Black tea, as many other tea varieties, is produced from the camellia sinensis plant. It is highly oxidized, resulting in a hearty, slightly astringent flavor. Black teas caffeine content is relatively high; it contains nearly half of caffeine in a cup of coffee. It usually has a dark color and a more robust flavor than other tea types.
How black tea is made
As it was mentioned above, black tea is typically produced from camellia sinensis plant. To produce it, tea leaves are harvested, wilted, and then crushed. Such type of black tea as Irish Breakfast, are broken up into smaller pieces using a method of crush-tear-curl, or CTC. Then, the tea leaves are completely oxidized, that makes them acquire a brownish-black color. Lastly, the is dried, sorted, and packaged.
Below we want to tell you more about black tea making process.
The process of making black tea
Step 1: Withering
Freshly harvested tea leaves are spread out in an even layer in metal troughs. Tea makers use are to push air through the leaves. The tea is left to “wither” for about 10-14 hours, depending on the ambient conditions. Traditionally, this process was carried out outdoors on the open air and sunlight. But nowadays, it is done inside so that it would be easy to control air circulation and humidity.
Step 2: Rolling
The tea leaves must be broken open through the rolling process. It is done to initiate the oxidation process responsible color and flavor of black tea. Rolling process may take 5-60 minutes. Today, done by machine, it releases essential oils in tea leaves and exposes their compounds to the air, catalyzing chemical reactions with flavorful results.
Step 3: Oxidation
After the rolling, tea leaves are left to rest for about 8 hours of oxidation. During his stage the color changes from green to a rich brown. Oxidation takes place spontaneously at a wide range of temperatures, so this process will last until the leaves are dried under heat.
Step 4: Drying
During the next step the tea leaves are placed in a dryer for finishing. The heat halts the oxidation process and locks in the qualities developed at just the right levels. The normal drying temperature ranges from 80-90 °C, the process itself lasts 20-25 minutes.
Sense Asia’s collection of the Vietnamese teas includes wide range of black teas. It is Traditional Black tea with gentle fruity aroma, Earl Grey Tropic with juicy aroma of ripe bergamot orange, Cinnamon Chai, and others. All teas are hermetically packed with minimum delay after receiving from the farms in Vietnam. We use 100% natural ingredients and only whole leaves to maintain all the natural health benefits.
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