Black Tea

Black tea is widely recognized and most often consumed in the Western world. It is known for its bitterness and comforting warmth to the senses. When steeped just right, it makes you want to sit there cuddling your cup with a book. Or when steeping gongfu style, pull so many steeps out of it until there is no flavour left at all.

What makes black tea different from the other styles? Well visually it’s pretty obvious. It is much darker than all of the others. Now how does a bright green leaf come to be that dark? There are several stages to production in black tea, and of course some places in the world or specific farmers have different approaches. Let’s look at the basics.

1. Withering: The plucked leaves soften and wilt once they are removed from the plant. It is the longest withering time from any style of tea production, anywhere from 10 to 20 hours. These are usually temperature and humidity controlled rooms to arrive at the desired outcome for the leaves.
   2. Rolling: Traditionally done by hand, often with machines in larger productions. Once the leaves are soften, they are rolled to break the cells, release enzymes to start chemical reactions in the leaves. This step contributes to the flavour of the finished tea.
   3. Oxidation: The leaves are left to oxidize, which is letting them sit and transform. This is like the process of seeing the apple you bit into start turn brown. The bruised leaves react to oxygen and change from green to a rich brown colour. Leaves get turned over so that all leaves in a big tray have the same chance to oxidize on all sides.
   4. Drying: The leaves are then transferred to dryers, ovens or roasted in pans. The heat stops the oxidation and finishes the tea. They are then laid out to cool.
   5. Sorting: This is why you recieve beautiful looking tea, because the leaves are carefully sorted through to sell as a specific style. Whole leaf tea has different flavour and aesthetic qualities than broken leaves.