C.T.C
Cut, Tear and Curl describes a machine which literally cuts, tears and curls the withered leaf, breaking the leaf veins. This releases the juices or enzymes of the leaf and completes the second stage of manufacture. Today, CTC tea, or Unorthodox tea is applied to all types of manufacture other than Orthodox. It is used in the second stage of manufacture where the tea leaves are broken into particles before fermentation and drying.

Drying
See firing.

Fermentation
The tea trade term for the third stage of tea manufacture whereby the leaf enzymes oxidise on contact with air. The broken and crushed leaf is laid out on trays or in troughs and slowly as oxidisation takes place, change from green to a rusty brown colour. For black tea oxidisation period can take up to four hours, for a semi-fermented tea the leaf is fired or dried before oxidisation is c