Overnight CTC vs orthodox black tea withering: factory moisture loss measurements?
4 Answers from travellers
Withering is the crucial foundational step in orthodox black tea manufacture, conducted overnight in long elevated troughs. Harvested green leaves holding 70-75% moisture must reach 52-55% moisture over a 12-to-16-hour window. Factory night-shift supervisors continuously adjust reversible axial fans blowing warm air from the furnace flue ducts mixed with ambient night air. If night air humidity exceeds 90% during hill monsoon mists, hygrometric dry/wet bulb differences collapse; supervisors fire up firewood heat exchangers to prevent water-logging and leaf souring.
Over-withering makes leaves brittle and produces flaky dust particles during rolling; under-withering causes juice loss and excessive flaking in the rollers.
Historic tea factories built with slatted timber sash windows allow cross-ventilation, balancing airflow across multi-level withering lofts naturally.
The fragrant aroma of warm withering leaf carries down valleys for kilometers, serving as an olfactory marker when driving hill passes late at night.
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