Hawaii Tea Society » Processing

Small-scale Tea Growing and Processing in Hawaii

HTS Web Admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 23:08:49 +0000

Originally published by CTAHR in 2003, this document (click here to download) is a guide to the University’s research efforts into growing camellia sinensis (tea plants) on the Big Island.

BlackTea Processing

HTS Web Admin — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 08:20:37 +0000

*Camellia sinensis* – Black Tea Processing

A Simplified Hand Processed Japan Style Black Tea

1.1. On a sunny afternoon, harvest young tea shoots with two to three leaves and a central needle-like leaf.

2.2. Assam hybrids such as Benihikari, Benihomare, and Bohea make good black teas.

3.3. Set tea, as a single shoot layer on a screen or rack, over-night in a relatively dry withering room between 68-77 oF for 16 hours. Estimate or monitor to determine that the tea is around 70% leaf moisture before proceeding to the next step.

4.4. Hand roll (knead with firm pressure) in a muslin cloth for at least 10 minutes. Open the cloth and separate the tea. Repeat this process for four times. Using a washboard is helpful in the rolling process. The temperature of the room for this process is the same for the withering process.

5.5. (Optional Step) If two major leaf sizes exist, you may want to experiment with screening the teas. Roll and knead the coarser grade tea two more times. The smaller sized teas can be consolidated in a separate pile and fermented as a batch size.

6.6. Carefully separate the tea shoots from each other. Place tea in a tray approximately 5-6 tea shoot layers in height, in a fermenting room set at 77 to 86 oF and under high humid conditions. Cover the rolled tea with a single layer of cheese cloth for approximately 3 hours.The tea will undergo an oxidation/fermentation process and change to a coppery color. Cue for aroma and flavor qualities.

7.7. Stop this process when the tea has darken by drying at 203o F for 5 minutes followed by 140 oF for approximately 30 to 60 minutes. You may use an oven or a Chinese bamboo dryer. Monitor and reduce the leaf moisture to 5%.

8.8. Get accustomed to your drying unit. Calibrate your unit with a temperature gauge and make necessary adjustments.

9.9. Pack in air tight aluminum bag or container for storage

Chinese Bamboo Dryer

•

Benihomare

•black tea cultivar

assamhybrid

good yiels

dark red color

strong flavor and taste

Hand Roll in Muslin Cloth on Ribbed Wash Board

Dwight Sato, Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, UH Manoa-CTAHR
Tomomi Kinoshita, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto, Japan

Green Tea Processing

HTS Web Admin — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 22:20:37 +0000

Camellia sinensis – Green Tea Processing

Hand Processed Green Tea using a Microwave Oven and Wok

1. On a sunny morning, harvest young tea shoots with two leaves and a central needle-like leaf.

2. For green tea, you generally don’t solar wilt your freshly harvested tea but you could have a slight indoor withering, depending on the type of tea you are planning to make.

3. Microwave tea shoots for approximately 2 minutes in an autoclavable plastic bag using level 5 (We have
been using a 1300 Watt inverter microwave oven having a total of 10 power level settings).

4. Remove the cooked tea, separate and spread out onto a muslin cloth for about 3 minutes. The tea will appear to be like “cooked spinach”. The tea in the plastic bag is hot so be careful. This process removes surface moisture and cools the leaves.

5. Gather the tea in a loose ball using a muslin cloth and roll with light pressure for 1 or 2 minutes. Roll until the
leaf and stem extract exudes. This process equalizes the moisture in the leaves as the tissue contents are slowly extracted. The tender shoots take on a sticky consistency.

6. Carefully separate the ball of tea shoots from each other. This offers uniform moisture loss for each tea shoot prior to pan frying.

7. Pan Fry in a large wok, tossing tea for about 1.5 minute.

8. Evenly separate, spread and cool tea over a muslin cloth.

9. Gather tea forming a ball and roll in a muslin cloth till the leaf and stem extract emerges.

10. Separate tea shoots. Repeat the last procedure a second time.

11. Pan fry while tossing tea for 5-6 minutes till stems appear dehydrated.

12. Gather the tea, form a ball, and roll for the fourth time in a muslin cloth. Increase pressure by using the base of your palms. Slowly separate the tea shoots from each other.

13. Pan fry while tossing till tea becomes crispy.

14. Spread tea out evenly in a wok for final drying or until stems are fully dried.

15. Pack in air tight aluminum bag or in a container for storage.

16. Sustaining adequate nitrogen fertility is more important in developing good green tea flavor than it does for oolong or black tea.

Dwight Sato, Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, UH Manoa-CTAHR
Tomomi Kinoshita, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto, Japan