What Happens During Tea Fermentation
Tea fermentation refers to a chemical reaction in which the main reaction, catechins, forms most of the color and taste after oxidation, and at the same time the related components are oxidized and cracked to form aromas.
Tea fermentation determines the quality style of tea. The main benefits are as follows:
——The color changes. Unfermented tea leaves are green in color and are basically natural. The high temperature during processing will also oxidize and degrade some of the chlorophyll, resulting in a yellowish leaf color.
The fermented tea leaves will change to the red direction due to the light or heavy fermentation degree, the heavier the red. Its soup color is roughly the same as the leaf color. So watching tea soup can basically guess the degree of fermentation of tea.
——The fragrance changes. The aroma of tea, due to the gradual increase of fermentation, will roughly evolve as follows: fresh fragrance → floral fragrance → nut fragrance → ripe fruit fragrance → sugar fragrance. The aroma of different teas will be formed and highlighted under certain process standard conditions during processing.
——The taste changed. The less fermented tea, the closer to its original flavor, the most prominent is the bitterness; on the contrary, the bitterness is getting lower and lower, and the taste is more and more mellow.
Fermentation of tea leaves to the extent required for quality style requires the termination of fermentation. It is usually done by killing or drying.
The exception is post-fermented black tea. After the initial production is completed, it will rely on microorganisms for a long time in the future, and it will continue to slowly promote fermentation. Therefore, most of the fermentation of black tea has been in progress.
Fermentation of tea leaves and the degree of fermentation not only have a huge benefit on product quality and style, but also have different benefits on the health of the body.
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