Tea plant (camellia sinensis)
The word Tea comes from the Chinese dialect Amoy “t'e” and it is pronounced “tay”.

In the Cantonese dialect it was called “ch'a” and it is pronounced “cha”. With this denomination it is known in Japan, India, Persia and Russia. While in Europe the word “t'e” was adopted.

The leaves of this plant, with such special characteristics, constitute the raw material to produce tea. Tender buds of camellia sinensis constitute the basic raw material. These change physically and chemically during the process, obtaining a 22% of dry mass.

The harvest period is from October to May, in good weather conditions, with regular rains, high humidity and appropriate temperature. It requires acid, permeable, deep soils with abundant organic matter.

Our biggest production is of “Black Tea” and we also produce the varieties “Steamed Green Tea” and “Pan-Fired Green Tea”.

Black tea production

• 1. Reception of the raw material: buds quality control is carried out according to the standards established by the company (this sector complies with the requirements of the good manufacturing practices).
• 2. Withering: tea buds are treated for 12 hours to prepare them for the next stage.
• 3. Rolling: the previous withered must allow its rolling ensuring that certain chemical changes take place in the concentrated cellular fluids, which will be squeezed by torsion.
• 4. Fermentation: the enzymatic process begins with the intervention of the atmospheric oxygen where the polyphenols belonging to the group of catechins are oxidized. This process is the primary responsible for the quality, the vividness, the brightness and the development of the aromatic compounds typical of tea.
• 5. Drying: the fermentation process is stopped in addition to the dehydration and inactivation of the enzymatic oxidation, some catechins continue their chemical changes forming a varnish that allows to preserve the quality of the tea produced. The sugars are caramelized, obtaining the typical caramel aroma of dry tea, achieving a dry product, easy to handle and suitable for preservation.
• 6. Styling: once the product is dried, it is subjected to the process of styling.
• 7. Sorting: its purpose is to separate the tea produced into fractions of different particle size; these fractions of different sizes are called grades or types.
• 8. Storage: Once sorted, it is stored in silos in order to prevent the tea from taking other aromas and to preserve it from humidity.
• 9. Packaging: it is made by semiautomatic machines in paper bags with aluminum interior or in polypropylene bags with polyethylene interior where the weight varies according to the grade of the product being packaged.
• 10. Tasting and quality control: in the laboratory, mixtures that adapt to specific requirements are produced, as well as organoleptic and microbiological analysis, always pursuing the excellence of our products.

Green Tea production
In order to obtain this product, it is important to avoid fermentation (oxidation) in the production process.

Tea buds are steamed for a time that varies between 20 and 50 seconds at a temperature ranging between 90 and 110 degrees Celsius in a scalding machine with the aim of cutting the enzymatic oxidation process and preparing them for the next stage; they pass through a VSTP machine that grinds the buds and then they have to be dried in a Fluid Bed Dryer and, in the case of the Chinese Tea or Pan-Fired Tea, buds are inactivated in a hot surface at a temperature of 180º C approximately and then it is made a continuous rolling (Rotorvane) and buds are dried in conventional ovens in trays.

The production process continues with the styling and sorting, contemplating separately for each of the Types of Tea, Steam or Pan-Fired.

We produce clonal tea seedlings in our own nurseries with the technical advice of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology to improve the species in relation to the territory.

The new tea plantations are developed on lands that had yerba mate plantations that, due to low yields, the mutation is decided, with the aim of recovering them and making them productive, improving their performance.

We carry out a plan that includes the implantation of trees in the tea plantations to generate shade and thus achieving an ideal microclimate for the crop.

Our objective is to have our own participation in the delivery of 75% raw material for its subsequent production.

We annually replace the plantations of eucalyptus and pines on the same surface where they were cut down to be used as a biofuel in the drying process and we also ask the local sawmills for their productions.

We permanently train ourselves with the latest advances in good agricultural practices and sustainable agriculture, and we adapt our facilities to comply with all biosafety regulations.