainy even well-made and reasonably clean)
DUST - (Off Grades) ………… size to Dust 1. Could be flaky and contain some fiber.
SILVER TIPS – Long tippy leaf, silver in colour, with hardly any black leaf.
GOLDEN TIPS – Long tippy leaf, golden in colour, with hardly any black leaf. Note: Tips and Golden Tips are not catalogued, but sold only privately.
BP1 – Equivalent to size of a high grown BOP, but granular.
BP Special – Larger particle size than BP1.
PF 1 – Equivalent in size to grainy high grown BOPF, but granular.
OF – Smaller than the PF 1. Larger than PD.
PF – (Off Grades) – Similar or slightly larger than PF1 and may contain some fiber.
PD – Grainy Dust grade. Should be smaller than OF.
DUST 1 – Less grainy than PD. Clean.
DUST - (Off Grades) – Inferior to Dust 1. Could be powdery and fibry.

In addition, there are the various “Flowery” varieties of the main grades (e.g. FOP and FBOPF).This tea possesses extraordinary quality in liquor and is composed almost entirely of small golden tip which are the extreme ends of the small succulent shoots of the plant, and the preparation of such tea is course most costly, since it involves sorting out the tip by hand.

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Fermantation

FROM THE ROLL-BREAKERS, THE LEAF GOES THE FERMENTING ROOM TO BE SPREAD ON GLASS OR CEMENT- TOPPED IN A COOL,HUMID ATMOSPHERE.DURING THE FERMENTATION STAGE,THE CHEMICAL ACT OF OXIDIZATION TAKE PLACE, AND THE LEAF CHANGE FROM ITS GREENISH COLOR  WHEN PLUCKED  TO A BRIGHT, COPPERY SHADE. THE PERIOD OF  FERMENTATION TAKES FROM A HALF-HOUR TO THREE HOURS

Tea Tasting

Looked at superficially, the cultivation and manufacture of tea does not seem to be a complex process. Bushes grow on a hillside; every day, the tenderest new leaves and buds are carefully picked off or ‘plucked’ and carried to a nearby factory. Here they are withered, rolled until the leaf cells rupture, left for some time to aerate, then dried in hot air; after which the tea is sorted according to leaf particle size and packed for sale.

but among the tea-growing districts of Ceylon, small subdivisions within a district and even individual estates often show a recognized character, and a well-trained tea taster can even detect differences between teas picked from one hillside or another on a single estate! In addition, seasonal and weather-related variations can also be detected – in the case of districts like Dimbula and Uva, such variations can greatly alter the character (though not necessarily the quality) of the tea.

The primary source of this variation is climate, both that generally prevailing in the district and the weather over the weeks prior to plucking. Altitude, the orientation of the hill slope and the soil in which the bush grows all have their effects. Also, a good deal of variation can occur during the process of manufacture. Drinkers of blended and non-single-origin teas never experience the incredible variety these factors can produce. Such teas are homogenised to produce a constant, predictable character that does not change from shipment to shipment or from month to month. It is rarely very subtle or complex, for it must be re-created week after week by blending whatever teas fall within the firm’s budget at that week’s auctions – a selection which is sure to be somewhat different from last week’s selection and that of the week before.


But even such mass-market teas are products of the tea-taster’s art. All parties engaged in the tea ‘trade’ – manufacturers, merchants, brokers and buyers – employ tea-tasters to assess the quality and value of the products in which they deal. Tea-tasting is a highly skilled job, requiring as much as five years’ training to build reliable expertise in judging the subtlest of variations between leaf and leaf, infusion and infusion. And although the training, procedure and vocabulary of tea-tasting do not vary much among professionals, it remains something of a black art, one in which decisions are often made on the basis of distinctions imperceptible to the untrained onlooker. The skills of the best tasters appear to be at least partly innate, and such skills are highly prized.

Pure Ceylon, Regional and Single-Origin Teas
Those wishing to experience the full depth and variety of the experience of fine tea, no blended mass-market product will do.
To be sure of a high minimum standard of quality, there is no better choice than pure Ceylon Tea. All tea produced in Sri Lanka has been assessed by expert tasters; further assurance is provided by the ISO 3720 standard to which all Ceylon Tea must conform; without this certification, no tea can be exported from Sri Lanka. Ceylon Tea also has a recognizable national character, a result not only of geography but of the highly refined orthodox black tea process of which its tea-makers are the custodians.
It takes only a little time and experience to be able to distinguish the signature attributes of the different tea-growing districts of Sri Lanka. But dedicated connoisseurs will wish to go farther, discovering the subtleties of sub-district variations and the unique taste of tea from a particular, highly reputed estate. For the professional tea-taster, such details are the stuff of his art; for the lover of fine Ceylon Tea, they are part of what makes life worth living.

