Black Tea

BLACK CTC TEA

Black CTC tea is made from the same leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant just like the green tea.

During the production process, the tea leaves are allowed to fully oxidize before they are heat-processed and dried. During oxidation, oxygen interacts with the tea plant’s cell walls to turn the leaves the rich dark brown to black color. Oxidation alters the flavor profile of a black tea as well, helping add malty, fruity or even smoky notes, depending on the tea.

In the CTC (Crush-Tear-Curl) production process, the tea leaves are cut into fine pieces instead of rolled. The smaller pieces of leaves are more quickly oxidized, producing a one-dimensional, consistent, strong and bold black tea.

BLACK ORTHODOX TEA

Black orthodox tea is made the same way as the Black CTC save for the Cutting/Tearing/Curling process which is replaced by rolling and the tea leaves remain whole or only partially broken during the entire process of production. Tea leaves are plucked from the garden, withered to reduce moisture, rolled in a variety of ways to bruise the leaves and start oxidation, oxidized to create color and flavor, fired to apply the heat that stops oxidation, and then graded for quality.