Shading the fields
Weeks before harvest, the tea fields are covered in shade. Blocking sunlight forces the plant to produce more chlorophyll and amino acids, deepening the color and building the sweetness and umami that define real matcha. It's a slower, more deliberate way to grow, but it's the only way to grow it right.
Harvest
Weeks before harvest, the tea fields are covered in shade. Blocking sunlight forces the plant to produce more chlorophyll and amino acids, deepening the color and building the sweetness and umami that define real matcha. It's a slower, more deliberate way to grow, but it's the only way to grow it right.
Steaming
The leaves are steamed the same day they're harvested, stopping oxidation in its tracks and locking in their vivid green color and delicate flavor before anything can fade. This process is unique to Japanese tea.
Becoming tencha
Freshly steamed leaves are cooled and separated, with stems and veins removed, leaving only the tenderest part of the leaf behind. From there, the leaves are carefully dried into tencha, the raw form of matcha. Our tea masters taste-test the tencha to guide the exact ratios behind our blend.
Dried tencha, ready for grinding. Its texture and aroma at this stage tell you almost everything about the tea it will become.
Stone-ground into matcha
The tencha is ground slowly on granite stone mills — the traditional method, chosen over faster industrial grinding because it keeps the temperature low and the flavor intact.