A Review of Withering in the Processing of Black Tea

Purpose: Tea is the most frequently consumed drink worldwide, next to water. About 75% of the total world tea production includes black tea, and withering is one of the major processing steps critical for the quality of black tea. There are two types of tea withering methods: physical and chemical withering. Withering can be achieved by using tat, tunnel, drum, and trough withering systems. Of these, the trough withering system is the most commonly used. This study focuses on the different types of withering, their effect on the various quality attributes of tea, and other aspects of withering methods that affect superior quality tea. Results: During physical withering, tea shoots loose moisture content that drops from approximately 70-80% to 60-70% (wet basis). This leads to increased sap concentration in tea leaf cells, and turgid leaves become flaccid. It also prevents tea shoots from damage during maceration or rolling. During chemical withering, complex chemical compounds break down into simpler ones volatile flavor compounds, amino acids, and simple sugars are formed. Withering increases enzymatic activities as well as the concentration of caffeine. Research indicates that about 15% of chlorophyll degradation occurs during withering. It is also reported that during withering lipids break down into simpler compounds and catechin levels decrease. Improper withering can cause adverse effects on subsequent manufacturing operations, such as maceration, rolling, fermentation, drying, and tea storage. Conclusion: Freshly harvested leaves are conditioned physically and chemically for subsequent processing. There is no specified withering duration, but 14-18 h is generally considered the optimum period. Proper and even withering of tea shoots greatly depends on the standards of plucking, handling, transportation, environmental conditions, time, and temperature. Thus, to ensure consumption of high quality tea, the withering step must be monitored carefully.