What post-shading labor creates distinct investment tiers between Matcha and Gyokuro?

Stone-milling for Matcha versus delicate steaming and rolling for Gyokuro

While shading time is important, the post-harvest processing labor significantly stratifies the market price between Matcha and Gyokuro. Gyokuro leaves undergo standard processing—steaming, withering, rolling, and drying—to retain their leaf shape. In contrast, the tencha destined for Matcha must avoid rolling and instead undergoes slow, meticulous stone-grinding to achieve a fine powder. This stone-milling process is costly, slow, and necessary to avoid heating the powder, adding a substantial manufacturing expense layer that makes Matcha typically more expensive than Gyokuro, even when comparing similarly shaded leaves.