Tea Plucking Methods and Techniques

Tea is an ancient and popular beverage consumed all over the world. The tea plant is usually harvested by hand or machine using a variety of methods. The method of harvesting tea is an important factor that affects the quality, yield, and economic benefits of tea. This article will explore the two main methods of tea harvesting: plucking by hand and plucking by machine.

Plucking tea by hand is a traditional method that can be divided into four ways: Zhe Cai, Ti Shou Cai, Shuang Shou Cai, and Ge Cai. Zhe Cai involves breaking off the tea, Ti Shou Cai is the most common method and involves pulling the tea with the plucker grasping the tea shoot using the thumb and forefinger. Shuang Shou Cai involves plucking tea by both hands, and Ge Cai involves picking tea with simple tools. Hand-plucked tea is of high quality, with high requirements for raw materials such as one tea bud with one leaf or one tea bud with two leaves.

On the other hand, plucking tea by machine involves using a tea-picking machine that can harvest more than 1500kg per day. This method is labor-saving and can improve the efficiency of tea production, but it is only suitable for making cheap teas. There are strict requirements for the tea cultivar, garden cultivation and management, tea plant pruning, and other factors.

Tea plucking is the first step in the manufacturing process of tea and refers to the harvesting by hand of the tea plant. Effective tea plucking involves the ability to identify when the leaves of a particular tea plant have reached the desired level of maturity and making the effort to extract only those leaves. The exact procedure used in tea plucking will vary depending on the type of plant involved and the conditions in which the plants are cultivated.

In conclusion, plucking tea is a labor-intensive process that affects the quality, yield, and economic benefits of tea. The choice of the plucking method depends on various factors such as the quality of tea required, availability of labor, and tea plant variety.