Roasted Tencha Stems (Tenbone Hojicha) Roasted Tencha Stems, in Japanese: Tenbone Houjicha (てん骨ほうじ茶) is made from the branch stems of tencha (てん茶) while the leaf stems and veins are roasted into Obubu's Tsugumi Hojicha. Tencha are the unrolled tea leaves used to make matcha. Because you drink the entire leaf when you drink matcha, the leaves used for matcha tea powder need to be as sweet as possible. So to create Tencha the tea plants are covered up to four weeks to reduce the amount of catechin (which creates bitterness) as much as possible. In the process of making matcha, the dried, unrolled tencha tea leaves are then separated into two groups, soft and tough parts. The tough parts are the stems and veins and they are called tenbone (tencha no hone, the bones of tencha). Akky has taken these bones of the tencha and lightly roasted them to produce a mild yet luxurious flavor. Enjoy the elegance of Tenbone Houjicha and all its sweetness and aroma! Ingredients: Green tea (leaf stems) Cultivar: Yabukita Harvest: July Region: Wazuka Village, Kyoto
