Removing Stems and Veins

Between drying and milling, tencha has its stems and leaf veins removed. An unglamorous step that shapes the final texture.

Fibrous material does not grind down

Stems and veins are structurally different from leaf tissue — denser, more fibrous.

A stone mill will not reduce them to the same fineness. Left in, they survive as comparatively coarse particles in the powder.

Since matcha does not dissolve — the particles suspend and reach your mouth intact — those coarse fragments register directly as grittiness.

Flavor differs too

Leaf tissue and structural material do not have the same composition. Umami compounds concentrate in the leaf; the fibrous parts contribute more of what reads as off-flavor.

Removing them raises the purity of the flavor.

How the separation works

Dried leaf is sorted using air flow, vibration, or electrostatic methods, exploiting the difference in behavior between light leaf tissue and heavier stems and veins.

How thoroughly this is done affects grade. More thorough sorting lowers yield, and that appears in the price.

The removed material is not discarded

Tea made from stems is sold as kukicha or karigane.

Stems from shade-grown tea are prized for a distinctive sweet aroma and command their own market.

Little goes to waste.

Fineness is cumulative

Grown under cover. Dried without rolling. Stripped of coarse material. Milled slowly.

No single step produces matcha's smoothness. Each stage removes another source of roughness, and what remains is the result.

Whether a cup tastes powdery or not depends on how carefully that sequence was followed.