Picture Details
Firing tea in India
Partner:
Kew GardensImage reference:
ceb0019Origin:
Indian SubcontinentArtist / Date:
Unknown, 1930sDonor / Date:
Imperial InstituteSize:
139 x 87 mmDescription:
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Production of black tea today requires the same methods as when this photograph was taken in the 1930s. Once the tea leaves have been picked they are first `withered', which involves blowing air through them to reduce the water content and cause enzyme activity. They are then rolled between two surfaces to break the cells in the leaves and releases the juice, giving the characteristic smell and flavour to the finished tea. The leaves are then spread out to ferment in a warm and humid atmosphere for a few hours which develops these characteristics further and gives them their bright coppery colour. Finally, they are heated to stop fermentation and to remove the remaining water, this is the firing process. Here you can see tea being carried through the tea-drying machine on a moving belt, through a current of heated air and finally passed out crisp and brittle.
