The difference between this tea and the later maccha is that the tea leaves for hikicha were grown in open-air tea plantations, and, in the Warring States Period in Japan, 'oishita chaen' (tea field covered wit shade to harvest good leaves) was invented and through improvement in mill-stone, etc. it was developed to the present maccha.
後の抹茶との違いは煎茶と同じく露天の茶園で栽培されたことで、戦国時代(日本)になってから宇治で「覆下茶園」が発明され、茶臼の改良などにより現在の抹茶となっていく。