Transformation From Bark To Cork

1. To produce a cork, it generally takes 6 months to 1 year, starting from peeling the bark. In Portugal, the world's largest producer of cork, the harvest season starts in May and ends in June. At harvest time, workers very carefully peel off the cork oak (a oak-type deciduous tree in which the soft and elastic "cork layer" in the bark is particularly developed), not too deep, otherwise the tree will die because it cannot resist parasites. After each harvest, it takes 9 years to peel the cork layer on the same cork oak. A healthy cork oak plant has a lifespan of 200 years and can only be peeled up to 18 times.

2. Store the peeled wooden plug layer in the open air. A good summer sun can dry the moisture in the wood plug; The continuous rains in autumn cleaned the tannins contained in the cork layer. In jargon, this period is called the "stabilization period" of cork, which lasts for half a year, and then there is a danger of mold.

3. After drying, the cork board can be cut into a cork. Cutting is also an art, and experienced workers only need to look at it to judge the quality of a board. The cut chips must not be wasted, they are collected and are a good material for processing polymeric cork stoppers.

4. The finished cork stopper should also be disinfected, selected, and the products with fine edges or cracks on the surface should be picked out. High-quality cork, the surface must be smooth, the fine pores are small and few.