Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Gyokuro is matured under full shade for three weeks and has an aroma of orange blossoms. With savory and earthy tones this tea also has the memories of nori with a faint whisper of french beans and cucumbers. Gyokuro is an exceptional tea that demands a unique brewing method to reach its full potential. Using a lower water temperature is key. Use water between 120 F and 140 F when brewing. Use 1 to 2 grams of tea per ounce of water and let the tea steep for 5 minutes for the first steeping. Subsequent steepings require only a minute or two.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
What a pleasant surprise it was to find Gyokuro in my Simple Loose Leaf Co-Op box this month! This premium green tea is not one that you’d expect to find in a subscription box, you know what I mean?
To brew this tea, I actually followed the advice in the above description. (I know, weird, right?) I steeped this in my Kati Tumbler, using 1 bamboo scoop of tea (which I’m not sure if that’s the recommended amount, I don’t weigh my tea. I just don’t. I’m not into all that gadgetry when it comes to tea. Tea should be simple.) I heated the water to 140°F and poured 12 ounces of the heated water into the tumbler and I let that steep for 5 minutes. I was surprised at how light in color the brewed tea was! It was a beautiful, pale chartreuse. My second infusion I steeped for only 2 minutes.
What a lovely Gyokuro! It’s delightfully sweet. The vegetable notes are profound. I taste a lovely buttery note with notes of green bean and asparagus. It’s very crisp and light and invigorating to sip. A very smooth tasting tea, the buttery notes give it a creamy texture but it’s not really heavy the way some buttery teas can be. This has a lighter texture overall versus other ‘buttery’ teas I’ve tasted.
There is very little astringency to this, and most of that is noticeable at the very tail. It’s quite smooth from start to finish, and then just at the tip of the tail, I pick up on a slightly dry, slightly tangy astringency. No bitterness despite being steeped for 5 minutes!
My second cup might even be sweeter than the first. I think I am enjoying the second infusion even more than the first – the flavor is about the same strength as the first (even though I only steeped it for 2 minutes) but the flavors are a little less focused on the vegetal notes and a little more focused on the sweeter flavors. The butter notes are still there, but they’re a little softer and not quite as creamy as the first cup was.
A really, really lovely Gyokuro.
