170 



The World's Commercial Products 



FERMENTING THE LEAF 



which are generally situated on the ground floor. The object of the rolling process is, 

 firstly, to bruise the leaves so as to allow the leaf juices to become mixed, and, secondly, to 

 impart a twist or curl to the leaf. The rolling machines consist essentially of a table with 

 a central depression to hold the leaf and a hopper above it, the two moving one over the other 

 with an eccentric motion. Any required degree of pressure can be put upon the mass of leaf 

 that is being rolled, and at the end of about an hour the door in the bottom of the machine 

 opens and the roll falls out, the twisted leaves, which have become somewhat yellowish, clinging 

 together in masses which are broken up in a machine known as a " roll breaker " ; a " sifter," 

 which separates the coarser leaf from the finer, is usually attached to the breaker. The next 

 process, the fermentation process, is one of the most important in tea manufacture; for on its 

 efficient accomplishment depends to a large extent the quality and character of the tea. Fur- 

 ther, the omission after this stage in the manufacture results in the formation of " green " 

 teas, which formerly enjoyed' great popularity. In the preparation of black teas, then, 

 the rolled leaf is piled in drawers one above the other or on mats, and then left to 

 ferment or oxidise, air being allowed free access. The process occupies a varying length 

 of time according to the particular garden and the condition of the weather. During 

 the fermentation the leaf emits a peculiar odour and changes colour, and after about 

 two hours, when the right degree of copper-brown colour has been attained, the leaf is " fired " 

 in the drying machines, the heat arresting all further fermentation. In many factories the 

 leafjjis re-rolled previous to firing. Besides the checking of the fermentation, the object of the 



