The beautiful & scenic plantation in the Nilgiri Hills which feeds the Organic bouTEAque Factory.

A tour of the unique Organic bouTEAque Factory.

The process of tea manufacture starts with the pluckers (mostly women) harvesting the leaf.

A closer look at the deft hand movements of the pluckers as they take the flush off the bushes.

Approximately 12 hours after being spread out, the now withered leaf is lifted off the troughs.

A comprehensive overview of the rolling room operation and handling of the 'kutcha' (literally 'raw') leaf, till the point where the sifted ‘Fines’ go into the fermentation room.

The withered leaf from the troughs is fed into 'rolling tables' where the mechanical circular motion wrings and twists the leaf, rupturing the cell walls so that the concentrated and viscous sap is wrung out, starting the process of oxidation.

Following the rolling sequence, the sodden leaf is discharged through a hatch and passes over a sifter for the 'Fines' to be separated from the larger leaf particles. The larger bulk is conveyorised for a second round of rolling.

The cell walls having been lacerated, the natural process of oxidation commences which process is speeded up in the humid conditions in the fermentation (a misnomer really) room where the leaf takes on a coppery brown colour.

The fully fermented (oxidised) leaf undergoes firing (drying) which reduces the moisture to 3-5% making the dried tea a stable product.

Details of the leaf travelling through the ECP (endless chain process) dryer to drop out at the discharge end with a moisture content of 3-5%.

Passing over a series of different size screens, the dried leaf bulk is graded into evenly sized particles which are universally recognised and accepted as standard grades of tea.

Different batches of the same grade are 'bulked' (mixed) to create a homogenous single batch which is then packed in multiwall paper sacks.

The packed multiwall paper sacks being loaded in lorries for despatch to the auction centre.