According to the method of picking, tea picking is usually divided into hand-picked tea and mechanical tea picking.

1. Hand-picked tea

Hand-picked tea is the most traditional method of picking fresh leaves. Picking by hand should be carried out, and pick the fresh tea leaves one by one speparately, not to grab all of them by hands.

Advantages: The standard of tea leaves is unified (for example, only buds are picked, and only one bud and two leaves are picked), which is easy to grasp.

Disadvantages: time-consuming and laborious, high cost of tea picking. If the tea garden area is large, it is difficult to pick in time.

2. Mechanical tea picking

Several types of mechanical tea picking currently used:

1. Backpack-type single man tea picking machine. Mainly for small and medium-sized tea gardens.

2. Double-men tea harvester machine is mainly for medium and large tea gardens.

3. Electric tea picking machine is mainly for small tea gardens.

Because the freshly picked tea leaves have more moisture and the grass smell is heavier, they need to be placed in a cool and ventilated room for withering. After withering, the water content of the tea leaves is reduced, the leaves become soft, and the grassy smell disappears. and the aroma of the tea leaves is revealed, which is conducive to subsequent processing, such as fixation, twisting, fermentation, etc. The color, taste, and quality of the green tea are made are better than tea without withering.

There are usually three kinds of withering methods, natural withering, withering on the withering rack, withering machine withering

1. Natural withering

Spread out the tea leaves on the ground (need to lay a layer of plastic cloth, etc. to prevent tea leaves from directly contacting the ground). This method is the most primitive and the simplest method. Advantages: save money, less trouble, hardly need any input, about 2.5 kg/㎡ of tea leaves can be placed Disadvantage: It is only suitable for the production of small batches of tea. If large quantities of tea leaves are produced, the required space is very large; if it encounters rainy weather, it can only be placed in the room to wither.

2. Withering on the withering rack

Place the fresh leaves on the withering racks, each withering rack has 20 layers, and each layer has a whole bamboo sieve tray. There are mesh holes on the sieve tray to facilitate air flow. At the same time, bamboo strips can absorb water, increase the rate of water evaporation, and accelerate the speed of tea leaves withering. Advantage: Small footprint; each withering tray can hold 2.5 kg of fresh leaves, and each shelf (about 1.2 square meters) can hold 50 kg of fresh leaves, which greatly saves space; at the same time, the withering tray is made of bamboo, which is clean, hygienic and environmentally friendly . There is a pulley at the bottom of the machine, which makes it easier to move.

3. Withering machine withering

Put the fresh leaves on the withering machine. The withering machine can place 40 kg of tea leaves per square meter. The machine can blow air from the bottom of the tea leaves, which can adjust the temperature of the wind, greatly increasing the withering speed of the tea leaves. Advantages: Small area, hot air can be blown in, greatly improved the withering speed (efficiency increased by about 70%) Disadvantages: The machine needs to be heated, the power is about 15kw, and it needs to be connected to a 380V power supply.

Shaking and withering are both parts of the fermentation. During the withering process of oolong tea, because the leaves are calmly placed, a lot of water will only evaporate from the leaves, and the water in the leaf stalks is not lost, which will lead to the bitterness of the tea leaves is very strong, which seriously affects the quality of oolong tea. It is necessary to shake. Through the shaking process, the activity of the leaves is enhanced. The water in the leaf stalks continues to be transported to the leaves, allowing the leaves to re-evaporate the water, Distribute the grassy smell of tea leaves, so that the taste of the finished oolong tea will not very bitter, greatly improving the quality of oolong tea.

The shaking methods of oolong tea,there are three common: hand shaking,  shaking machine, hor air tea leaf shaking machine

1. Hand shaking

The hand-made round sieve is a round shaker tool with a small grid screen woven by bamboo craftsmen. The hand-made round sieve shaking can make the fresh leaves of tea leaves move up and down in the sieve. Jumping  left and right, and roll. Making the weak tea leaves like freshly picked tea leaves, let the fresh leaves of the tea leaves frement deeply again, and promote tea formation of excellent quality of oolong tea such as fragrance.There are some small grid on the sieve, when processing, it will filter out debris such as tea residue. Advantages and Disadvantages: This is the most primitive processing technology, and also a processing tool favored by tea masters. However, due to the small output, manual processing is very tiring, and it is gradually replaced by a mechanized shaker.

2. Shaking machine

The shaking drum is made of pure natural top layer bamboo skin, which is environmentally friendly and will not damage the tea leaves. Moreover, the shaking drum has small holes to filter out the debris falling on the leaves and play a cleaning role. The machine is equipped with a speed-adjusting device, which can adjust the speed of shaking, and a time control system is added. When the time is up, it automatically stops working. It is convenient to operate and saves time and effort. It is one of the indispensable equipment for high-end oolong tea production.

3. Hor air tea leaf shaking machine

The hot air tea leaf tossing machine is one of the important equipment for producing high-end oolong tea. The drum is punched with galvanized plate, which is beautiful and generous. You can also choose all stainless steel plates for more sanitation and environmental protection. Through a highly integrated intelligent control panel, the speed, temperature, processing time, etc. can be adjusted, and heating can be selected from electric heating or wood and charcoal heating. Through the rotation and heating of the machine, the moisture in the tea leaves can be evenly distributed, while slowly fermenting, so that the taste of the finished tea is more fragrant. With the heating furnace, different wood or charcoal is used, which can make the tea have the aroma of different wood, and the flavor of the finished tea is unique! Different from ordinary traditional tea, let your tea sales be higher and better.

The step of fixation is mainly used for the production of various unfermented or semi-fermented teas. The activity of the enzyme in the fresh leaves is reduced by high temperature, the tea polyphenols in the fresh leaves are stopped for oxidative fermentation, and the odor of the grass is removed, the aroma of the tea leaves is excited, and the moisture in the fresh leaves is evaporated. The fresh leaves become softer, which is conducive to the subsequent rolling process, and the tea leaves are not easily damaged.

After fixation, the green tea need to be cooled. Let the temperature of the tea leaves lower and distribute moisture to prevent high-temperature moisture from smothering tea.

When tea fixation, pay attention to "young leaves with high temperature and faster, old leaves with lower temperature and slower", which means that the young leaves need high temperature to fixation quickly, killing the enzymes in the tea faster, while fixation for a short time, will not damage the tea. Old leaves need to fixation at low temperature and slow speed. The leaves of old leaves are thicker, if high temperature is used, the heat cannot be transferred to the inside. The leaves on the outside are scorched and the leaves on the inside are not yet cooked. Such tea leaves are useless.

Tea fixation is also known as , Tea Steaming, Tea Roasting .etc, although the names are different, but the functions are the same. The most mainstream fixation method currently uses roasting fixaion process, which makes the tea taste more fragrant.

The method of tea fixation, the common ones are steam fixation, roasting fixation, hot wind fixation

Different tea leaves have different twisting time and different functions

For black tea: Black tea is the fully fermentated tea. It needs enzymes, tannin and other substances in the fresh leaves to react with oxygen and other substances in the air. However, these substances are usually difficult to react with the air in the cell wall. So you need use rolling machine, it twists and rubs the cell walls of the fresh leaves and breaks the tea juice. The substances in the fresh leaves are in full contact with the air for oxidative fermentation. The degree of twisting determines the different color and taste of black tea.

For oolong tea: Oolong tea is the semi-fermented tea. Through the process of withering and shaking, some tea leaves have already begun to ferment. But after fixation, the tea leaves stopped fermenting again, so the most important function for oolong tea is shaping like green tea. When it is twisted into the desired shape, rolling operation could be stopped  and proceed to the next processing.

For green tea: Green tea is the non-fermentated tea. After fixation, the oxidative fermentation has been stopped inside the tea leaves, so the most important reason for the rolling of the green tea is for shaping.

