Taiwan launched first AI tea production line

Taiwan's launched its first AI-integrated black tea production line. The initiative helps address labor shortages and the aging workforce. With the AI driven production line, manpower requirements can be reduced by two-thirds, or even to a fully unmanned

operation. The daily processing capacity for tea leaves has increased from four to eight tons.

The production line also features automated equipment for tea leaf storage and transport, rolling, loosening, fermentation, and drying. Heat is generated during the transportation of tea leaves from the plantation to the processing facility. If the process takes too long, the leaves can overheat and redden, leading to lower tea quality.

To address this, a transport and storage system with air-blowing channels toprovide cool air during transit has been designed. A shade net is also installed above the system to help maintain tea leafquality.

AI can intelligently manage the tea production process, including monitoring tea leaf color, equipmentoperation, and sensing humidity, temperature, and weight. The technology helps reduceerrors caused by manual operation and enhances tea quality.

The AI system can also automatically archive production data and upload it to a cloudbasedmanagement platform, enabling managers to monitor production progress in real-time.

Taiwan exported nearly 7,000 tons of tea to theUS, valued at approximately NT $706 million (US $22 million),accounting for nearly 30% of total tea exports. Black tea and greentea made up the majority of these exports.

Source: Taiwan News (Extracts), Courtesy: Tea Exporters’ Association Sri Lanka