How tea leaves become refined tea leavesShoji Mochizuki is a green tea farmer who performs all the steps involved in tea manufacturing at his farm, from cultivation to processing. Many steps are required before the tea leaves from the field can be used to make tea. After being picked from the fields, the leaves are steamed. When the raw leaves are steamed, it stops the oxidation process, preventing the leaves from fermenting. After that, the leaves are put through primary and secondary tea drying rollers, and then the final tea drying roller. The temperature of the leaves must be kept at about the same as body temperature in humans. The rolling gradually brings the moisture to the surface, and being careful not to let the leaves become too dry, the leaves are dried with light air for about 4 hours. There is a distinct difference in the shape, color, taste and scent depending on who handles the process to this point. |
The tea praised by the team master, Fumio MaedaFinally, the leaves are put into a dryer and adjust until only about 5% of the moisture remains. If the temperature is too high, it will smell smoky, so great care needs to be given. The leaves are then sorted and blended for the final product. Then Mochizuki showed Nakata a type of unprocessed tea called ”aracha”. |
”Roasting is when the wholesalers look at the leaves, and they try to make each batch of leaves special by deciding, for example, it should be roasted with stronger heat. But you can make good cup of tea with aracha too.” explained Mochizuki. Mochizuki’s aracha make a yellowish colored tea called ”golden transparent (Kanshoku Tomei)”. |
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- Shoji Mochizuki
- Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka