The impact of mechanization of tea harvesting on the quality of south indian CTC teas

The chemical quality parameters and sensory evaluation of black teas changed with method of plucking. Hand-plucked teas were very rich in their green-leaf biochemical precursors and had higher contents of made-tea quality constituents than shear-plucked teas. The quality deterioration was mainly due to mechanical injury and non-selective plucking with shear-harvesting. However, tea obtained by shear-harvesting from a continuously sheared field over a prolonged period was found to be superior. The use of shears reduced the yield and increased the plucking average with a net decrease in cost of production compared to hand plucking.