Tea is the most popular drink in the world, and the total production of tea leaves in the world is over 3 million tons. This accounts for around 1.5 billion cups of tea.Before we can drink it, tea has to go through a variety of processes. The leaves are harvested, withered and then rolled, which starts the fermentation that gives the leaves their characteristic taste.After the delicate fermentation phase the leaves are dried, classified, packed and transported. Then tea manufacturers make their blends, typically in batch processes. This is where Hosokawa Micron comes in. Our Vrieco-Nauta® mixer is a popular choice for gently mixing tea leaves, tea components and for creating excellent blends of tea.

When homogenising tea blends it’s important to consider the brittle nature of the tea particles. Besides that, the initial particle size distribution in a batch contains fine dust as well as particles up to several millimeters. This distribution will have to remain unchanged, spread evenly throughout the batch. A short discharge time is usually required too. Sometimes an inspection hatch is used to inspect and manually clean the interior of the mixer.

For creating tea containing aromas additionally liquids will be introduced which have to be dispersed evenly throughout the entire batch. The ideal mixer for creating aromatized tea is a Vrieco-Nauta® mixer, typically our model 60-MFC-44, equipped with side outlet and liquid injection through the central shaft. When aromatizing is not necessary this mixer range can create excellent blends.