Orthodox Tea

It is very common in the west. Orthodox teas have the appearance of a leaf either whole or broken and are distinctly different from CTC teas which tend to be in the form of round globules. Like the other teas, the process of producing orthodox black tea begins with picking of the top three leaf and a bud. The leaf is then brought to the factory where it is dried on ventilated trays until the teas loose some moisture and become limp. These limp leaves are then gently rolled under mechanical rollers to break them and bring out their juices and oils (good black tea feels quite oily to touch).
The exact time of rolling is determined by the size of the leaf. Rolling induces fermentation of the leaf, and when the leaf is judged to be appropriately fermented, the process is slowed by allowing the leaves to cool off on ventilated trays. Finally, the fermentation process is stopped by drying the teas under hot blowers, at which point the tea leaves turn from reddish hue to black. The teas are then passed through various sieves to grade them.
Within Orthodox tea, varying on the degree of fermentation, the processed tea is called White (steamed), Green (least fermented), Oolong (semi-fermented) and Black (fully fermented). Oolong, in Chinese, means black dragon or black snake.

It is very common in the west. Orthodox teas have the appearance of a leaf either whole or broken