Tea leaves which have not yet been ground into the fine powder of Matcha are known as Tencha. Fresh tea leaves are processed just after harvest. At the most, they should be processed within 24 hours after harvest. Tencha (Matcha) processing includes 1) Steaming, 2) Cooling down, and 3) Drying. Matcha tea leaves before ground into powder are called Tencha.
In the final steps Aracha is cut into uniform small bits.
The stems and veins are removed from the leaf by an electrostatic cleaning.
The de-stemmed Aracha is once again cut and now gets the name Tencha, the refined tea