Previous Posts

• Why Organic Teas?

• Authentic Japanese Cast Iron Teapot

• Tea and your Life Style

• Cleansing with Tea

• Tea for Thinker

• Choosing The Right Teapot For Your Tea

• Why Is A Yixing Teapot So Popular?

• What is Oolong Tea?

• Black tea is so popular, it accounts for about 80 ...

• Green Tea Vs. Black Tea

Archives

Loose tea has different levels of processing and the final step is the sorting or commonly called the grading of the tea leaf. As the loose tea particles emerge from the ovens or dryers, they then passed through a sifter with graduated mesh dividing them into different size pieces.

What most of us thought (and I was one of them before I found out about it) is that loose tea is classified according to its taste or quality. In actuality, loose tea is classified according to the appearance and type of the tea leaf.

However, the finest grades of a loose tea almost give the finest quality.

To simplify the grading of a loose tea, there are two main divisions: the leaf grade and the brokern grade. The leaf grades consist of the larger pieces that are left after the broken grades have been sifted out.

Although this is of less interest to many of us tea lovers, it is actually the most important part and the crucial stage in the tea processing of a loose tea.

This is because when brewing, the strength, flavor and color infuse from the leaf into the boiling water at different rates according to the loose tea leaf size. Indeed, the larger the tea leaf, the slower the rate of infusion. The right timing for infusion affects the final taste of the loose tea.

It is also important that loose tea leaves are of the same size when using to brew a pot of tea. If there are smaller pieces of loose tea, they will sink to the bottom and cause an imbalance in the carefully created blend.