Manufacturing Process of Dilmah Tea Company

Tea is a unique herb, with different types of tea obtained depending on its processing method.
After all, the world's most popular types of tea - black, green, oolong, and white - are made from
a single plant. What makes Ceylon tea so special is its manufacturing method? The orthodox
production method used in Sri Lanka preserves the authenticity of the tea in taste, while many
other tea producing countries use the Cut Tear and Curl (CTC) method. The latter diminishes the
soul of the tea, its essence of terroir and distinct flavor, and produces a tea with a very uniform
taste. Therefore, connoisseurs generally prefer orthodox black tea, as the teapot can enhance its
intrinsic character and flavor to offer subtle variations, while preserving its quality. This can be
tasted in every cup of Dilmah tea, due to the brand's commitment to taste and goodness.

(Orthodox Tea manufacturing

There are 07 steps in manufacturing process of Dilmah Tea Company.

Step 01 – Plucking

In the green tea plantations of Sri Lanka, every morning or early evening, tea pickers gather for
their daily task of hand-picking fresh, tender leaves of the Camellia Sinensis shrub. Only the bud
and the two young leaves underneath are plucked. This ensures that the best tea is produced.

In this step, tea pickers should bring the tea leaves to the factory to retain moisture of tea leaves.

Step 02 – Withering

The plucked tea will make its way to the factories, where it will be placed in large 6-foot-wide
feeders, the length of which will depend on the size of the loft. These troughs are known as
withered troughs. Hot air is blown over the harvested tea for 6-7 hours to allow for the chemical
breakdowns and changes that are vital to the later stages of the manufacturing process. The
leaves become flabby and mushy, ready for the next stage.

Step 03 - Rolling

Once the 6 hours are complete, the flaccid, reduced-moisture tea leaves will proceed to the next
stage, known as the lamination stage. The chemical breakdowns that occurred in the wilting
stage must now mix with the enzymes in the tea leaves. This is done in stages using different
rollers. The first of these is known as a "preconditioning" roll and is a gentle process that allows
the juices from the leaves to be exposed to oxygen.
This is what finally gives the tea its color. The process is based on friction and a substantial
amount of heat is generated as a result. Care must be taken to ensure that temperatures do not
exceed 35ºC (95ºF). This could ruin the tea leaf by creating unwanted chemical and enzymatic
reactions.

Step 04 - Fermentation

The last roller that the sheets pass through is known as the Breaker Roll. Once it comes off this
roll, it is spread out on an even surface and allowed to ferment / oxidize. This allows the
chemical reactions that began in the rolling stage to continue due to exposure to oxygen. The
most important of them is the oxidation of polyphenols, which is what creates the flavor and
aroma of the teas we enjoy.

Step 05 - Firing and drying

The tea now has the color, the taste and the aroma; however, if fermentation is allowed to
continue without control, these elements can be lost. This is where firing and drying come into
play. This process stops the fermentation process by destroying the enzymes through high heat
temperatures, thus ensuring that the correct balance of flavor is maintained.

Step 06 – Sorting and Grading

Once the frying and drying process is complete, the tea leaves are moved through different
meshes that separate them according to size, allowing them to be classified into different grades
of tea such as Dust, Pekoe, BOP and more.

Step 07 - Tasting and Assessing

This millennial process is long and requires experience and care, both of which take years to
master. From knowing the best tear-off blades to factory floors to knowing the correct amount of
heat to apply for the perfect chemical reactions, each stage requires passion and expertise that
Dilmah takes pride in.

[ CITATION
Dil191 \l 1033 ]

Machinery system
1. Withering
That the moment a tea leaf is plucked from the tea plant, it begins to naturally wilt, a process we
call wilting. But once the tea leaves arrive at the processing facility, this process is controlled by
the tea producer. The purpose of controlled wilting is to prepare the leaves for further processing
by reducing their moisture content. This allows the development of aroma and flavor compounds
in the leaves. Controlling the wilting process means closely monitoring humidity, temperature,
and air flow over time. Controlled wilting can occur outdoors with tea leaves gently placed on
bamboo mats or tarps, or indoors in forced-air feeders. The air can be heated to speed up the
process if necessary.

Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, along with water. About 75% of the
world's total tea production includes black tea, and wilting is one of the main processing steps
critical to the quality of black tea. There are two types of tea wilting methods: physical and
chemical wilting. Wilting can be achieved through the use of tat, tunnel, drum and trough
withering systems. Of these, the trough wilting system is the most widely used.

