PURPOSE: The continuous treatments of raw tea leaves with steam and hot air are automatically effected in the steam-treating chamber and hot air-treating chamber both of which are vertically connected, thus permitting drying of tea leaves without causing deformation of the shape of the raw tea leaves.

CONSTITUTION: In the vertical treating tank 3, steam is supplied from inlet 6 into the upper steam-treating chamber 1 and raw tea leaves are fed from the top and sent by conveyors 8 made of perforated plates such as wire nets for steaming. The hot air from the heating chamber 21 is forced into the lower hot air-treating chamber 2 by the blower 20 and the tea leaves are sent by conveyors 9 for drying until they go out of the outlet 5. The two treating chambers 1 and 2 are separated with an inclined plate 19 and the width of the connecting path 18 is controlled by shifting the plate.