Tea Drying Mechanized:
Up in the mountains there are many drying houses which have mechanized dryers. Profits are increased by selling the dried tea and it also gives the villagers a chance to earn some money.
Tea drying is an art. There are many ways to dry tea depending on the type of leaf but the first step is usually some time on the floor to slowly reduce water content.
There are usually 2 to 4 drying machines at a drying house.
The leaves below are not prized spring leaves. They are much larger and have opened. They are floor dried first then more water is drawn in the dryer but not all the water content. The leaves generally go into a "crusher" to break the leave but not rip it apart. The leaf and veins are cracked and opened to expose the internal water. After crushing the leaves with go through smaller driers a number of times depending on the quality of leaf.
Internal view of a typical dryer. The veins move the leaves down the drying barrel and onto the floor on the back side of the dryer.
Tea "crusher". Tea is put into the top pot and pressed down by the spring loaded lid which keeps a constant downward pressure on the leaves. The pot rotates over the veins on the stand crushing the leaves but not fully. The veins cause the contents of the pot to churn. This step breakes the leaf veins to aid in water content reduction in the dryers. Water is not removed totally in any single step but slowly in multiple steps.
