Buildings

Date 2015/11/5 0:00:00 | Topic: ARTICLE



Belt Driven Exhaust Fan

To allow effective indoor cross-ventilation in the withering zone, four fans were installed on the NS-oriented walls on the second floor. As such, outdoor air can be drawn in, enabling cross-ventilation. The purpose is to facilitate cross-ventilation, and the cycle of airflow helps exhaust excessive hot air, achieving regulated temperature to facilitate leaf withering.

Withering Trough
With the thermal energy available at the skylight, the dryer draws in the rising hot air through the front fan to wither the leaves in the withering trough with heated air, so as to achieve hastened tea leaf withering.

Skylight, Slats
The skylight works to provide a channel for the heated air produced by the dryer to rise. Not only does it deal with the sultriness caused by the heated air of tea production, but it can also help to provide heated air for withering by re-using the generated thermal energy, thereby improving efficiency. It is lined by window blinds with slats, which allows opening and closing adjustment by tea makers to control the temperature.

Old Blue Cypress Window Bar (90 degree)
In the early days, the blue window bar, which can be rotated at a 90 degree angle for opening, was installed to speed up the tea leaf withering process by guiding the airflow into the room, and emitting a large amount of heated air with the help of the large exhaust fans, achieving improved leaf withering efficiency.

Tea Withering Net

The nets are suspended from the truss. By spreading the tea leaves evenly on the net, the flowing air facilitates the evaporation of excessive moisture in the tea leaves. Also, the macerated leaves are more resilient to breakages when they are handled in the successive procedures. As the leaves continue to dry out, the aroma of tea becomes ever more vibrant.

151 criss-crossed trusses (old cypress)
Following the fire in 1956, these were restored with the assistance of sappers. There are a total of 151 criss-crossed trusses. The sappers' construction method emphasizes speediness, sturdiness, and durability. In addition to incorporating the use of tenons and mortises, iron supports were also used to reinforce the structure. The application of tenons and mechanical structures creates a visual effect that is stunningly beautiful.

Safe from the Japanese colonial period (cashbox)

Materials used for the safe include a brass handle and iron shells (three shells in total).

Only after the three Japanese combination lock and a camouflaged lock are opened is the sycamore cabinet revealed. The space between the layers of the safe is filled with sand to increase its weight, giving it an anti-theft feature. The inner layer has not yet been opened. What treasures are hidden inside? It is still a mystery.

Tea leaf cutting machine
The cutting machine is used to cut tea leaves that are too thick or coarse into the appropriate sizes to facilitate the subsequent sorting process.

Packaging Machine
When the tea leaves are being packaged, vibration is applied at the same time to allow the tea leaves to be densely packed in a very short time without applying any pressure.

Winnowing Machine
As every object is of a different weight, size, shape and wind blocking surface, tea leaf blowing is practiced to sort out the main products, by-products, fanning, and dust.

 

Cypress Withering Shelves
The purpose of spreading the tea leaves on the withering shelves is to reduce the moisture and the grassy smell within the leaves to allow the release of scents and aroma. The withering shelves that Daxi Tea Factory uses are mostly cypress ones made to cope with the large volume of exports in those years. The cypress withering shelves are of excellent quality, and are still in use today while showing the signs of aging.

Objects in the Historic Site
So far, Daxi Tea Factory has retained the traces of more than six decades, including articles such as accounting books, brief documents submitted to superiors, contracts of sale, the red bricks of the Japanese Colonial Period, business invoices, stamps, tea-related goods, and so on. Each article carries with it an evocative sentiment of the bygone days.

First Generation Tea Bag Packaging Machine
In 1975, the first automatic tea bag packaging machine was manufactured in Germany. This is the first generation tea bag packaging machine, and it is now 40 years old.

Leaf Searing Room
The main purpose of leaf searing is to rapidly increase the leaves' internal temperature to deactivate the enzyme polyphenol oxidase, preventing further oxidation and retaining and stabilizing the aroma and flavor of the tea leaves. Also, as the leaves' moisture is largely lost after the searing process, the macerated leaves facilitate rolling into twists and initial drying stage.

Oxidation Room
Oxidation refers to the chemical reaction of the polyphenols in the tea leaves with the polyphenol oxidase and oxigen. This is also one of the most important steps in black tea manufacture. Therefore it needs to be carried out in a purpose built oxidation room, where the humidity, temperature, and the airflow can be controlled. As the time, temperature and humidity required for the oxidation process vary according to the type of tea, a tea maker needs to determine whether the oxidation is complete from the color and the aroma of the tea leaves in the last stage.

Rolling Hopper

The withered tea leaves are collected and placed next to the hopper, which is situated above the roller. The leaves are fed to the hopper, and the rolling process begins by going through the cloth pocket within.




This article comes from DAXITEA
https://www.daxitea.com/en

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