JPS5930381B2 - Steam tea leaf processing machine - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an apparatus for kneading steamed tea leaves prior to rough processing, and is particularly characterized by softening hard steamed tea leaves and appropriately dividing them into fine pieces. .

To produce green tea, first, raw tea leaves are steam-treated.
Next, this is transferred to a rough rolling machine and subjected to rough rolling treatment, followed by processes such as medium rolling, rolling, and fine rolling.

In this process, the rough rolling step is to thoroughly rub the steamed tea leaves to soften them and evaporate about 30% of the water content in the tea leaves.This step is the most important step in the green tea manufacturing process. This is the main part, and the degree to which the steamed tea leaves are rubbed in this process significantly affects the quality of the green tea product.

By the way, the quality of tea confectionery, which is the raw material for green tea, is not constant; it is picked several times from early summer to late autumn, so the degree of growth and hardness of the tea leaves can vary significantly depending on the time of picking. be.

The harder the tea confectionery is, the less it is rubbed in the rough rolling process, so in order to satisfy this problem, conventional measures have been taken to beat the leaves during the steaming process and the rough rolling process.

Leaf beating is the process of pounding the tea leaves, which softens the steamed leaves and makes them easier to massage.

However, with the above-mentioned method, it is difficult to achieve the desired kneading effect when the tea confectionery is soft such as first or second tea, or when it is hard such as kabe, third or fourth tea. It is not possible to soften this to the extent that it is possible, so in the end, the process is not enough and the quality is not good.
It was not possible to obtain good-tasting green tea.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and the steamed tea leaves that have been steam-treated are cooled to around room temperature and then kneaded to soften the steamed tea leaves, and are divided into appropriate pieces to make them the same as first-class tea. It is designed so that it can be thoroughly kneaded.

The present invention will be specifically described below based on illustrated embodiments.

Reference numeral 1 in the figure is a kneading drum. This is the main body of the steamed tea leaf processing machine, and is roughly cylindrical in shape.
An input port 2 for the material steamed tea leaves is formed at the tip, and the end is open so that the steamed tea leaves can be continuously kneaded.

Reference numeral 3 designates a rotating shaft, and a screw 4 is attached to the front half of the barrel, and kneading blades 5 are attached to the rear half of the barrel. This involves pushing the steamed tea leaves backwards and kneading them.

A baffle plate 6 is attached to the open end of the kneading barrel 1 to restrict the discharge of steamed tea leaves, and several protrusions 7 are protruded from the inner wall surface of the kneading barrel 1. Swirling of steamed tea leaves is regulated.

Next, the operation of kneading steamed tea leaves using the steamed tea leaf processing machine will be explained.

First, while rotating the rotary shaft 3, steamed tea leaves that have been subjected to steam heat treatment according to a conventional method are cooled to around room temperature, and then introduced into the kneading barrel 1 through the input port 2.

Then, the steamed tea leaves are sent to the rear of the barrel by the screw 4, stirred and softened by the kneading blades 5, and discharged out of the machine from the end of the barrel.

The extent to which the steamed tea leaves are softened at this time depends on the area of the baffle plate 6 attached to the open end of the kneading barrel 1.

That is, if the baffle plate 6 is made to be able to move up and down with respect to the opening end, and its position is adjusted, the smooth discharge of the steamed tea leaves will eventually be hindered.

Therefore, if the baffle plate 6 is placed so as to leave only the upper part of the open end of the kneading barrel 1 and block the other parts as shown in the figure, the steamed tea leaves will not be discharged from this part. It will fill the inside of the body.

As a result, the steamed tea leaves are pushed backwards while being twisted by the screw 4, and kneaded by the kneading blades 5 while being compressed in the rear half of the body, resulting in a soft kneaded state.

At the same time, a part of the material is subjected to strong kneading force between the protrusions 7 and the kneading blades 5, and is torn into pieces, thereby being subdivided.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which a chute is added to the steam heat treatment machine of the present invention to provide a treatment device suitable for the hardness of steamed tea leaves.

That is, the symbol 8 in the figure is a machine frame, and the steamed tea leaf processing machine A is attached to a mounting frame 9, and the machine frame 8 is attached via this mounting frame 9.
The inclination angle can be adjusted freely.

A feeder 10 is attached to the machine frame 8 facing the input port 2 of the steamed tea leaf processing machine A, and although not shown, steamed tea leaves, which are materials, are stacked on this feeder 10, and then transferred to the kneading barrel 1. It looks like it will be introduced.

The feeder 10 is a forward/reverse conveyor, and a chute 11 is provided at the other end.

Incidentally, reference numeral 12 is a tray for receiving steamed tea leaves falling from the feeder 10.

When processing steamed tea leaves using this device, if the steamed tea leaves are soft like first-grade tea, rotate the feeder 10 clockwise in the figure and drop the leaves into the chute 11.
When the steamed tea leaves are hard, the steamed tea leaves are turned over and put into the steamed tea leaf processing machine with the position of the baffle plate 6 adjusted, and then transferred to the coarse crusher.

As detailed above, the present invention involves kneading steamed tea leaves that have been cooled to around room temperature, and as a result, the steamed tea leaves are sufficiently kneaded in the rough kneading process, which significantly improves the quality of the green tea product. This has the advantage of improving taste and aroma.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway rear view of the same, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing the state of use. 1; Kneading barrel, 2; Inlet, 3; Rotating shaft, 4; Screw,
5; kneading blade, 6; baffle plate, 7; protrusion, 8; machine frame, 9; mounting frame, 10; feeder, 11; chute, 12; saucer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotary shaft is inserted through a kneading barrel with a steamed tea leaf inlet formed at the starting end and an open rear end, a screw is attached to the front half of the kneading barrel, and kneading blades are attached to the rear half of the kneading barrel. A steamed tea leaf processing machine is characterized in that a baffle plate is attached to the open end of the steamed tea leaf processing machine, and the steamed tea leaves that have been steam-treated and then cooled are kneaded.