Methods of production change country to country. Small differences in technique give rise to differences in the final tea.

Tea Plucking
Sri Lankan tea is hand-picked where the bud and following two leaves are picked. Mostly women work as tea pluckers in Sri Lankan tea estates. The handpicking preserves the aroma and flavour, and keeps it fresh for manufacturing; it is quickly taken to the tea estate factory, where they are weighed.

Withering
A process taking 8-10 hours, tea leaves are kept on racks where air circulation withers the leaves. At times, electric blowers are used to quicken the process of loosing moisture.

Rolling
Rolling machines are then used to twist and break up the tea leaves. The natural enzymes are released at this stage, which give flavour to the final tea product. The tea leaves are also twisted in this process. The leaves are spread out in humid environment till they turn brown through absorbing atmospheric oxygen. This is the oxidizing stage which is called ‘fermentation’. To arrest the fermentation, they are passed through a hot air chamber – this is called ‘firing. The flavour is retained due to this. And the leaves have by now become smaller and black in colour.

Sorting Teas
Tea leaves are separated into various grades (BOP, FBOP, OP, BOPF, PEKOE, BOP1) according to the size of the leaf, via a vibrating mesh. They are also separated according to the colour of the leaf. This is called ‘Sorting’. Those not up to standards are rejected.

Other steps are - Tea bag packing, Packing, Carton Packing, Storing

In producing green tea – the fermentation process does not take place. In organic tea farming, the natural compost layer is preserved, as chemical fertilizers are not used. The tea plants remain very healthy for a very long time. Though a labour intensive growing method, the benefits are many for the organic tea consumer.