← Tea guide

Withering - the first step from which every tea begins

Every tea in the world, whatever the kind, begins with the same, seemingly dull step: the wilting of the leaf. In English it is called withering, and it looks like the ordinary resting of freshly picked leaves, which lose their firmness and soften. But that is only appearance. Withering is not passive waiting but the active start of the whole transformation of leaf into tea. During it the leaf loses water, enzymes wake within it, and sugars and aromatic compounds begin to form. It is the foundation on which the later stages only build. The time of withering varies greatly: white tea withers for as much as three days, black tea only a dozen-odd hours. Here is a guide to withering: what it is, why it is not only the loss of water and how the first step shapes the flavour of tea.

What withering is

Withering is the first stage of tea processing, present in almost all of its kinds. It consists of spreading freshly picked leaves in a thin layer and leaving them to gradually lose water and soften. Firm, fresh shoots become flaccid as the moisture in them decreases. This looks like ordinary resting, but its role is far deeper: withering not only evaporates water but sets in motion the inner system of the leaf. It is the moment at which the leaf, from raw material, begins to become tea. Almost every kind of tea begins with this step, though its length and intensity differ. Understanding that withering is the active start of transformation, and not passive waiting, is the starting point for all the rest: the loss of water, the waking of enzymes and the creation of flavour.

The loss of water

The most visible effect of withering is the loss of water by the leaf. The process lowers the water content by as much as half, and the firm shoots become flaccid as the moisture falls from about seventy or eighty percent to roughly sixty or seventy. This loss of water is not a goal in itself but a preparation. A wilted, soft leaf is far easier for further processing: rolling, shaping or crushing, which on a fresh, firm leaf would not succeed, because it would break. Withering therefore makes the leaf pliable for the next steps. It is the practical, mechanical side of the process: without the loss of part of the water, further processing would be impossible. But if withering came down to this alone, it would be ordinary drying. Its true meaning lies in what happens inside the leaf, invisible to the eye.

Waking the enzymes

At the heart of withering is that it not only evaporates water but also sets in motion the inner system of the leaf. Light, especially ultraviolet light, acts on the leaf and changes the conditions in its cells, activating a whole range of enzymes. These enzymes are indispensable for the later reactions, including oxidation, which divides teas into green, oolong and black. Crucially, if the enzymes are not sufficiently woken at this stage, the later processes will not proceed properly. This is why withering is so important: it lays the biochemical foundation for everything that comes after. Without properly conducted withering the leaf would not have its tools ready for further transformation. Waking the enzymes is the invisible but decisive role of this step. It is the moment at which the leaf is prepared for the reactions that will only then give it the character of a given tea.

Creating sugars and aromas

During withering, transformations that build flavour also take place in the leaf. Complex sugars, that is polysaccharides, begin to break down into simple sugars, like glucose and fructose, giving sweetness. The content of free amino acids also rises, including glutamic acid and theanine, responsible for umami and depth. The profile of aromatic compounds changes too: those giving a poorer, less pleasant smell decrease, while those favourable to aroma increase. This shows that withering actively shapes flavour, and not only prepares the leaf mechanically. Much of what we later sense in tea, sweetness, umami and pleasant aromas, has its start precisely at this stage. Withering is a quiet forge of flavour, in which the first sugars and aromas form from the raw leaf. It is one of the reasons this seemingly dull step is so important.

A table: withering time

Let us gather the length of withering for different teas:

The table shows that the time of withering differs for different teas and directly affects their character. The longer the withering, the more sugars and aromas have time to form.

Why white tea withers the longest

The time of withering differs dramatically between kinds of tea, and the extreme example is white. White tea withers for as much as about three days, far longer than other kinds. This prolonged withering lets the enzymes in the leaf produce exactly the right amount of sugars and tannins, which explains why white tea often has a sweet, almost fruity profile. By comparison, black tea undergoes a withering usually lasting only fourteen to eighteen hours, because its further processing is full oxidation. This shows that withering is not a rigid, single step but a tool tuned to the kind of tea. The longer it is, the more changes have time to occur in the leaf. We cover white tea itself more in white tea. The length of withering is one of the first decisions that determine the character of the finished tea.

Withering and the kinds of tea

Withering is the foundation on which the later stages that differentiate teas build. After withering come other steps: fixing, rolling, oxidation, and the way and order of these stages decide whether green, white, oolong or black tea is made. Withering is the common start for almost all of them, but what happens afterward separates them. White tea is in essence mostly withering and drying, with minimal further processing, which is why it withers so long. Black tea undergoes a short withering and then full oxidation. We cover how oxidation divides teas more in tea oxidation. Withering is the first, common step from which the roads leading to different kinds of tea diverge. Understanding it is the foundation of understanding how tea is made at all.

Why this step is underrated

Withering is easy to overlook, because it looks like dull waiting, and all the attention usually goes to the more spectacular stages, like oxidation or the roasting of oolongs. Yet it is precisely withering that lays the biochemical foundation for everything that comes after. Poorly conducted withering, too short or too long, in the wrong humidity or temperature, will spoil all the further processing, because the enzymes will not wake properly, and the sugars and aromas will not form. This is why experienced tea makers treat withering with the greatest attention, despite its apparent simplicity. It is a quiet but decisive step. Appreciating withering is a sign of a deeper understanding of tea, in which you see that the quality of the finished infusion begins long before the showy stages, in the seemingly dull wilting of the fresh leaf.

The essentials in brief

Let us gather it up. Withering is the first step of processing almost every tea. It consists of spreading fresh leaves to lose water and soften, which lowers the moisture by as much as half and prepares the leaf for further processing. But it is not only the loss of water: withering sets in motion the inner system of the leaf, waking the enzymes indispensable for the later reactions, and starts the creation of sugars and favourable aromas. The time of withering varies: white tea withers for as much as three days, giving a sweet, fruity profile, and black only a dozen-odd hours. Withering is the common start from which the roads of different teas diverge. Now you know that the first, seemingly dull step is an active forge of flavour from which every tea begins.

Note every tea in GustoNote - the kind, the sweetness and the character you sense. Over time you will start to appreciate how much of the flavour of tea begins already at the withering stage, and understand more deeply how an infusion is made from the leaf. We cover the whole process more in how tea is made.