The Highest Class of Japanese Green Teas
Celebrated for their strong umami flavor and low tannin concentration, Gyokuro green teas are a tea experience like no other. This tea is cultivated differently than typical tea leaves, and is shaded a few weeks prior to harvesting. This shade halts catechin production in the tea, halting the creation of bitter tannins in the leaf, and concentrating the umami and sweet notes of the tea. Due to the difficult and complex production processes, these teas are an incredibly rare and limited selection, further lending to its high regard in the tea world.
How to Brew Japanese Gyokuro Green Tea
As this tea is produced unlike any other tea, it also requires some care in brewing. We suggest adding 5-7 grams of tea to a Kyusu teapot and then adding boiled water cooled to 170°F. Traditional Gyokuro brewing uses about 1 part tea leaves to 1.2 parts water, infusing for 25 seconds and decanting. It’s important that you don’t add too much water to your first brew, rather just enough to cover the tea leaves. This tea can be steeped for another 5+ times, increasing the brew time by about 5-10 seconds with each steep. You can brew several times until the flavor and aroma dissipates.
