Why Tea Extraction Demands Precision: Sieving & Filtration That Protect Quality

Industrial tea extraction operates as a controlled process that extracts all soluble compounds from tea leaves to produce a refined tea liquor. The liquor undergoes processing to create instant tea powder and ready-to-drink beverages, concentrates, and flavour bases. Unlike domestic brewing, industrial extraction prioritizes repeatability, liquor clarity, and downstream process stability. Achieving these outcomes depends heavily on well-engineered sieving and filtration systems that function as core process controls rather than auxiliary equipment.

From early-stage solid–liquid separation to final powder classification, precision screening plays a decisive role in protecting product quality and maintaining uninterrupted production.

Where sieving and filtration integrate into the extraction line

Immediately after extraction, tea liquor carries a significant solids load—spent leaf fragments, ruptured cellular material, and fine organic particulates. If not removed efficiently, these solids migrate downstream, accelerating fouling in pumps, heat exchangers, evaporators, and spray dryers.

Later, once the clarified liquor is concentrated and spray-dried, the resulting powder is extremely fine and low in bulk density. At this stage, accurate particle-size control becomes critical to ensure solubility, flowability, and packaging consistency.

A staged separation approach—continuous solids removal, liquor protection, and precise powder screening—is what allows industrial tea extraction lines to operate reliably at scale.

Key separation challenges in tea extraction

Tea presents a complex separation profile that creates recurring operational challenges when not addressed correctly:

• High organic solids load
  Spent tea leaves swell during extraction, generating large volumes of wet, fibrous solids that must be discharged continuously.
• Fine particulates and colloids
  Micro-fines and colloidal compounds contribute to haze formation, heat-exchanger fouling, and unstable concentrates.
• Mesh blinding and fouling
  Tannin-containing fractions that are sticky easily blind the traditional screens resulting in lower throughput and frequent cleaning.
• Ultrafine spray-dried powder
  Instant tea powder has very fine particle size and low particle density which makes it susceptible to caking and segregation problems and inconsistent dissolution.
• Operational continuity requirements
  The use of batch-based separation methods or manual operations which occur at regular intervals results in system failures and requires more labor and causes irregularities in production methods.

These problems must be solved by continuous, hygienic, and highly organic loading and fine particle separation systems.

Where Tea Extraction Stability Begins: Continuous Solid–Liquid Separation

For solid–liquid separation immediately after extraction, the SIVTEK Solid–Liquid Separator, configured with a 360° discharge mechanism, is used to manage spent tea leaves and coarse solids efficiently.

Why this solution is applied at this stage

• Continuous solids discharge
  The 360°discharge system allows continuous spent solid removal while it maintains liquor flow thus preventing batch waste from building up.
• Efficient dewatering of spent leaves
  Mechanical separation reduces the retention of moisture in solids which decreases the load on downstream processes and makes waste disposal much easier.
• Protection of downstream equipment
  The fast removal system for leaf fragments protects downstream equipment because it prevents these fragments from entering pumps heat exchangers and concentrators.
• Hygienic and serviceable design
  The food-grade construction with accessible design enables quick inspection and cleaning procedures which ensure compliance with hygiene regulations.

By shifting solids management from reactive cleaning to continuous control, the SIVTEK Solid–Liquid Separator stabilizes the entire extraction and concentration process.

Spray drying & powder classification using Sivtek solutions

Following concentration and spray drying, tea extract emerges as a very fine powder with low bulk density and narrow particle-size tolerances. At this stage, the presence of unregulated fines and oversized agglomerates creates problems for flowability, solubility, and packing efficiency.

To address this, SGS – Sivtek Super Gyro Separator or Super Sivtek systems are used for precise powder screening and classification.

How Sivtek’s high-vibration industrial sifters supports instant tea quality

• Accurate particle-size separation
  Gyratory motion provides a reliable cut point for very fine instant powders.
• Gentle material handling
  The low-impact screening process preserves particles while producing fewer fine particles through particle degradation.
• Removal of agglomerates and fines
  Large particles and the unwanted fines are separated to ensure a consistent powder action.
• Improved downstream performance
  Classified powder is more soluble, cakes less, and provides a uniform dose during packing.

This stage transforms fragile spray-dried output into a commercially stable, free-flowing product.

Final Check Screening: A Small Step That Prevents Big Quality Risks

A Final Check Screen can be an Inline Sivtek Check Screen that is installed before packing or dosing. It captures residual agglomerates or foreign particles, protecting filling equipment and minimizing the risk of quality deviations. For many processors, this serves as a low-maintenance assurance layer rather than a corrective step.

Why industry users choose Galaxy Sivtek

Tea and beverage manufacturers select Galaxy Sivtek solutions for their ability to translate separation performance into operational reliability:

• Process-driven engineering focused on continuous solids handling
• Staged separation philosophy that minimizes blinding and maximizes uptime
• Hygienic, food-grade designs with easy maintenance access
• Custom-built configurations for specific tea blends and capacities
• Proven field performance protecting critical downstream assets

We already work with leading tea processors and beverage manufacturers, delivering customized solutions validated through trials and on-site integration.

Conclusion

In industrial tea extraction, sieving and filtration are not secondary operations—they are decisive controls that govern clarity, dryer stability, and final powder quality. A well-designed separation strategy—using the SIVTEK Solid–Liquid Separator for primary solids removal and the Super Gyro Separator or Super Sivtek systems for post-drying powder classification—turns separation into a predictable driver of quality and uptime. Galaxy Sivtek works with processors to design customized solutions to meet specific blends, capacities, and performance requirements. If you’re looking to assess a separation strategy designed for your extraction line, reach out to our technical team today.