Leaf to Cup - the Magic

Two main methods are used in modern tea production, CTC and Orthodox tea making. CTC or Cut Tear Curl was developed in the 50s to efficiently produce large quantities of strong black tea bags and Orthodox being the traditional tea making process for loose tea dating back thousands of years.

Islay in the tea nursery at Glen Caladh Farm, Argyll

There are multiple kinds of tea and it is processed differently all over the world, members of Tea Scotland are making tea in the orthodox style as we feel that CTC production skips some key flavour gathering processes and the end result is not usually as delicious.

So a made black tea from leaf to cup in this style takes the best part of 2 days. So for example for the black tea that we make collectively at Tea Scotland; The Gathering it involves the following 5 main activities:

Plucking (We do a fine pluck of 2 leaves and a bud)

Withering (for many hours to soften the leaves for rolling)

Rolling (to release all the juices that make your tea special)

Oxidising (full oxidisation for a black tea)

Drying (at the point where the flavour profile has reached its best)

Black tea making - oxidised tea leaves about to go into the dryer

So this is very simplified and I won’t go into the chemistry here but in a nutshell processing for best characteristics is determined by several variables which are managed throughout; temperature, time and humidity are controlled to optimum levels for each stage of the process. The leaf is handled and smelled frequently throughout to determine the perfect timing to move the leaf through to the next stage.

The release of the compounds that characterise the finished tea happen slowly throughout this processing and each stage is carefully managed by the tea maker to ensure a good flavour profile.

…. the leaf should then rest once made for a couple of weeks to let the flavours integrate before tasting.

Brewing.. is your final step in the leaf to cup process… enjoy !

100% Scottish Black Tea