The Method of the Professional Tea-Taster

• Tea is tasted standing up, at a table on which samples of dry leaf are placed for the tasters to inspect. The dry leaf is visually inspected and sometimes touched. The taster is looking for leaf appearance, size, colour and various other characteristics such as the presence of ‘tips’ or buds.
• Each sample is infused in boiling water. The usual proportion is 2gm. (about 1/2 a teaspoonful) of tea to 150 ml. (1/2 cup) of water. The container is covered and left to stand for about 4-5 minutes. The infused infusion is then poured into special white porcelain tasting-cups and some of the infused leaf is displayed on a white porcelain saucer or lid. This infused leaf is again inspected visually; in addition to colour and ‘brightness’, the taster may also assesses the aroma and colour consistency of the leaf.
• Next, the infusion is inspected. The quality judgement to which the taster will come is critically affected by this step. Aroma, of course, is a key criterion, but colour as well as clarity and thickness (or ‘body’) of the infusion are also very important. These are the attributes by which tea is identified.
• Finally, the taster takes some of the infusion in his mouth, making a loud sucking sound as he does so. This is to mix the infusion with plenty of oxygen and let it travel over all parts of the tongue and palate. He is now assessing a wide variety of attributes: freshness, sharpness, bouquet, fullness, and so on. The terminology of tea-tasting includes a long list of such characteristics, though not all tasters use the terms consistently

TEA PLANTS NURSERY

The Tea Plants Nursery is an integral part of any Tea
garden.In the early days, selected seeds were directly
placed in holes,

but later nurseries was established for the specific purpose of nurturing and transplanting stronger plants in the holes.

 

 In subsequent years, the planters introduced a new method known as Vegetative Propagation (VP), with the expert advice of the Tea Research Institute.

The tea is grown from leaf cuttings taken from selected mother buses of high yielding and disease resistant strain. This method became very successful and numerous ‘Clonal’ VP plants were introduced during replanting/new planting of tea fields.

Clonal propagation has the potential to produce flush freely and have a natural resistance against disease.

Pics – Tea Nursery at Stonycliff. Note different stages of plants in nursery. The Tea Nursery is also used to propagate Shade Tree plants.

Carefully selected, high yielding ‘Mother Bushes’ are nurtured and grown separately for taking VP cuttings.

Nurseries must be prepared well in advance before cuttings are taken from selected mother bushes.

During the very early stages they must have sufficient supply of water and acidic soil rich in humus.

ROLLING

     
 
IN ROLLING PRESSURE ON THE LEAF SQUEEZES OUT THE JUICES WHICH GIVE THE TEA ITS CHARACTERISTIC FLAVOR THE ROLLING ALSO GIVES THE LEAF THE ''TWIST'' OR CURLED SHAPE WHICH YOU CAN SEE IN SOME RACKETED TEA.

           

THE MAIN TYPES OF ROLLIN MACHINES OR PROCESSES ARE  :

*A CIRCULAR HARDWOOD TABLE RIDGED WITH ''BATTENS'' ABOVE WHICH MOVES  A ROTATING BOX , FROM WHICH THE LEAF EMERGES.

* THE ROTORVANE - A CYLINDER AND SCREW WHICH WORKS RATHER LIKE THE ORIGINAL  'MEAT MINCER'

* THE CTC MACHINE (CUTTING,TEARING,CURLING)

* THE LEAF EMERGES FROM WHICHEVER FROM OF ROLLING IN STICKY LUMPS WHICH THEN HAVE TO BE BROKEN APART BY A SEPARATE MACHINE - THE ROLL-BRAKER. 

WITHORING

IMMEDIATELY THE LOAD OF PLUCKED SHOOTS REACHES THE FACTORY THEY ARE EMPTIED OUT ON TO SPECIAL RACKED IN THE UPPER STOREYS OF THE BUNDLING WHERE CURRENTS OF AIR FLOW THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOWS AND CIRCULATE THROUGH AND AROUND THE LEAF. EVAPORATING SOME OF THE MOISTURE THEY CONTAIN. LEAVING THEM SOFT AND LIMP. THIS  OLD METHOD TOOK UP TO TWENTY FORE HOURS NEW METHOD BEING ADOPTED CUT THIS TIME BY UP TO A QUARTER. ONE NEW METHOD IS THE WITHERING TROUGH, IN WHICH LARGE QUANTITIES  OF LEAF CAN BE SPREAD WHILE CONTROLLED AIR CURRENTS CIRCULATION THROUGH AND AROUND.

