Known in Japan as fueru wakame or 'expanding wakame', the product contains nothing but top quality wakame. The flakes are made by a simple process where the wakame is blanched for a few seconds before being dried and packed. The wakame itself is cultivated on ropes and harvested in a renowned area of quality wakame production in Japan. The wakame spores are sown in June or July. Eight months or so later in March the microscopic spores have grown to become fronds anywhere between 1.3 and 2 meters in length, which are then harvested from their ropes.