Manufacturing process of Japanese tea

The techniques of experienced tea growers create delicious tea

How to make delicious Japanese tea

One of the characteristics of Japanese tea is that the leaves are steamed to halt fermentation. As the tea is not fermented, the amount of nutrients is close to the percentage in fresh leaves. Tea is produced all over the world, but Japanese tea is famous for its astringency and bitterness. The first process in making Japanese tea involves tea leaves picked in the fields being steamed to produce crude tea. The second process is undertaken by experienced tea growers. One important part of this process is blending. As tea leaves are also crops, leaves cultivated in different fields taste different. For example, some leaves “taste better whereas their aroma is weak.” Others have “a better aroma but have less tea color.” It is difficult to create a balanced tea using the leaves picked from a single field. It is also difficult to secure a stable harvest from one particular field due to variations in weather and temperature throughout the year. Our professional growers well understands these situations and delicately blend to bring perfect tea. According to your taste, we can supply customers across the globe with high quality tea at any time of the year at a reasonable price. Along with blending, the roasting process -which brings out the aroma – is undertaken at a temperature that is appropriate to each particular tea.

How tea is produced

Crude tea ･ Manufacturing process

STEP 01

Plucking･Conveyance

The production of Japanese tea begins April to May. The new leaves in late spring include nutrients accumulated throughout the winter. The leaves picked by hand and machine are taken to the crude tea factory while they are still fresh.

STEP 02

Steaming

Once the leaves are picked, they ferment naturally. In order to halt the fermentation, the collected tea leaves are steamed. When more steam is applied, the result is deeply-steamed tea.

STEP 03

Refrigeration

The steamed tea leaves are then cooled, removing excess water.

STEP 04

Leaf beating

Beat leaves to vaporize water.

STEP 05

Rough Rolling

The leaves are then pressed using strong pressure then dried with hot air.

STEP 06

Crumpling up leaves

Equalization of moisture by applying pressure to the leaves.

STEP 07

Middle Rolling

The Leaves are pressed once more, then dried with hot air.

STEP 08

Fine Rolling

Apply heat and pressure to the leaves to form the perfect shape.

STEP 09

Drying

The rolled leaves are then dried. The tea is referred to as crude tea at this point.

Finished tea ･ Manufacturing process

STEP 10

Division

The crude tea contains both large and small tea leaves, so now they are divided and cut into even the shapes.

STEP 11

Selection

Roasted stems and powder are sorted. Only the stems selected in this process are used to create tea.

STEP 12

Drying of the finished tea (roasting)

At the same time, further drying of the tea results in creating a unique aroma and flavor. The taste and aroma of these tea leaves can only be changed during this process. It is the time that the experienced techniques of tea blenders is called upon.

STEP 13

Blending

Not only do we unify the adjustment and combination of the teas, we also take into account the synergy effect of blending various tea leaves and scrupulous tasting of the tea.

Preservation of green tea/From packaging to delivery

STEP 14

Preservation

At Yawatayachaho, we store all finished teas and crude teas in a special refrigerator at minus 20 degrees centigrade.

STEP 15

Packaging

We pick your order of tea from the refrigerator and seal it in packages of the requested amount of kilograms. We also final inspect the quality of the tea leaves at the same time.

STEP 16

Delivery

We deliver tea to various countries by air and sea.