Tea Processing Equipment

Drying machines are the first step in the tea production line process. You use tea withering troughs that blow hot air from fans in order to dry the leaves. This process takes at least 6 hours, but depending on humidity conditions, it may take days. Once it finishes, the leaves go to a rolling machine.

Rolling machines can belong to two categories – orthodox and CTC. The orthodox method counts with rolling machines that roll the leaves 3 to 4 times, bruising them but not tearing them apart. This usually leads to releasing milder leaves of caffeine. The contrary happens to CTC machines. Called Crush Tear Curl or Cut Tear Curl, CTCs cut the leaves into small pieces repeatedly and allow them to oxidate. This releases the natural juices of tea and increases the caffeine concentration in the product.

Oolong teas are in the middle of the way between green and black teas. They still need withering troughs before going to rolling machines, but their oxidation time is shorter than black teas and they can also be pan-fired to cut the fermentation process.

When making white tea, the process requires fewer steps and machinery. To produce white tea, which is a very lightly oxidated tea type, you use the buds of very young plants, which are very delicate and cannot be damaged – otherwise, they oxidate. This makes the raw material rare and the process, more expensive. White tea is the less processed type of tea there is, so in this tea production you only need a sorter and a dryer.

Pouches use aluminum in their composition, which protects the tea from damage such as oxidation, moisture, and UV light. They can also be made with paper, which is a more eco-friendly material but also lasts for less time. When it comes to teabags, every available shape influences the efficiency of the infusion. Flat, round-shaped, and pyramid tea bags compete in the market to bring both distinctive brand characteristics for consumers and also more flavor to the tea. A few years ago, UK’s Advertising Standards Authority ruled out that, compared to round teabags, pyramid bags had more space for the tea to move, which would allow it to release more taste.