Organic Gyokuro

Ah, gyokuro! The deep, satisfying sigh you hear after someone sips a cup of gyokuro? That happy human is experiencing one of the richest concentrations of umami you can experience in tea. Translating to "jade dew," gyokuro is made from Camellia sinensis leaves which are steamed and rolled like sencha, though a gyokuro can only be called so if the leaves have been shaded.

First crafted in 1835, a producer initially covered their tea plants to protect from frost. Lo and behold, when they brewed the covered leaves they found the delicious taste of gyokuro! Shading styles and duration vary depending on the farmer and the region. Still, the tea must be shaded enough to spur the plants to build a concentrated amount of sweet L-theanine — gyokuro's hallmark. A special tea indeed, gyokuro comprises less than 0.3% of Japan's tea production.

Location: Kagoshima, on the Kirishima mountain range. 

Harvest Season: Spring 

Cultivar: organic Saemidori

Process: tea leaves grown in volcanic soil are shaded about 3 weeks prior to harvest (just like tencha!). Shade-growing concentrates the sweet amino-acid L-theanine in the leaf, providing a deep and rich flavor and virtually no astringency. 

When brewing: For subsequent steeps, increase water quantity by 10ml and water temperature by 10º each steep. You may also try hotter temperatures for shorter periods of time. You'll experience a range of flavors. Using the guide above will give you a sweeter cup, while the hot/short brew method will extract more vegetal notes. Experiment! 

Tea for two? Try 10g of our tea with 100 ml of 104ºF water, and brew for 60-90 seconds.