Chinese Herb Processing: Equipment & Workflow

From raw herb to finished decoction piece, every step happens on our own floor in Pingliang, Gansu — washed, cut and pao-zhi processed across 15 techniques on a 2,500-ton line, then released only after testing.

  • 15 processing techniques
  • 30+ equipment units
  • 2,500 t/yr · 4 production lines
  • GMP-certified

What Chinese Herb Processing Actually Involves

In TCM, a raw herb isn’t ready to ship the moment it’s harvested — it has to be cleaned, cut and often fire-processed before it becomes a usable decoction piece. We run that full sequence in-house: purification to remove soil, foreign matter and non-medicinal parts; cutting to the slice spec your formula needs; and stir-frying or other pao zhi where the herb calls for it. Across 800+ varieties we operate 15 distinct processing techniques on 30+ equipment units, at a 2,500-ton annual capacity. Because it’s all under one roof in our Pingliang facility, the herb never leaves our control between raw material and finished slice.

Overview of Chinese herb processing steps including sorting, cutting, and drying equipment

The Workflow, Step by Step

One continuous flow — raw herb in, tested decoction piece out.。

  1. Incoming inspection — every raw lot checked and sampled before it enters production.
  2. Purification — washing, sorting, removing foreign matter and non-medicinal parts.
  3. Cutting — sliced to your specified thickness and cut style.
  4. Pao zhi / stir-frying — fire-processing for herbs that need it, raw or honey-fried.
  5. Drying, sulfur-free — dried to spec on a sulfur-free standard, no SO₂ bleaching.
  6. In-line & final QC — tested in our own lab; nothing ships on a spot-check.
  7. Batch release & COA — released against its Certificate of Analysis, traceable to source.
Cut herb pieces on a vibrating sieve conveyor during Chinese herb processing

Four Production Lines Under One Roof

Most herb suppliers stop at dried slices. We run four production lines in one facility. One produces decoction-piece slices, and three turn herbs into finished retail products: tea bags, herbal tea-in-cup, and fermented postbiotic drinks. So a buyer can take a single herb from raw slice all the way to a packed, shelf-ready format without it ever leaving our floor, with the same 15-technique processing, the same 30+ equipment units, and the same QC gate behind every line.

  • Decoction Slices Line
  •  Herbal Tea Bags Line
  • Herbal Tea-in-Cup Line
  • Postbiotic Drinks — Fermentation Line
→ Herbal Tea Bags
→ Sourcing & Origin
→QC Process
Aile Herb's postbiotic drinks, herbal tea bags, and tea-in-cup production lines under one roof

Why In-House Processing Beats Outsourced Cutting

A lot of “manufacturers” buy pre-cut herbs and just repack them — which means they can’t tell you how the herb was washed, cut, dried, or whether it was sulfur-bleached to look brighter. We process from the raw herb ourselves, on a sulfur-free standard, so the slice spec, the drying, and the absence of SO₂ residue are all things we control and can put on a COA. When your formulation depends on consistent slice size or a clean residue profile, that control is the difference.

Chinese Herb Processing — FAQ

What is pao zhi processing and why does it matter?

Pao zhi is the traditional set of TCM processing methods — cleaning, cutting and fire-processing such as stir-frying or honey-frying. It matters because it turns a raw herb into a standardized, usable decoction piece, and done correctly it shapes the herb’s consistency and safety. We perform pao zhi in-house across 15 techniques.

What slice specs can you cut to?

Yes. Beyond decoction slices, the same facility runs lines for herbal tea bags, tea-in-cup, and fermented postbiotic drinks — so a single herb can go from raw material to packed retail format with us.

Are your herbal slices sulfur-free?

Yes. We process on a sulfur-free standard — no sulfur dioxide bleaching — and every batch can be tested for SO₂ residue, with the result on its COA.

What slice specs can you cut to?

We cut to your required thickness and cut style across 800+ varieties, on a sulfur-free standard, with each spec confirmed before production.

Process Your Herbs the Way Your Formula Needs

Send us your slice spec and target market, or book a video walk-through of the processing floor.

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