Therefore, the rolling time is much shorter than the black tea. When the tea leaves are rolled into the desired shape, rolling operation could be stopped and proceed to the next step.

1. Rolling by hands

 Hand twisting is suitable for processing a small amount of green tea. Manual rolling is generally carried out on bamboo sieve or bamboo soft basket.

When rolling, hold the tea leaves in the palm of your hand with one or both hands, and push forward on the bamboo sieve or bamboo basket to turn the tea balls in the palm of your hands. Break up the agglomerated tea balls in the process, so that the tea leaves are not agglomerated and evenly formed. The hand-rolling of green tea only needs to roll as the shape of green tea to finish.

2. Rolling by machine

At present, almost 99.9% of the rolling work is processed by the tea rolling machine.

The parts of the rolling machine that are in contact with the tea are made of stainless steel to ensure the cleanliness of the tea. The support part is made of high-strength alloy steel, which has strong load-bearing capacity and ensures smooth operation of the machine. The precisely designed rolling strips can make the tea strips tighter during the process of forming the strips, and will not damage the leaves.

One of the essential essential equipment for high-end tea.

In some area of India, Sri Lanka and China, some factories use copper rolling machine that our company can also provide.

Advantage: Professional rolling disc and rolling barrel inclination design make the tea rolling speed faster (Unique design by our company).

The height design of the rolling bar is formed by a one-time mold, so that the height and angle of the bar are uniform and the forming of the tea leaf shape is more compact and beautiful.

Disadvantage: The damage to the tea leaves is only a little larger than that of manual processing.

Black tea is the fully fermented tea, the most important part of the producton process is fermentation. Fermentation is to make the grass smell in the tea disapper. The substances inside the black tea are in full contact with the air. Under suitable conditions of temperature and humidity, the polyphenol compounds in the tea are fermented and oxidized to form theaflavins, thearubins,etc. And let the black tea emit a unique aroma.

Normally, the fermentation time of black tea should not be too long. Because during drying, the tea will continue to ferment during the temperature increase phase.

Usually, there are two methods of fermetation, natural fermentation and fermentation machine fermentation (fermentation room fermentation).

1. Natural fermentation

Because the fermentation of black tea require the slightly higher temperature, high humidity and reconstituted oxygen, natural fermetation is usually selected in a breathable container such as bamboo baskets and woonden frames. The thickness of the tea paving is about 10cm, sprinkle with a little clean water, and then cover it with a thin quilt to keep the fermentation tempeature of black tea between 30-35 degrees. If the fermentation temperature exceeds 40 degrees, the tea leaves need to be mixed to dissipate heat to prevent the fermentation from being too intense, the fragrance of the tea leaves to become light, and the color to be dark. In high-temperature weather, it is necessary to observe the state of the tea frequently to aviod damaging the quality of the tea. Advantage: Low cost, black tea can be processed without extra cost. Disadvantage: Due to the hot and humid processing environment, the quilt is used for a long time to breed bacteria and affect the tea; Moreover, it is necessary to constantly observe the changes of the tea leaves, the quality of the tea leaves cannot be controlled, and it is easy to make low-quality tea leaves. Wasting time, wasting artificially and wasting tea leaves.

2. Fermentation machine fermentation

The intelligent black tea fermentiton equipment is mainly used for the fermentiton of black tea and dark tea. With advanced intelligent control box, it can intelligently adjust the temperature and humidity inside the machine, and the fermentation time can be controlled . It is an essential equipment for the production of high-end black tea! The inside of the machine is made of all stainless steel to ensure that black tea is not contaminated during the production process. With the advanced intelligent atomization system, it can ensure that every layer of tea can be fermentated evenly, and the quality of each batch of tea is the same. So that the production of high-end fine black tea can be accurately copied in batches! Advantage: The tea is evenly fermentated, the temperature and the humidity can be controlled, automatic alarm at the end of processing. The stainless steel structure is clean and hygienic, and the produced black tea has the same quality, which is an indispensable equipment for the high-end black tea.

