How is it that some leaf turns out rolled and some flat while others are needle-shaped? Well, we saw it first-hand when we witnessed the very fine, artisanal manufacture of Longjing at Anhui Tea. We were able to see it in totality - from fresh leaf to the several specific drying techniques to the final shaping and flattening to give it the unique flat Longjing quality and appearance. The small-batch manufacture is true of most of the specialty tea manufactured here. We saw rollers that were tiny, sometimes used for making just 2 kgs. of leaf. This is unheard of in India where Rolling machines sometimes occupy space from floor to ceiling and workers climb on ladders to access the top.