Trough withering

The troughs are 6 wide, 3.5’/ 4.5’ high depending on length, with 12 "deep mesh sheet spreading
area. Equipped with axial flow fan unit complete with hot and ambient air controls and tapered
transformer ducts as indicated. Capacity The size of the trough unit will depend on the size of the
fan and motor required to deliver the necessary air for the desired extent of the green leaf and an
acceptable static pressure in the loft.

A slight variation in airflow based on elevation is unavoidable, but capacity, airflow, and power
requirements are listed in the table for generally available motor and fan sizes.

In order to ensure the consistency of the final product, it is of utmost importance to obtain a very
uniform cross, which can only be obtained by ensuring the same rate of moisture extraction from
all the green leaves that are wilting at the same time. To do this, the tray blade must be turned at
least once or twice, depending on the required wilting, the prevailing climatic conditions and the
availability of hot air. Hot air is generally available from a dryer heater and must be kept at the
required temperature for wilting. The logging thermograph provided with the dryer can be used
to monitor the temperature of the hot air used for withering.

Withering trough
 2. Rolling
A well-designed rolling program for use during orthodox manufacturing is essential to achieve
the following: an optimal fermentation time for each batch dhool (or rolled particles) to ensure
quality and prevent dhool from over-fermenting or under-fermenting, a continuous feed of the
dryer with wet dhool for greater efficiency, maximization of worker productivity, and efficient
machinery usage.

The application of pressure is essential to squeezing the sap and forming dhool. With an
epicyclical pressure roller, it is applied laterally through the central fitting. On the slat pressure
cap technique, is applied from the top by lowering the pressure cap. The variations of pressure
periods in different factories are just baffling – 5 minutes on 5 off, 7 on 3 off, 4 on 3 off, 8 on 2
off and even 2.5 on 2.5 off. There is no special reason to adhere to any particular combination.
By economic reasons, the amount of sheet loaded in a The roller should be as high as possible,
but to successfully rolling one of the essential conditions for which is the energetic circulation of
blade under pressure, loads must not be excessively high.

Diameters of rollers are varying from capacity of tea like, 34`,40`,44`,47` and more other. We
can get like, 350kg rolled tea for per hour. In here, the withered tea leaves are twist by rollers.

The purpose of roll-breaking is to remove the leaves from the coiled shoots. The roll breaker is
an inclined table that shakes back and forth at high speeds, causing only tiny particles of tea to
fall into a container underneath. The rest is stirred to the end of the table and returned to the
rollers, where the process is repeated several times. The last roller that the sheets pass through is
known as the Breaker Roll. Once it comes off this roll, it is spread out on an even surface and
allowed to ferment / oxidize.

3. Fermenting
One of the key steps in the tea manufacturing process is the degree of fermentation the tea
leaves. It means how much a tea is allowed to undergo enzymatic oxidation before drying. This
oxidation process may be stopped by either roasting or steaming the leaves before they are
completely dried out. Through fermentation, the originally deep green leaves become reddish-
brown color. The longer is the fermentation, the darker is the color. Depending on the length of
roasting and degree of fermentation, the fragrance can range from floral to fruity and malty.
 4. Firing and Drying

Drying is the final stage of tea making. During drying, moisture is removed from the fermented
leaf particles in a suitable chamber by vaporizing water in a stream of hot air as a carrier fluid.
Drying is a simultaneous process of heat and mass transfer: gain in temperature or heat, loss of
moisture or mass. Heated air in adequate quantity is the most convenient medium for the transfer
of heat and mass during the drying of tea. We leave the dulls inside 1 drier for about 20 minutes.
The goal of drying tea is twofold: one, to stop fermentation and to set desirable properties.
Second, remove moisture from leaf particles and obtain a stable end product that can be handled
and transported.

In the current design, the dryer is located on the pressure side of the fan, but in previous versions
the fans sucked air through the dryer. The fermented leaf is dropped into the upper tray of the
dryer by means of a conveyor. The leaf particles that fall on the perforated tray pass through the
dryer through the mobile trap. At the end of each tray level, the sheet is dropped to the tray
immediately below. The hot air is sent from the bottom of the dryer and is made to flow up
through the perforations.
 Fluid bed dryer

ECP chamber dryer

Although each type of tea has a different taste, smell, and visual appearance, tea processing for
all tea types consists of a very similar set of methods with only minor variations. Without careful
moisture and temperature control during its manufacture and life thereafter, fungi will grow on
tea.