For black tea: Since black tea is still in the fermentation process before drying, for black tea, the first step is to evaporate the water in the tea, and then destroy the enzyme activity by high temperature, so that the tea leaves stop oxidative fermentation, and the quality of the black tea is maintained. At the same time, it also exudes the smell of grass and tightens the tea leaves to make the tea more beautiful and full of aroma.

For green tea: The drying of green tea is usually to evaporate the moisture in the tea leaves, so that the tea leaves are tightened and shaped, more compact, and the green grass flavor is exuded to enhance the aroma of green tea. At present, the common drying processes are: sun drying, hot air drying, baking cage drying and frying machine drying.

1. Sun drying

Mainly distributed in a small part of China's Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunan, Guizhou and other provinces. Sun drying green tea is best known of the production of Yunnan Pu'er tea. It is usually placed on a bamboo sieve tray, and then placed in the sun to let the sun dry the tea leaves. It usually take a long time. Advantage: By sun drying, the beneficial substances in the tea are greatly retained, and the taste of the tea is more refreshing. Disadvantage: The drying time is long, and high requirements on the weather. If it encounters rainy days, it must be dried in other ways.

2. Hot air drying

It is currently the world's most widely used and highest proportion tea drying method. There are a variety of machines available for hot air drying, rotary hot air drying machine, continuous chain plate hot air drying machine.

2-1 Rotary type hot air tea drying machine

The intelligent electric heating rotary drying machine adopts a new generation of intelligent integrated control panel, which allows the dryers heat up quickly, high temperature control, uniform wind output, lower noise, stable tea dehydration. And the color of tea leaves unchanged, fragrance foot, without breaking. The rotary drying design and unique air duct design are adopted to ensure the uniformity of each layer of dring. Combined with high-strength electric heating wires, high-sealing sealing strips and a new generation of new enviromentally friendly thermal insulation materials, the internal temperautre of the machine is less lost, which is more enerygy-saving and enviromentally friendly. It is a mecessary equipment for producing all kinds of high-end tea. Advantage: Rotary drying, drying more evenly, smooth dehydration of tea, almost no change in color. Compared with the continuous drying machine, the tea leaves are always on the trays, so the breakage rate is low, and the tea soup brewed is clear and the taste is refreshing. Disadvantage: Insufficient output, can put 3kg/㎡, the maximum drying area can be 34㎡ (100kg of wet tea per batch), the finished tea strips are loose and large.

2-2 Continuous chain plate hot air drying machine

The chain plate firewood heating drying machine is suitable for continuous tea production line, which greatly saves labor costs. Using 6mm thick super alloy steel plate and efficient heat exchange device, the heat loss is small. The machine heats up quickly, and the tea leaves have no odor. With the high-power and large-volume motor, it can quickly discharge the hot and humid air inside the machine. At the same time, it has a hot air circulation device, which can effectively reduce the temperature change inside the machine and greatly save fuel costs. Advantage: Continuous drying, large air volume, labor saving, high efficiency and various heating methods can be selected. The brewed tea leaves are clear and refreshing. Disadvantage: Tea leaves are easily broken, and the integrity rate is not as good as the rotary drying machine. Covers a large area (small machine covers a small area), the finished tea strip are loose and large.

3. Baking cage drying

The baking cage is made of bamboo, pure natural material, no pollution to the tea, and the temperature is adjustable, which can retain the nutrients in the tea. Low temperature drying, the taste of the tea is light and fragrant, high temperature drying, the taste of the tea is more concentrated. Advantage: The small size is suitable for the processing of various types of tea, and is also suitable for home DIY and DIY in the tourist area. Disadvantages: Low output, not suitable for the production of large quantities of tea, it is necessary to pay attention to moisture, to prevent bamboo cage from being damp and moldy.

