Tencha
The shade-grown, dried tea leaves that become matcha.
Tencha is the raw material for matcha. After tea bushes are shaded for 2–4 weeks, the leaves are picked, steamed (to halt oxidation and lock in green color), dried, and de-stemmed. At this stage they are called tencha. Tencha leaves are then slowly stone-ground into the fine powder we call matcha. Tencha is sold in some specialty stores and can be steeped as a delicate green tea, but its main destiny is the stone mill.