Step 1: Harvesting - Leaves are individually handpicked, which is really tedious. Three people working during the entire afternoon can result to about 600g worth of tea.
Step 2: Drying under the sun - Leaves are placed on these huge bilaos then put out under the sun. They have to be level so that the leaves receive equal amount of sunlight and smell better. They can't be put out when the sun's too hot or the leaves will dry up too much.
Step 3: Mixing by hand - Uncle says the leaves smell sweeter after drying them under the sun and letting them rest. The leaves are combined in manageable amounts and gently mixed by hand. They are then spread out evenly "to sleep" and let them dry completely. Uncle waits for about two hours before the next process.
Step 4: Mixing by machine- The leaves are placed in this machine that evenly mixes the leaves to make it ferment. Uncle said something about keeping it at a certain temperature for this type of tea. This step is done about 3 times with varying periods of time.
Step 5: Compressing - The tea leaves come out warm and a bit moist after the mixing, so Uncle waits for a some time before putting it under this machine which lightly presses and rolls the leaves in the bag. He says it's to make the leaves look nicer.
Step 6: Roasting - The leaves are screened by hand to remove the oversized or overdried ones then placed inside the oven for 2-3 hours at around 80 degrees to remove the moisture.
Helping Uncle make tea is more tiring than I expected. I even accidentally hurt myself with the bilaos. >.<
We also had some interesting customers today... e.g. old people who act young. I was surprised to see some women in their 60s with red hair and flashy clothes... who turn out to be dance instructors. LOL and there was another group who kept using the basketball machine and couldn't breathe properly after 2 games. ㅋㅋ
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| Filipino Dinner Lechon Paksiw, Dinuguan (c/o Goldilocks Pinoy Deli) |
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