# Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1050/2011 of 20 October 2011 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Darjeeling (PGI)), Division 3.5: Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

The plucking of Darjeeling tea begins at the end of February/early March and ends by mid-November depending on the weather conditions and the ambient temperature; the cold winter months of December to February are a period of dormancy. A Darjeeling tea bush yields only 50 to 100 g of made tea in a year. The plucking of Darjeeling tea is a special skill/technique, which is a traditional knowledge transferred from generation to generation. The plucking is mainly done by highly skilled women workers because the green leaves require soft handling with care to retain its quality.
After harvesting, the Darjeeling tea leaves are processed in the traditional orthodox method only in the typical/Darjeeling Style of manufacture in the factories situated within the specified gardens within the defined Darjeeling tea growing area only. The traditional skill/knowledge is passed on by generation and is involved in every step of the processing. The inherently sensitive nature of the finely plucked, green leaf responds best to gentle treatment. Although differing leaf varieties require intricate variations in processing, the stages followed are uniform.
Processing of the Darjeeling tea takes place in the factories situated only within the notified tea gardens. The drying, sorting, grading and bulk packing of the Darjeeling tea takes place exclusively in the factories situated within the area of the notified tea gardens. It is important to note that no processing takes place outside the tea gardens.
Therefore, all steps of production of tea (harvesting, drying and processing) take place in the defined areas.
Once the leaf reaches the factory, it is ‘withered’. The objective of withering is to evaporate the moisture from the green leaves slowly over a period of 14 to 16 hours. The leaf shrinks and becomes soft so that it can withstand twisting and rolling mechanically. The brew characteristics also begin to develop following physical and chemical changes within the leaf structure.
The green leaves are segregated and spread evenly on wire mesh screens fitted over specially designed ‘troughs’ which resemble very long wooden boxes. Each trough is an air chamber which enables fresh dry air to be passed in a regulated manner through the green leaves until the desired ‘wither’ is achieved. Approximately, 75 % of the water content in the fresh green leaf is evaporated at this stage.
The withered leaf is then removed from the trough and loaded and twisted in the rolling machines, which, by subjecting the withered leaf to a rolling movement under pressure, twist the leaf, rupture the cells and release natural juices, promoting oxidation and accelerating pigmentation. Rolling pressures and sequences are very meticulously supervised to ensure that the optimum style is imparted, without the detrimental effect of overheating.
Next, the leaf is thinly spread in a cool, well-ventilated room to slowly oxidise (ferment). This stage, in which the flavanols combine with oxygen in the air, extends over a period ranging from 2 to 4 hours, mainly depending on ambient temperature and relative humidity. An experienced tea maker judges at regular intervals the extent of quality development from the fragrance progressively expressed by the leaf. This sensory judgment is critical to the quality of the infused brew. For the visitor, the rich floral aroma emanating from a Darjeeling rolling and fermenting (oxidisation) room is heady and definitely unforgettable.
Once optimum fermentation (oxidisation) has been achieved, the oxidised leaf is taken for roasting (or drying) to arrest further fermentation (oxidisation) by deactivating the enzymes, and to remove almost all of the remaining moisture in the leaf. The Tea Dryer is a chamber which exposes the fermented (Oxidised) leaf to hot dry air at regulated, varying temperatures within its parts, for a duration of 20 to 30 minutes. A good roast reduces moisture content in the final product to about less than 2 %, resulting in crisp dry tea which is then graded through vibrating sieves according to size. These grades are finally invoiced packed in lots/batches in foil lined packages designed to retain freshness and quality over an extended period of time.
After final grading has been completed, nomenclatures are assigned according to the size of the grade. These falls into three categories:
(a) Whole Leaf — FTGOP — Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe;
(b) Brokens — TGBOP — Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe;
(c) Fannings — GOF — Golden Orange Fannings.
The major difference between the three categories is in the size.
Orange Pekoe is a term mainly used to describe a grade found in the grading system of the same name used for sorting black teas. The system is based solely upon the size of the processed and dried black tea leaves.
The above gradations relate only to the size of the whole leaf after processing and not to quality differentiations. All grades are the product of the same green leaf. The nomenclatures are used to differentiate the grade of made tea according to the size of the tea leaves after processing.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/1050/annex/II/division/SINGLE/division/3/division/3.5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2011-1050/annex-II/division-SINGLE/division-3/division-3.5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.