Tea producers
in a mountain village Ishikawaen
Production processes
Our teas are produced in our tea factory in a mountain valley.
We manage the overall process from tea production technology R&D to quality control and distribution here.
Our direct sales depot next to our factory sells freshly made teas.
Listed below are the processes we use to make delicious teas at Ishikawaen.
Aracha production
1Arrival of tea leaves
From mid-April to early-May, tea leaves picked at tea plantations are transported to our tea factory within two hours of picking.
2Steaming
We feed the strictly selected and classified raw tea leaves into a steamer. Steaming raw tea leaves in a high temperature steamer can prevent oxidation and help maintain their vivid green color.
3Rolling
We apply force and roll the tea leaves while keeping moisture uniform. Rolling the raw leaves enables the umami components of tea to dissolve easily.
4Fine rolling
We apply heat and force to the tea leaves to shape and dry.
5Completing Aracha
Now the preliminary step of tea manufacturing, aracha, is completed!
We heat and select the aracha according to shipping amounts to arrive at our green tea as a finished product.
6Quality Control
We store the finished aracha in a refrigerator to preserve it.
We maintain a safe, uniform quality with our computerised, central control system at our aracha tea factory.
Finishing process
1General finishing machine
We adjust the size of the aracha and remove fine powders and foreign substances.
2Electronic color sorting machine
We sort the aracha by color and remove white stems and pale-colored leaves.
3Heating drier
We heat the tea leaves at the best temperature adjusted for each tea with our microwave and far-infrared drier.
This is the most important process in finishing as it affects the aroma and taste of the tea.
4Winnowing-machine
We fan the light powders out and check them with a metal detector.
5Foreign substance removal machine
We remove any foreign substances that may have mixed with teas.
6Tea blender
We blend the tea leaves to make a uniform, finished tea.
Quality control
People have been becoming more concerned about food safety recently.
Ishikawaen has implemented a thorough quality control and hygiene management system in order to meet customers' growing concerns with confidence.
Quality assurance
Our experienced technicians directly inspect the aroma, color and taste of our products at every stage from purchase of the aracha to the completion of the product. For additional assurance, we examine the quality using scientific analysis.
Agricultural chemicals' residue inspection, various other analyses and inspections
We require our tea producers to submit a pest control history. We also confirm a product's safety with an agricultural chemicals' residue inspection.
We conduct other necessary inspections for quality assurance as requested. A coliform bacteria examination is carried out in-house.
traceability
We have introduced a product traceability system to track how each tea was processed from reception from a tea producer to completion as a product.
Cryogenic refrigerator
We store teas in a cryogenic refrigerator which maintains a constant temperature in order to prevent quality deterioration.
Safety measures in our finishing plant
Ishikawaen's plant is equipped with machines using the latest technology to prevent contamination and to control quality.
Metal detector
A metal detector detects and removes any metals.
Foreign substance removal device
A device removes any foreign substances from our teas by using a state-of-the-art camera.
Foreign substance removal device
A device removes any foreign substances from our teas by using a state-of-the-art camera.
other
In addition we remove any foreign substances through direct visual observation.
Thorough hygiene management
1Washing hands and disinfection
2Air shower equipment
