The land of tea

We are in the land of tea. Everywhere you go or walk around our village, you come across tea plantations, smaller ones and really big ones. This week we had the opportunity to visit the nearby tea factory and see the entire process from start to finish. We also had the chance to ask any questions we wanted to, and they were happy to answer us. The factory is owned by the many tea farmers in the area, and they elect a board of eight members who make all major decisions concerning the production. The farmers also share the profit made each year between them, and the whole process seemed very democratic. From top left and going clockwise in the picture: 1: The fresh tea leaves are brought to the factory every day in large bag, each containing 10-12 kg og tea leaves. 2: Me, Joyce and the supervisor. The tea leaves are spread out to dry for 16 hours, in order to remove some of the moisture inside the leaves. 3: Crushing the tea leaves several times, to activate some chemicals that is already inside the tea which will make the tea taste as tea later. Nothing is added. 4: The tea is left for 1,5 hours and during that time it changes colour from green to brown. This is because of the chemicals in the tea. 5: The tea is dried inside a big heater to stop the process of maturing, if that is the right word. It is quite similar to wine I suppose. 6: The tea is "washed", they called it. Cleaning it might be another word for it. 7: The tea is sorted into different qualities, depending on how fine it is or how clean. This is tea ready to be put in water 8: The manager, our driver, our coordinator, me and our factory guide outside the building. 9: A great cup of tea!