To provide a new method for producing processed tea leaves, which is capable of producing the processed tea leaves excellent in flavor in spite of containing methylated catechin, and to provide the processed tea leaves.

This method for producing the processed tea leaves having the black tea flavor includes using raw tea leaves of a kind having a high content of methylated catechin and having a hot air treatment process of removing water while suppressing disappearance of methylated catechin by stirring raw tea leaves at a low temperature of 60-80C. Furthermore, the method which develops the black tea flavor, can increase the content of theaflavin without remarkably lowering the content of the methylated catechin or requiring a fermentation step, so as to enable the manufacture of the processed tea leaves presenting the black tea flavor.