How Do We Source & Process Premium Tea
\It is amusing how mere leaves, when cultivated and processed correctly, make a beverage that would shape the cultures over centuries. India is the second-largest tea exporter in the world, and there is a reason why it is there – Assam & Darjeeling. Let’s explore how we source the finest tea from the farmlands of Assam and Darjeeling and package it with perfection for your brand.
1. The Standard Tea Manufacturing Process
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The process of cultivating tea is pretty much the same, followed by tea manufacturers across the globe. It’s just the degree of oxidation and exposure to fire that determines the flavour and color of the tea.
A. Plucking
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Tea leaves are selectively hand-plucked by workers to ensure the best quality and flavor. To make the plucking easier, the tea bushes are maintained at waist height.
B. Withering
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The freshly plucked tea leaves are spread out on trays or cloth in a controlled environment called the Withering Shed. This is done to reduce the moisture content of the leaves by about 30%, bringing out the flavor and making them soft for further processing.
C. Rolling (or Crushing, Tearing, Curling)
Then the leaves are gently crushed, torn, and rolled by hands or low-impact machines to shape them into small pellets and release essential oils and sap, which intensifies the flavor. This makes the tea leaves ideally shaped for tea bags and custom blends.
D. Fermentation (Oxidation)
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The tea leaves are then spread thinly on trays to ferment, allowing oxidation to take place. Oxygen interacts with the enzymes in the leaves, turning them darker and developing the classic tea flavor and aroma.
E. Drying (Firing)
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To bring the moisture content of fermented leaves to less than 1%, hot air is blown through them. This step stops oxidation and locks in the flavor and aroma.
F. Sorting And Grading
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The dried tea leaves are sorted into various grades based on size and quality. Common grades include:
- BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe)
- BOPSM (finer than BOP)
- DUST (tiny particles used in tea bags).
Sorting ensures uniformity and quality control before packaging and shipment.
2. Select Packaging Type and Materials
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Once the tea is sourced to our processing facility, we choose the appropriate packaging format based on the tea type and your demand. Options include:
- Tea In Retail Pack
- Tea Bags
- Tea Sachets
Packaging materials are selected to preserve freshness, aroma, and protect against moisture, air, and light. Another thing the package size depends on is the size, as you can choose any size between 250 grams – 2 kilograms for the tea.
3. Prepare Packaging Machinery
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We set up and adjust our packaging machines to match the size and type of packaging you want. This step ensures correct bag size, shape, how much tea is to be packed in each package, and the right sealing temperature.
4. Filling Tea Into Packaging
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Tea bags are filled with the right amounts of tea by machines, and each bag is filled as per its designated weight category and package type. For loose leaf tea, the tea is filled into pouches or containers.
5. Seal Packaging
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The tea bag or package is sealed with either heat or an alternate sealing method based on the size and kind of packaging, to help preserve the quality of the tea.
6. Coding and Labeling
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A label on every tea package educates your consumer about the product, ingredients, the total weight, the place of origin, the manufacturer’s name, and expiry date.
7. Quality Control Inspection
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Visual and sensory checks are performed by our quality control managers to ensure appropriate packaging and correct labeling. Packaging design and branding are also reviewed at this stage to ensure that the right product is shipped to you.
8. Storage & Distribution
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The packaged tea is stored in refrigerated environments to preserve its quality. Once you place the orders with us, we will pack and ship them to you. Shipping costs and logistics are managed as mentioned in the quotation.
Why Trust Ess Pee Quality Products For Importing Your Tea
Here is a list of reasons why you should import your tea from our company. We have a wide variety of premium-quality teas, like CTC Tea, Orthodox Tea, Whole Leaf Tea, and Long Leaf Tea.
1. US-FDA Registered & BRCGS Certified
We are US-FDA registered and BRCGS certified tea exporters, ensuring your imported tea meets the highest safety and quality standards for peace of mind with every premium sip.
2. Multiple Countries Exporting Available
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We export our premium quality tea to numerous countries, which makes us the leading tea exporter in India.
- USA
- Canada
- Australia
- UAE
- Israel
- Saudi Arabia
- Oman
- Qatar
- South Korea
- Nigeria
- Indonesia
- Singapore
3. Tea Organically Sourced From Assam & Darjeeling
The tea leaves are organically grown in the freshest farms of Assam and Darjeeling. Once the harvest is ready, it is imported to our processing facility where it is carefully packed in multiple packagings. Aroma, quality, and taste remain our utmost priority throughout the entire processing stage.
