Improvements seen in summer and autumn tea leaves

By Yan Wanqin, Yichang International Communication Studio

The instant tea production line at Yichang Tea Group is operating at maximum capacity as workers are busy packaging and sealing bags of instant tea, soon be dispatched nationwide.

"At full production capacity, the output value can reach 50 million yuan a year," said Li Zuogen, deputy director of the instant tea workshop of Hubei Caihua Tea Industry Production department.

This also marks China’s first instant tea production line to employ the "bio-enzyme catalyzed tea polyphenol" technique, which involves introducing active enzymes to green tea, transforming it into black tea.

Compared to conventional fermentation methods, this process not only reduces production time but also enhances the tea's nutritional content.

"The instant black tea produced through this new method boasts over 50 percent higher theaflavin content and more than 30 percent higher thearubigin content compared to similar products. This results in improved productivity and product quality," said Qiu Andong, a tea R&D engineer at Yichang Tea Group's Technology Center.

These instant teas are made from summer and autumn tea leaves. Unlike spring tea, summer and autumn tea leaves tend to have a stronger bitter flavor, and typically sell at a lower price of about 5,000 yuan(US$684) per ton. 

But they also have advantages.

Qiu explained, "Summer and autumn tea leaves contain considerably higher levels of polyphenols compared to spring tea. Instant tea prioritizes the polyphenol content and overall product value, allowing us to overlook any shortcomings in appearance, aroma, and taste."

The production of instant tea is a multi-step process that goes beyond merely grinding tea leaves into a fine powder.

"It will go through six steps including hot water extraction, enzymatic digestion, membrane filtration and vacuum concentration to get a bottle of tea concentrate. After autoclaving and freeze-drying for two to three days, a bag of instant tea powder is finally obtained," said Fan Yueqin, a tea R&D engineer at Yichang Tea Group's Tea Technology Center.

According to Li, it takes four tons of summer and autumn tea leaves to produce one ton of instant tea. This means that an investment of 20,000 yuan (over US$2700) in raw materials can yield products worth 50,000 yuan (over US$6800).

Moreover, some companies are combining summer and autumn tea leaves with fruits and flowers to offer a more varied and appealing tea experience to younger consumers.

"Currently, a single product on the Douyin platform is selling over one million units per month, and we anticipate using up to 1,000 tons of tea leaves this year," said Qin Longping, general manager of Xudan Biotechnology.