CTC
CTC is the manufacturing method behind most of the tea sold in bags rather than loose. Developed in the 1950s as the teabag itself was taking off, it does on purpose what orthodox manufacture tries to avoid: break the leaf down into small, uniform particles.
What it is
Named for its three working steps, the withered leaf is crushed, torn and curled between two toothed rollers turning at different speeds in opposite directions, producing much smaller pieces than an orthodox roller. An LTP machine, a rotating hammer-mill, is sometimes used instead of or alongside the rollers to the same end.
Where you meet it
Behind the great majority of ordinary black teabags worldwide, and the dominant method across much of East Africa. Its own fannings and dust grades, led by PF 1, are what fill most of those bags.
How to read it
Read CTC as a deliberate choice for speed and strength, not a shortcut. The small particle size it produces is exactly what a teabag needs for a quick, strong, coloury cup.
A common mistake
Assuming CTC tea is inherently worse than orthodox tea. The two methods are built for different outcomes, a quick strong cup against a slower, more delicate one, and CTC does its own job well rather than doing the orthodox job badly.
Sources
- CTC stands for crush, tear, curl: two toothed rollers move at different speeds in opposite directions, and the leaf moves continuously between them, producing smaller pieces than the orthodox roller. Willson & Clifford, eds., Tea: Cultivation to Consumption (Chapman & Hall, 1992)
- the CTC method was developed in the 1950s as the teabag was becoming more popular, giving a small-leafed tea that brews quickly and yields a strong liquor. Pettigrew & Richardson, Tea Classified (2008)