PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing an excellent green tea having a bright green color and good extractability, most suitable for a raw material for instant tea such as tea bag products.SOLUTION: An inexpensive method for manufacturing green tea includes the steps of roasting raw tea leaves with hot air to prevent fermentation or oxidization, performing CTC (crushing, tearing and curling) treatment which is usually used for black tea production, and drying so as to acquire dryness and firmness, shorten manufacturing time and reduce capital investment and running costs. In the roasting step, hot air at 300 to 500°C is blown over the tea leaves, so that the CTC-treated tea leaves can keep firm even with a low surface moisture content. The time from the start of roasting of tea leaves to the completion of drying is about 1 hour, which is about 1/4 of the normal production time of green tea. The tea product thus manufactured has a bright green color and good extractability, most suitable for a raw material for an instant tea such as tea bag products.【課題】鮮やかな緑色の緑茶で、抽出性が良く、ティーパッグ等のインスタント茶の原料には最適である良好な緑茶を製造する方法を提供する。【解決手段】茶生葉の熱風による殺青工程と、紅茶生産に用いられるＣＴＣ処理工程（「押しつぶす」、「引き裂く」、「丸める」）及び乾燥工程よりなるとともに、茶葉がぐしゃ付くことがなく、製造時間が短く、設備投資及びランニングコストなどが少ない安価な緑茶製造方法。前記殺青工程が３００～５００℃の熱風を茶葉に吹き付け、殺青を行う工程であり、茶葉の表面水分が少なくともＣＴＣ処理しても茶葉がぐったりしない。【効果】茶生葉を殺青し始めてから乾燥終了まで約１時間で通常の緑茶の生産時間の１／４程度である。本発明による茶製品は鮮やかな緑色の緑茶であり、抽出性が良く、ティーバック等のインスタント原料に最適である。【選択図】図１
