According to ancient records and documents, the history of powdered green tea which was believed to have originated with dancha, is clearly seen in a story about high-grade dancha such as Ryuhodancha that was ground in a chaden to produce powdered green tea, mostly from the Song Era, including the famous "Charoku" and "Taikansaron" written by Jo SAI in 1064 and by So KI in the 12th century.
文献記録は宋時代に集中しており、蔡襄の『茶録』（1064）と徽宗の『大観茶論』（12世紀）などが有名であるが、これらの文献では龍鳳団茶に代表される高級な団茶を茶碾で粉末にしたものを用いており、団茶から抹茶が発生した経緯をよく表している。