Upcountry tea factory withering lofts: airflow hygrometry and moisture loss during night mists?
How do night-shift teamakers in Nuwara Eliya balance reversible axial fan airflow to reduce green leaf moisture from 75% to 55% during freezing montane mists?
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4 Answers from travellers
Withering is the foundational physical and chemical stage in orthodox black tea manufacture, conducted overnight in long elevated troughs. Harvested green leaves holding 75% moisture must reach 52-55% moisture over 14 to 16 hours. During freezing night mists in Nuwara Eliya when ambient relative humidity reaches 98%, dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures converge. Teamakers mix radiator heat from firewood boilers with ambient loft air to maintain a functional 3°C wet-bulb depression, reversing axial fan airflow every three hours to ensure uniform leaf withering without case-hardening.
Under-withering produces watery, bitter tea liquors with flaky broken leaves, while over-withering concentrates polyphenols too quickly and stalls enzymatic fermentation.
The characteristic sweet fragrance of ripe apples given off in the withering loft indicates optimal breakdown of amino acids and chlorophyll.
Troughs are loaded at a standardized density of 1.5kg of green leaf per square foot of nylon mesh to allow air currents to penetrate leaf beds evenly.
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