Aerial view of the patchwork tea fields and surrounding hills of Kakegawa, Shizuoka.
Tea-Making · Craft

From soil to shipment.

Sasaki Seicha's tea-making begins not at the factory, but in the field. Across 110 hectares of tea gardens within a 15-minute drive of the factory, 30 veteran farms grow the leaf — and the same day it is harvested, it is processed into aracha and carried to the final finishing plant. These are the eight stages that carry a leaf from the soil of Kakegawa to a cup poured anywhere in the world.

110ha

Managed tea gardens

30

Cooperative farms

~500t

In-house aracha

Figures are for fiscal 2026.

Tea-Making Craft

Eight stages, soil to shipment.

From the soil of Kakegawa to a cup poured anywhere — one leaf, carried through eight stages by people who have spent a lifetime reading it.

In the Field畑
  1. A farmer's hand holding rich dark soil above the tea fields in Kakegawa.
    01

    Soil Preparation

    Compost from our own waste builds nutrient-rich fields.

  2. Freshly harvested tea leaves being unloaded from a truck at the Sasaki Seicha factory.
    02

    Harvesting

    Picked and rushed to the steamer the same day.

  3. A worker inspecting freshly harvested tea leaves by hand at the factory intake.
    03

    Inspection

    Every lot checked at the factory gate.

At the Factory工場
  1. Steam rising from the deep-steaming machine at the Sasaki Seicha factory.
    04

    Steaming

    The defining step — judged by veteran hands.

  2. Freshly rolled and dried aracha crude tea leaves.
    05

    Primary Processing

    Rolled and dried into aracha crude tea.

  3. Tea leaves tumbling inside a roasting drum.
    06

    Roasting

    Fire, microwave, or far-infrared — to taste.

To the Cup仕上げ
  1. Finished tea sifted through traditional wooden sieves at the Sasaki Seicha facility.
    07

    Finishing

    Sifted, blended, balanced to harmony.

  2. Workers packing finished tea past an X-ray inspection machine for shipment.
    08

    Shipping

    Inspected, packed, and delivered worldwide.

One Leaf, Three Expressions

The same fields, finished three ways.

From a single harvest of Kakegawa leaf, our process yields the deep green of ceremonial matcha, the mellow umami of fukamushi sencha, and the warm roast of hojicha — three expressions of one origin.

Deep-steamed fukamushi sencha dry leaves in a dark ceramic bowl.
Roasted hojicha leaves and stems in a dark ceramic bowl.
Workers handling freshly processed green tea at the Sasaki Seicha facility.
Cold Storage

Freshness held in reserve, all year round.

Tea is harvested four times a year, but orders arrive year-round. To keep our tea fresh through every season, we store it at carefully controlled temperature and humidity — preserving the quality of the harvest moment so we can ship consistent, high-grade leaves whenever you need them.

Every stage above is held to the same food-safety standards. Our certifications and traceability systems are verified by third-party audits, multiple times a year.

See Quality & Safety →
A worker operating a forklift in the Sasaki Seicha cold storage warehouse, where finished tea is held at controlled temperature and humidity.

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