Tea Picking

Do you drink tea? Do you know how tea leaves are picked? Tea leaves and flushes are plucked from tea bushes twice a year, during early spring and early summer. In Malaysia, they are picked every three weeks.

A bud with two leaves is called a tea flush. When a higher quality tea is needed or where labour costs are not too expensive, hand-picking is done by pulling the flush with a snap of the wrist. Twisting or pinching the flush reduces the quality of the leaves. Tea flushes and leaves can also be picked by machine but there will be more broken leaves and partial flushes. It is also more difficult to harvest by machine on mountain slopes where tea is often grown.

Test Your Science

1. How is the quality of tea leaves being maintained during picking?

Discover the Uses of Tea Leaves in the Young Scientists Issue 112 Level 3.