EFFECT OF ROLLING, FERMENTATION AND DRYING ON THE QUALITY OF BLACK TEA

Abstract

Experiments were conducted on Black Tea processing to study the effects of rolling, fermentation and drying on the quality of made tea (Black). The trials were carried out at National Tea Research Institute (NTRI), Shinkiari, Mansehra, during 2002. Tea leaves were rolled from 20-30 minutes depending upon the intensity of withering and raw material. Fine plucking (2 leaves and a bud) had bright red colour both in plain and milky tea. The taste and aroma was pleasant as compared to coarse plucking. Quality of coarse leaves was very poor in terms of taste, aroma, colour, strength and infusion. Rolling time (25 minutes) gave better results as compared to 20 or 30 minutes time. Fermentation (4 hours and 5 minutes) gave best results in terms of taste, aroma and strength. Drying of black tea at 110 o C temperature with 1.5 rpm, dryer speed produce good quality tea.