Tencha is a variety of shaded Japanese green tea which is often used to make matcha.
It is grown in a similar fashion as gyokuro green tea, meaning that the tea leaves are shaded for about three weeks before being harvested. The leaves are then briefly steamed and dried. There is no rolling process for tencha, as is common with many other varieties of Japanese green tea. The shading process results in a stunning green color.
During processing, the stems are removed and the leaves are then finely ground.
It can take about an hour to grind 40 to 70 grams of tencha into matcha powder.