National standard classification of black tea - black broken tea opens the era of mechanized tea making

National standard of black broken tea: granular (or fragmented) products made by kneading, cutting and other processing techniques. The advent of black broken tea marks the entry of tea processing into the industrial stage.

Mechanized tea making technology not only improves production efficiency, but also promotes black broken tea to become the mainstream product of global tea exports. It accounts for more than 80% of the total global tea exports.

Chronological introduction of black broken tea

Beginning

The emergence of black broken tea can be traced back to 1876, when George Reed of India invented the tea cutting process to cut strip tea into smaller and finer broken tea. This technology laid the foundation for the development of modern black broken tea and was quickly promoted to the world.

In the 1930s, William McTell promoted the C.T.C (Crush, Tear, Curl) process, which further revolutionized the processing of black tea.

China

China first trial-produced black tea in Anhua, Hunan in 1958. In 1964, six tea factories in Yunnan, Guangdong, Sichuan and other places began large-scale trial production.

In the 1970s, China began to use the rotor machine method to make black tea, and in 1974, the tea gardens south of the Hongshui River in Guangxi were listed as one of China's black tea export bases.

In 1982, Hainan Tea Factory introduced a complete set of C.T.C mechanical tea making system, which completely opened the era of fully mechanized production of Chinese black tea.

Main production process of broken black tea

Traditional and non-traditional methods

• Flat kneading
• Flat cutting
• Fermentation
• Drying

The traditional method is the earliest method of making broken black tea, which is completed by manual flat kneading, flat cutting, and then fermentation and drying. However, because it is time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly, it has now been almost replaced by modern mechanical methods

The non-traditional method is the mechanical tea making system, that is, the rotor machine method.

The principle is to use the high-speed rotation of the rotor kneading machine to simulate the natural kneading process. Inside the machine, the tea leaves undergo a series of physical actions, quickly destroying the cell structure of the tea leaves, releasing tea juice, etc., and at the same time cutting the tea leaves into smaller pieces.

This process can be completed in a shorter time, saving time and manpower and reducing costs compared to traditional manual production.

Common mechanical production system

C.T.C production method and L.T.P production method

C.T.C production method (Crush, Tear, Curl) refers to the use of mechanical equipment to "crush, tear, and curl" tea leaves to make granular or fragmented black tea. This production method has high production efficiency, and the tea leaves are easy to brew quickly, which is suitable for the tea bag market.

L.T.P production method (Leaf, Tear, Press) uses three steps: leaf rolling, tearing and pressing, which not only retains the integrity of the tea leaves, but also ensures that the tea leaves have good brewing performance and rich aroma levels, which is suitable for the production of mid-to-high-end broken black tea.

Black broken tea grading system

Black broken tea is also called black fine tea or graded black tea. The international basic grading system is divided into four colors according to the shape, size and quality of the particles: leaf, broken, flakes, foam, and four colors.

This is a very basic color grading. Each basic grading is further divided into grades according to the actual situation.

For example, there is a BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe) under leaf tea, which is leaf tea with smaller fragments. For another example, there are 8 grades of color for broken black tea made from large-leaf varieties in China.

As a literacy article, we do not need to understand every type of broken black tea.

We only need to know a simple way to distinguish: leaf tea is the most complete, similar to the ordinary black tea we usually see on the market.

Broken tea is less complete, and more broken than broken tea is flake tea, and more broken than flake tea is powdered tea.

The tea bags we often see in supermarkets of all sizes are basically made of powdered tea.

The value of mechanized production of broken black tea

The mechanized production of broken black tea not only improves the efficiency of tea processing, but also significantly reduces production costs, making black tea a more popular mass drink.

Compared with traditional tea making, mechanized tea making has significant advantages in tea standardization, quality stability and market competitiveness.

At the same time, the popularity of broken black tea has changed the global tea drinking culture. The convenient brewing method has transformed tea drinking from a ritualistic habit to a daily fast-moving consumer product.

While promoting the development of the tea industry, black tea has also created huge economic value, injecting vitality into the planting industry, processing industry and export trade.

The mechanized production of black tea symbolizes the glorious process of tea industrialization and also lays the foundation for the sustainable development of the global tea industry.