When you open a bag of loose-leaf tea, your eyes instinctively look for clues. Long twisted leaves give an impression of care. Silver tips can evoke a fine harvest. Conversely, a tea composed of smaller fragments sometimes appears less prestigious.

This first impression is not entirely useless, but it can be misleading.

Before reaching your cup, the leaves have often undergone a discreet but essential step: sorting.

This operation is not simply used to put the "beautiful" leaves on one side and the "bad" ones on the other. Above all, it allows for the creation of more homogeneous batches, the separation of different leaf sizes, and the adaptation of the final product to different uses or markets.

To understand this step, we must go back to the end of production.

Production is not quite finished after drying

After picking, the leaves can undergo several transformations: withering, rolling, optional oxidation, fixation depending on the type of tea, and then drying.

You might think that once the leaves are dry, the tea is ready to be packaged.

In reality, the resulting batch can be very heterogeneous.

It can contain:

• relatively whole leaves;
• partially broken leaves;
• small fragments;
• tips;
• stems;
• finer particles resulting from processing.

These differences do not necessarily mean that the work was poorly done.

They may simply result from rolling, mechanical handling, the natural fragility of certain leaves, or the desired manufacturing style.

Sorting then takes place to organize this material.

Sorting does not simply mean choosing the "beautiful" leaves

In everyday language, the word "sorting" often evokes a qualitative selection: we would keep what is good and discard what is not.

In tea production, the reality is more nuanced.

A major part of sorting consists of physically separating the leaves according to their size, shape, or condition.

The goal is to produce more uniform fractions.

Two particles of very different sizes do not behave exactly the same way when they encounter hot water. The more fragmented a leaf is, the greater the proportion of its material that is directly exposed to the water.

Sorting therefore allows not only to create commercial categories, but also to obtain batches whose behavior during infusion is relatively homogeneous.

Screening: separating leaves by size

One of the most common methods consists of passing the tea through different screens.

The principle is simple: each screen allows particles smaller than a certain dimension to pass through and retains those that are larger.

By repeating the operation with several sizes, we gradually obtain different fractions.

Modern equipment can be mechanical and process large quantities, but the principle remains close to that of a traditional screen: separating by physical dimension.

Depending on the production, other operations may complement screening: stem separation, removal of undesirable materials, optical sorting, or manual inspection.

The level of sophistication varies greatly between a small artisanal production and a large industrial unit.

Whole leaves, broken leaves, fannings, and dusts

When tea is separated by size, we can find several major families of fractions.

In certain classifications of black tea, we distinguish notably:

• whole leaves;
• broken leaves, often referred to by the English term broken;
• fannings, consisting of smaller particles;
• dusts, even finer.

These words can be impressive because they give the impression of an absolute hierarchy.

However, they first describe the physical shape of the product.

A whole leaf and a smaller fragment can come from the same initial batch, before being separated during sorting.

To understand the logic of grades in detail: discover Tsuru No. 012 — Tea Grades .

Why does size change the infusion?

This is where sorting becomes particularly interesting for the tea preparer.

When a leaf comes into contact with hot water, different soluble compounds begin to migrate into the infusion.

The smaller the particle, the greater its accessible surface area relative to its volume, and the shorter the path that certain compounds must travel to reach the water.

This generally promotes a faster extraction.

Experimental studies on tea have shown that reducing particle size increases the infusion speed and can lead to a faster extraction of compounds such as polyphenols, caffeine, or certain soluble sugars.

This explains why some highly fragmented teas quickly produce an intense liquor.

Conversely, a large whole leaf may require more time to fully release some of its soluble substances.

This phenomenon does not, however, mean that one is better than the other.

It simply means that they do not extract at the same speed.

To go further on what really passes from the leaf to the water: Tsuru No. 035 — What Really Extracts During Infusion .

Is a small leaf worse?

No.

This is probably one of the most important ideas to remember.

The size of the leaf after processing is not a universal measure of quality.

A small particle can come from:

• an excellent batch that has simply been fragmented;
• a deliberate manufacturing style;
• a naturally brittle leaf;
• a process intended to produce a quick and full-bodied infusion.

Conversely, a large whole leaf can be visually spectacular while producing a mediocre cup.

The quality of a tea depends on many factors:

• the raw material;
• the cultivar;
• the terroir;
• the harvest season;
• the precision of processing;
• freshness;
• storage;
• and of course the result in the cup.

The size of the leaves is therefore one clue among others.

Sorting above all allows for the creation of homogeneous batches

Imagine a tea containing equal parts of long whole leaves and very small fragments.

At the time of infusion, the small particles would begin to quickly release their compounds, while the large leaves would continue to open more gradually.

The cup could become difficult to reproduce.

By separating these different sizes, the producer or trader can create more consistent batches.

This homogeneity is important for obtaining a relatively stable profile from one preparation to the next.

This does not make the leaves identical, but it limits the most significant variations.

Can sorting be manual?

Yes.

Depending on the regions, production volumes, and product range, some operations can still be carried out manually.

People can remove stems, select certain leaves, or visually inspect the result.

But when large quantities need to be processed, mechanical operations obviously become more efficient.

Vibrating screens, airflows, separators, and optical systems can be used to quickly sort large quantities of tea.

In any case, the principle remains the same: to obtain a product that corresponds to the desired characteristics for the final batch.

What happens to what is separated?

The idea that everything that is not a beautiful whole leaf ends up in the trash is largely false.

The different fractions can have different uses.

Some can be used for loose-leaf teas, others for blends, and the fine fractions can be particularly suited to preparations where a quick infusion is desired.

Classic tea bags often use relatively fine particles precisely because they diffuse quickly in a small amount of water and over a short infusion time.

Once again, use must not be confused with an absolute hierarchy.

What you can observe in your own bag

Observing dry tea can teach you a lot, provided you do not turn this observation into an immediate verdict.

You can look at:

• the general uniformity of the leaves;
• their average size;
• the amount of fragments;
• the possible presence of tips;
• the proportion of stems;
• the color and general appearance of the batch.

A very homogeneous batch can testify to thorough sorting.

But a more irregular tea is not necessarily bad, especially in certain artisanal productions.

The real answer will always come from the infusion.

Why does rolling influence what we find during sorting?

Before sorting, the leaves have often been rolled or shaped.

This step changes their structure, their shape, and sometimes their degree of fragmentation.

Some methods seek to keep the leaves relatively whole, while others cause more breakage.

The final sorting is therefore also a reflection of what happened earlier in production.

To understand this step: Tsuru No. 010 — Why do we roll the leaves?

And drying?

A still-damp leaf would be too fragile and unstable to be stored for a long time.

Drying greatly reduces its moisture and allows the product to be stabilized before the final sorting and packaging operations.

It also influences the texture of the leaf: once dry, it can become brittle, which partly explains the natural formation of fragments during handling.

To go deeper: Tsuru No. 011 — Why do we dry and roast the leaves?

In summary

Sorting tea after its processing allows for the separation of fractions of different sizes and the creation of more homogeneous batches.

This step can use screens, mechanical systems, or manual inspection depending on the production.

Whole leaves, broken leaves, fannings, and finer particles do not behave exactly the same way during infusion.

Small particles generally tend to extract more quickly, while large leaves can release their compounds more gradually.

But none of these characteristics is sufficient to determine, on its own, the quality of a tea.

A leaf can be classified by its size.
Its quality, however, reveals itself in the cup.