4. Revloving dryer machine drying

The revolving dryer machine is suitable for all kinds of tea fixation and stir-drying operations. After processing by this machine, the tea leaves are bright in color, full-bodied, and have a unique burnt scent (fire scent). The strip is tight and the tea leaves are slightly curled, making them ideal for the production and processing of high-quality tea leaves. Advantages: The tea strips are firm, resistant to brewing, and the dry tea has a long-lasting fragrance. The brewed tea soup has a strong color, a heavy taste, and a sweet aftertaste. Disadvantages: The color of the finished tea is darker. Because it is fried and dried, the temperature is not easy to master. The tea is easy to paste and has a burnt smell (non-burnt fragrance)

Q: What is pile-fermentation?

Why need pile-fermentation? Pile-fermentation is the most important process in the production of Pu'er tea ripe tea and black tea, it is a key step in forming the unique taste of black tea.

Through the moist heat effect of pile-fermentation, it promotes the conversion of the contained substances, reduces the bitterness, makes the taste mellow, eliminates the odor, develops a special aroma, destroys the chlorophyll, and changes the leaf color to dark yellowish brown, which produces the unique aroma of black tea. (Similar to musty, but a fragrance).

Because of the special nature of the pile-fermentation, long time and high temperature, and the large number of batches processed, pile-fermentation trough are usually used. If the family produces in small batches, use clean containers. In addition, the tea used in pile-fermentation must be green tea, otherwise it will not succeed.

The processing of pile-fermentation: The dried green tea is evenly sprayed with water mist to increase the water content of the tea to 30%. Then pile up the tea leaves and cover them with a clean cotton cloth to keep them warm and allow the tea leaves to ferment naturally.

The fermentation temperature should be maintained between 40-60°C. The fermentation time is about 35 days, and it is flipped every 10 days. A total of about 3-4 flips are required.

When in the pile-fermentation, insert a thermometer into the pile of tea to observe the temperature change of the tea leaves. If the temperature exceeds 60°C, the tea leaves need to be spread out immediately to cool the tea leaves. If the temperature is lower than 40 degrees, it means that the water is insufficient, and you should spread out it immediately and add water to raise the temperature of the tea pile.

After 30-40 days of pile-fermenting, the color of the tea leaves becomes dark brown, with a special scent (mouldy fragrance). The flavor of the tea soup is strong and mellow, and the fermenting can be completed and dried.

In the process of making tea, due to the different size, shape and age of the collected tea, the quality of the tea produced is also different. And the tea may be broken during the production process, we need to classify different grades and different sizes. The teas are selected, and different grades of tea are sold at different prices, thus maximizing the profit of tea production.

The rules for tea selection are generally as follows:

Screening sundries (non-tea leaves and appendages)

Screening tea stalks (tea branches, etc.)

Screen small tea breaks or tea powder

Sifting teas of different lengths

1. Screening debris, generally refers to hair, thread on clothes, plastic pieces, tree leaves, etc.

These debris mainly appear in continuous tea production, usually using electrostatic tea stalk sorting machine

2. Screening tea stalks.

Generally, tea leaves are picked by machine will collect a lot of tea stalks. The high proportion of tea stalks results in low prices of tea leaves. Usually tea stalk picking machines are used.

3. Sceening small tea breaks or tea powder.

In the tea production process, due to the processing of rolling/fermentation/drying, tea breakage is inevitable. Sifting out finely divided tea leaves to make tea bags, and the large and complete teas are sold as high-end teas. Choose small tea leaf winnowing sorter machine for small output, and large finished tea leaf winnowing sorting machie for large bitch.

4. Sifting teas of different lengths.

After sieving out the sundries, tea stalks and tea powder, the remaining large and intact tea leaves can be sold at a high price, and the price of tea leaves usually increases with the completeness. Therefore, in order to maximize profits, teas of different lengths will be selected and divided into long, medium and short grades, and three different prices can be sold. For small output, use small vibration sieving machine, and for large output, use flat circular screen machine.