Manufacturing Process
Location
Our tea factory is situated at an elevation of 6500 feet which gives it the unique advantage of being located in a climate zone which very few factories can get. It is surrounded by the native species of forest called ‘Sholas’ on three sides which gives it much needed pure oxygen for production of tea.
Procurement of raw Materials
We procure our green leaf from the low elevation areas surrounding Gudalur area is very high in humidity and receives a lot of rain and sun which is very conductive for plant growth and then process them at our high elevation factory which enables our teas to possess the flavor & colour of high elevation teas and thickness & taste of low elevation teas.
Withering
During the withering process, the leaf is induced to loose moisture substantially to prepare it for further processing. Normally this is carried out by spreading tea leaves thinly on troughs through which warm air is circulated by fans. The average length of withering time depends greatly on the quality of the leaf peculiar to the region and the season of the year.
Cut Tear Curl (CTC)
After satisfactory withering has taken place, the leaf is ready for rolling. This process twists the leaf,breaks it up and extract the juices. The CTC process of rolling is a comparatively rigorous one for the leaf,which is forced through a machine having two steel rollers.The rollers have grooves which cut leaves as they pass through 4 such sets of rollers, getting reduced in size and their cells are ruptured to enable fermentation. The nature of grooves in the CTC rollers determines the gradation of tea. This process delivers much better,thicker,liquors and yields more cups of tea per kg of leaf as compared to the orthodox type of tea. Before the tea moves on for fermentation it gets its granulation in a horizontal barrel called the Googy.
Fermentation – Continous Fermentation Machine
Normally the tea ferments or oxidizes from 60 to 100 minutes depending upon the leaf quality and on the prevailing climatic conditions. Low humidity conditions retard fermentation, hence a cool and humid condition is essential to enable larger retention time for fermentation. This produces blacker, grainy and heavier teas. The character of the tea develops significantly during the fermentation process.
Drying
The next process is known as drying. The objective of drying is to arrest fermentation and to remove moisture and produce teas with ideal qualities.The mass of leaf is exposed to hot air when it passes through a chamber with perforated moving trays. The temperature of the air blowing through the chamber is rigorously maintained. It takes 15 to 30 Minutes to dry the leaf,so the enzymes are fully deactivated. After completion of the drying process,the tea becomes fully black in color.
Sorting & Grading
Sorting is the operation in which tea granules are separated into various grades confirming to trade requirements. The process of sorting has two objectives a)to enhance the value and b)to impart quality. Tea is a markedly hydroscopic material which means while cooling and sorting it absorbs moisture.
Blending & packing
The tea is passed under powerful magnets to prevent possible pieces of iron mixing with the tea. Before packing the tea, the accumulated series of daily batches of each grade are bulked and mixed to obtain the highest possible degree of unity. The bulking is done in a tower blender to maintain uniformity & hygiene of packed teas
Quality Check
During the entire manufacturing process, the made tea is untouched by human hands to maintain the highest levels of hygiene. Before sending the tea to the market for the customers, proper testing in done by expert tea tasters. Developed hi-tech research and tests are done for the quality gradation along with health and nutrition. Only after these measure are taken the tea is sent to the market by Royal Valley Tea Factory.