Glossary

Tencha

Tencha is the shaded tea leaf material that gets ground into matcha.

Before matcha exists as powder, it exists as tencha. When producers talk about hand-picked tencha, shading periods, or cultivar quality, they are talking about the leaf stage that determines much of the final matcha's aroma and umami.

Related Terms

Shade-Grown

Shade-grown means the tea plants were covered before harvest to reduce sunlight exposure.

Read →

Stone-milled

Stone-milled means the tencha was ground slowly with traditional granite mills rather than faster industrial equipment.

Read →

Related Products

Matcha where tencha is a notable characteristic.

Explore Further