Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Tea Trail Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have also shared the questions and answers of The Last Leaf, The Luncheon, The Brook, The Inchcape Rock and Where Love Is God Is so, you can check these posts as well.
The Tea Trail Questions & Answers
Question 1: Complete the following:
(a) Tea is got from a particular plant called the Camellia sinensis.
(b) High-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations of up to 1500 m above sea level.
(c) The chlorophyll in the tea leaves lessens during withering.
(d) The tea leaves are sorted on a roller.
(e) The dryer can dry six hundred kilos of tea leaves in an hour.
Question 2: Why are tea bushes planted during the monsoon season?
Answer: The tea bushes are planted during the monsoon season because they grow very quickly during this season.
Question 3: How are tea leaves cultivated and taken care of?
Answer: High-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations of up to 1,500m above sea level during the monsoon as they grow very quickly, leading to a high produce. Pesticides are applied regularly to keep the tea bushes healthy.
Question 4: When are the tea leaves plucked, by whom and how?
Answer: Tea leaves are plucked almost throughout the year. Hundreds of women, with expertise and care, pluck only the top leaves and the unopened buds. Each woman plucks about twenty-one kilograms of tea leaves in a day. The plucked leaves are transported to a tea processing factory.
Question 5: Read the lines and answer the questions:
(a) Which stage of tea manufacturing makes CTC tea?
Answer: The shredding stage of tea manufacturing makes CTC tea.
(b) What happens when the tea leaves are passed through the rollers?
Answer: The tea leaves are turned into black granular pellets when they pass through the rollers.
(c) What role do rollers play?
Answer: The rollers crush, tear and curl the tea leaves.
The Tea Trail Questions & Answers
Question 6: What is the importance of drying or firing stage in the tea processing?
Answer: When the tea leaves go into the dryer, it reduces the content of moisture in the tea to only 2%. The dryer can dry six hundred kilos of tea leaves in an hour.
Question 7: Describe the process of ‘oxidation’.
Answer: For the process of oxidation, tea leaves are laid on the floor in thin layers of 5 to 8 centimetres. The oxygen in the air acts upon the leaves. Oxidation gives the tea its rich coppery brown colour, strong flavour and health benefits. Tea will not turn out well if it is under or over oxidised. The time taken for oxidation depends on the temperature and weather conditions. In the monsoon, tea takes longer to oxidise, while in summer, it takes a shorter time.
Question 8: Explain the process of Winnowing.
Answer: Winnowing is when air blows away impurities like dust. Tea leaves are winnowed to separate the denser and lighter particles of tea. The denser particles are packaged. The lighter particles are added to non-premium tea in the next processing cycle. During the withering stage, tea leaves are gently and evenly laid out on a mesh in a trough. Air is passed through the leaves to dry them. This process removes about 80% of the surface moisture.
Question 9: What happens during the process of sifting and sorting?
Answer: In the process of sifting and sorting, tea is sorted on a roller which removes pieces of tough stalk and fibre. Then, the dust and leaf are separated into grades of various shapes and sizes. This depends on how the tea will be sold. The finest will go into tea bags and the larger ones will be packed in loose leaf tea packets. This results in a slightly different flavour to the final cup of tea.
Question 10: List the steps in order to show how tea is processed.
Answer:
1. Withering
2. Shredding
3. Oxidation
4. Drying or Firing
5. Sifting or Sorting
6. Winnowing
7. Packaging
So, these were The Tea Trail Questions & Answers.