Our traditional organic bulk black tea is manufactured using the same method and—surprisingly—the same equipment that we utilized roughly thirty years ago. Our current factory manager learned the processing method from our longstanding Darjeeling tea maker. Therefore, it is nearly identical to Darjeeling's Second Flush in terms of the make, character, and feel. But the age of the tea trees is what distinguishes Darjeeling black teas from those of Nepali origins. Indian tea bushes are about 200 years old, while Nepali tea plants are only 50 years old. This gives all of our teas a flowery, fresher undertone.
When it comes to the actual process of making bulk black tea, there are four key phases involved: rolling, oxidation, drying, and withering. In the summer, every bush typically has two leaves and a bud removed within seven days. The busiest season for the production of tea is summer when the plants reach their full maturity due to the ideal heat and precipitation levels. Depending on the type of leaves and the season, the meticulously removed leaves are allowed to wither in troughs for a few hours or perhaps overnight. After most of the water has gone, the rubbery leaves are put on a rolling machine, which breaks and bruises the tea leaves' cells so that the oxygen in the air may react with them. Depending on what qualities of black tea are needed, the teas are left to oxidize for several hours after about thirty minutes of rolling.
The tea maker meticulously dries the tea in a drying machine to preserve its peak flavors and smells after the perfect amount of oxidation. After that, the DMT (Dryer Mouth Tea) is run through several tea sorting machines, producing teas of varying grades, such as SFTGFOP1, TGBOP, GOF, and so on. Before being packaged and delivered to our clients, the teas undergo thorough hand sorting in addition to machine sorting.
