withering

In tea processing, withering is the initial stage where freshly plucked leaves lose moisture, becoming flaccid. This process is crucial for black tea production, where it prepares the leaf for subsequent steps like rolling, fermentation, and drying. The goal is to reduce the leaf's moisture content from 70-80% to 55-70%.1

Traditionally, leaves were spread thinly on trays for 18-20 hours. Modern methods use mechanized systems like trough, drum, or tunnel withering, which significantly reduce processing time. However, faster mechanical methods can sometimes reduce the quality by limiting chemical changes within the leaf, such as the breakdown of proteins and carbohydrates into simpler amino acids and sugars.1