ABSTRACT: In sea transport, a very important thing is an assignment of cargo to a particular class of storage climate conditions and it is carried out on the basis of the requirements that cargo places upon its storage atmosphere. The water content of black tea must not fall below 2%, as the product otherwise becomes hay-like and its essential oils readily volatilize, while on the other hand, it must not exceed 9% as it then has a tendency to grow mould and become musty. Therefore, tea requires particular temperature, humidity/moisture and possibly ventilation conditions. In this context, tea is a hygroscopic material that has the ability to absorb or desorb water in response to temperature and relative humidity of the atmosphere surrounding it. The moisture content of tea is one of the most important variables affecting its chemical and sensory properties. Therefore, to explore and predict the behaviour during transport of tea, its equilibrium moisture content must be determined for a range of transport temperatures and relative humidities. The present paper focuses on the evaluate the hygroscopic properties of tea from Rwanda with different degree of fragmentation based on isotherms of water vapour sorption and characteristics selected parameters of the surface microstructure determining transport conditions and therefor microbiological stability of teas.

KEYWORDS: Maritime Transport, Cargo Transportation, Black Tea, Maritime Transport of Black Tea, Equilibrium Moisture Content, Moisture Content, Moisture, Transport of Tea

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