The Tea Roller is one of the important processing techniques for shaping the beautiful appearance of tea and improving the quality of tea. The rolling effect depends on the physical properties of the fresh tea leaves and the rolling technology.
In tea production, what factors affect the rolling quality?
1. Kneading method
A large number of tea leaves are processed using machinery. The leaf loading capacity of mechanical equipment ranges from 10kg to 50kg. Black tea is divided into red strip tea and black broken tea according to the production method and the shape of the finished product. Therefore, black tea rolling usually has CTC method (abbreviation of CTC, Crush, Tear and Curl) and LTP method (LTP, abbreviation of Laurie Tea Processer). ), etc., these processing methods cause differences in the degree of tea cell damage, producing tea of different qualities.
2. Amount of leaves added
The amount of leaves is mainly determined by the Tea Roller Machine model and the tenderness of the fresh leaves. The soft young leaves are not very elastic and are easy to roll. The hard and thick old leaves are very elastic and are not easy to be rolled into a certain shape. Therefore, the amount of leaves can be more for the tender fresh leaves and less for the thick and old leaves.
3. Kneading time
During the rolling process, the rolling time has a significant impact on the quality of the rolled leaves. The kneading time should be determined according to the tenderness and withering (or greening) degree of the raw materials. If the time is too short, the ropes will not be tight, and there will be many thick tea sticks, less broken pieces, and the tea soup will be thin; if the time is too long, the thick tea sticks will be reduced, but the pieces will be broken, the leaf tips will be broken, there will be more broken pieces, and the shape will be irregular.
4. Knead and press
Tea Leaf Roller Machine pressurization is the core element of rolling technology. The weight and time of pressurization have a great impact on the tightness and crushing of tea ropes. The degree of twisting has a greater relationship with the damage rate of leaf tissue and the color, aroma and taste of the endoplasm. If the pressure is too high, the ropes will be tightly knotted, but if the pressure is too high, the leaves will easily clump and break, and the color and taste of the soup will not be ideal; if the pressure is too small, the leaves will be thick and loose, and even the purpose of rolling cannot be achieved.
5. Temperature and humidity of the kneading room
For black tea, the tea rolling machine starts to work, and the enzymatic oxidation starts. The heat released by the oxidation causes the leaf temperature in the kneading barrel to continue to rise. Coupled with the friction of the rolling, some heat is generated, and the leaf temperature also rises. The kneading chamber requires relatively low temperatures. Generally, the room temperature is controlled at 20~24℃. Fermentation is inevitable during the rolling process. If the humidity in the air is low, the water in the rolled leaves will easily evaporate, which will have a negative impact on fermentation. The kneading room generally maintains a relative humidity of 85 to 90%.
After rolling, the tea leaves tend to form clumps, which are as big as a fist and as small as a walnut. They need to be shaken out of the clumps by a Tea Deblocking Machine, and fine leaves and fragments are screened out to improve the quality of the tea.