The provided flowchart illustrates the various stages involved in transforming raw tea leaves into five distinct types of tea: white, green, oolong, large leaf black, and small leaf black tea. Overall, while all tea production begins with leaf growth and plucking, the subsequent processing steps vary significantly, particularly regarding fermentation and mechanical treatment, which ultimately define the final product.
All five varieties undergo initial leaf growth, plucking, and wilting. Following this, the processes diverge. White tea is unique in that it proceeds directly from wilting to oven drying. Green tea, conversely, requires steaming after wilting, followed by rolling and then oven drying.
For the remaining varieties, the process is more complex. Oolong tea involves rolling after wilting, followed by a stage of slight fermentation before being oven-dried. In contrast, both large and small leaf black teas undergo crushing after wilting, followed by a stage of full fermentation. Finally, these black teas are oven-dried to produce the finished product. The distinction between the two black teas appears to be determined by the size of the leaf used during the crushing and subsequent stages.