Matcha is derived from the same tea plant as all other types of teas — camellia sinensis. Green tea for matcha is cultivated in the shade. This process inhibits photosynthesis, causing the tea leafes to produce large amounts of chlorophyll and other nutrients in the leaves making matcha so green.
The leaves are then harvested and quickly steamed. Then they undergo a drying and de-stemming process, which will leave only the finest parts of the leaves - the tencha. Afterwards the leafes are stone grinned into a powder.