Production of black tea

Abstract

The drying of agricultural crops for preservation is a long practised traditional method of treatment so that they can be stored for subsequent consumption or transported- to distant markets. The tea crop at the moment of harvesting has a high moisture level and as such it could decompose in a relatively short time. The basic need to process the tea crop in a relatively short time interval has meant that there are limits to the harvesting area served by an individual tea factory. These limits are affected by local productivity levels, transportation of leaf to the factory, and any potential drop in sales value caused by delayed treatment overcoming the supposed economic advantages of scale.