TeaHQ

Tencha

The shaded, de-stemmed, unrolled leaf that is milled into matcha. Tencha is almost never sold as a drinking tea, because the entire supply is destined for the mill, but steeped rather than ground it gives a remarkably sweet and savoury infusion with none of matcha’s bitterness.

Green teaModerate intensityAccessible to appreciateForgiving to brew碾茶
Brew at 65–75 °CUse 1.5–2.5 g per 100 mlFirst steep 120sWestern brewing (teapot or mug)Full schedule and equipment →

Character

Extraordinarily sweet and savoury, and much gentler than the matcha made from it — because steeping leaves the bitter fraction largely in the leaf while grinding puts all of it in the bowl.

Flavour
Umami, Sweet, Vegetal, Creamy
Aroma
Marine
Mouthfeel
Silky, Smooth
Complexity
Layered
Notes
sweet seaweed, cream, steamed greens, chestnut
Aftertaste
Very sweet and savoury, with no drying at all.

Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.

Provenance and production

Origin
Japan
Region
Uji
Oxidation
Unoxidised
Harvest
Spring
Processing
Shading → Steaming (Japanese fixation) → Drying

History

The base material for matcha and the reason the shading tradition exists at all. Tencha production in Uji predates gyokuro by centuries, and gyokuro was created by applying tencha’s shading to leaf intended for steeping instead of milling.

Brewing

No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.

If you like this

Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.

Editorially linked

Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.

  • Matcha

    Tencha is the leaf matcha is milled from. Steeped rather than ground it is sweeter and far less bitter, because the bitter fraction stays in the leaf.

  • Gyokuro

    The same shaded material; tencha steeped is sweeter and gentler than the matcha it is milled into.

Similar sensory profile

Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.

  • Kabusecha

    Shares 6 descriptors with Tencha: umami, vegetal, creamy, sweet, silky and marine.

  • Matcha usucha grade

    Shares 6 descriptors with Tencha: umami, vegetal, creamy, silky, smooth and marine.

  • Anji Bai Cha

    Shares 5 descriptors with Tencha: sweet, umami, vegetal, silky and smooth.

  • Anji Bai Cha supreme

    Shares 5 descriptors with Tencha: sweet, vegetal, umami, silky and smooth.

  • Enshi Yu Lu

    Shares 5 descriptors with Tencha: umami, vegetal, sweet, silky and marine.

  • Fukamushicha

    Shares 5 descriptors with Tencha: vegetal, umami, creamy, smooth and marine.

Compare this tea with another

Written comparisons

Where TeaHQ has set this tea against another in full, rather than deriving the comparison.

  • Tencha vs matcha — Tencha is matcha before milling. They are the same leaf at two stages, and knowing this explains most of what determines matcha quality.
  • Tencha vs gyokuro — Two shaded Uji teas that diverge at a single step, and the divergence explains why one becomes powder and the other does not.