STARTING BLACK TEA MANUFACTURE

THE BEST KNOWN AND USED TEA FROM SRI LANKS IS THE FAMILIAR BLACK TEA TO USE ITS TECHNICAL TERM- WHICH COME IN PACKING AND BOXES OF TEA BAGS WE SEE ON THE SHEAVES OF STORES AND SHOPS. THERE  ARE A NUMBER OF STAGES THE SHOOTS GO THROUGH IN THE PROCESSING TO BLACK TEA.

    WITHERING           

    FERMENTING (AERATION)   

    SORTING  (GRADING)  

    ROLLING               

    DRYING            

    PACKING

TEA PLUCKING

THE PROCEDURE OF HARVESTING THE FRESH YOUNG SHOOTS FROM THE MATURE TEA BUSHES IS KNOW AS PLUCKING. EACH PLUCK TAKES ONLY THE FLUSH THE 'TWO LEAVES AND BUT'  OF TENDER AND SUCCULENT FRESH GROWTH. WITHIN ONE OR TWO WEEK, THE BUSHES GROW  NEW SHOOTS, AND IN THE TROPICAL  CLIMATE OF SRI LANKA  TEA PLUCKING GOES ON ALL YEAR ROUND. THIS FASCINATING AND SKILLED JOB IS TRADITIONALLY CARRIED OUT WOMEN, WHO ARE EXPERT AT PICKING THE SHOOTS, BREAKING THEM OFF BY TWISTING THEM OFF BY TWISTING THE LEAVES  AND BUT IN THEIR FINGERS, AND DEFTLY THROWING HANDFULS OF SHOOTS IN TO THE CARRIER BASKETS ON THEIR BACKS. TODAY, THE MEN AND BOYS ON THE ESTATES ARE OFTEN INVOLVED IN TEA HARVESTING. ALTHOUGH IN RECENT YEARS MECHANICAL PLUCKING USING SPECIALLY DESIGNED MACHINES HAS BEEN TRIED. THERE IS NO SIGN OF IT REPLACING THE SKILL AND EXPERIENCE OF THE HUMAN LABOUR  FORCE. DURING THE DAY,THE BASKETS ARE SET BY THE ROAD SIDE AND THERE  CONTENTS SORTED THROUGH TO SIFT OUT ANY STALKS OR GROWTH OTHER THAN THE FLUSH USED BE WEIGHED AND IMMEDIATELY. TRANSPORTED TO THE FACTORY BUILDING.  

TEA PRUNING

ONCE GROWING SUCCESSFULLY, THE YOUNG PLANT IS CUT BACK A  FEW  INCHES OF THE GROUND, TO SET IT ON SOURS TO DEVELOP INTO THE PLAT - TOPPED TEA  BUSH, OF FROM ONE TO AND A HELP METERS IN HEIGHT. LATER ON IT WILL BE REGULARLY LIGHTLY PRUNED TO ENCOURAGE  IT TO 

TEA CULTIVATION

THE BUSHES ARE PLANTED - FROM 1 METER TO 1.5 METERS APART TO FOLLOW THE NATURAL CONTOURS OF THE LANDSCAPE, SOMETIMES GROWING ON  SPECIALLY PREPARED TERRACE TO HELP IRRIGATION AND PREVENT SOIL EROSION. SOIL FERTILIZATION TAKES  THE  FORM OF REGULAR APPLICATIONS OF FERTILIZER, ORGANIC  MANURE AND THE MULCHING OF THE ROOT AREA. 

           THE YOUNG  PLANTS GROW FROM THE CUTTING TAKEN FROM A MOTHER BUSH ARE CAREFULLY TENDED IN SPECIAL NURSERY BEDS UNTIL 12 -15 MONTH OLD WHEN THEY ARE PLANTED OUT ON THE ESTATE

TEA TYPES

ALL  CEYLON TEA IS DIVIDED INTO THREE CLASSES, ACCORDING  TO THE ALTITUDE ABOVE SEA LEVEL OF THE ESTATE WHERE IT WAS GROWN.

LOW GROWN   ( ABOVE 60% OF TOTAL PRODUCTION )

MID- COUNTRY ( ABOVE 16% TOTAL PRODUCTION )

HIGH GROWN   ( ABOVE 24% OF TOTAL PRODUCTION)

SRI LANKA ALSO PRODUCES CTC TEA.

         WITHING THESE BOARD CATEGORIES, TEAS FROM INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS HAVE THEIR VERY OWN CHARACTERISTICS. THESE   CHARACTERISTICS DEPEND ON THINGS LIKE WHICH DIRECTION OF THE COMPASS THE GROWING SLOPES FACE. AND THE STATE OF THE WEATHER AT PLUCKING TIME .