Tea processing is the art of preparing the freshly picked tea leaves in a way which will determine its type (color). There are four outcomes, white, green, oolong, and black. I should mention that white tea will skip pretty much all the steps below, for it is not really processed at all...just steamed and dried. Green, oolong, and black teas will undergo some type of processing.
First the leaves are picked from the newly flushing Camellia sinensis plant. This is usually done by women in most countires, who select the first two leaves and a bud, then dropping them in a basket. Early spring is the best time for this for it is the first flush which produces the best quality leaves.
After the new leaves are plucked and washed, they are ready for separating. This first stage is called withering.
Withering: is where the leaves are spread out and are allowed to dry in a warm climate, sometimes with the help of forced hot air. The reason for withering is so that the tea leaves become pliable. White and some green tea types do not go through this tea processing step.
Rolling: in this next stage, the leaves go through a rolling machine where they are twisted and rolled. The purpose is to release the natural oils in the leaves which in turn brings out their flavor. The leaves may also be rolled by hand, which will result in a higher quality and more expensive grade of tea.
Oxidation: (fermentation) plays an important part in the tea processing role. It is at this point which determines which type of tea the leaves will become.
The leaves are taken to a cool room and are spread out. The green leaves will take in oxygen and start to "turn". If allowed to fully oxidize, they will become a copper-like color and be born as black tea. If interrupted during this tea processing stage they will be classified as oolong or green tea. Which brings us to...
Pan firing: (or drying) is done to abate further oxygen intake of the leaves. A delicate part of the tea processing steps which requires a careful eye so as not to burn any of the leaves. Mostly oolong teas are made after this step.
Well those are the tea processing steps at a glance. There is a bit more to it which is explained on each type-of-teas page (see navabar). Just wanted to give the run down here. Also, I'd like to say that some tea leaves are hand rolled (not part of the rolling stage) into little pearl-like balls. This is a painstaking process which requires much skill and time. These varieties of tea are usually green teas, that when brewed, open up releasing a wonderful aroma and flavor!
