Tea processing terms can be confusing. What is drying?
Drying is done to “finish” the tea for sale.
This can be done in a myriad of ways including panning, sunning, air drying, or baking.
Baking is usually the most common. Great care must be taken to not over-cook the leaves.
The drying of the produced tea is responsible for many new flavor compounds particularly important in green teas.
This content has been adapted from the book Your Path of Tea for Health of Body, Mind and Spirit by the late Thia McKann, Tea Master and Owner of The Path of Tea.