Expertly crafted Asahina Gyokuro made from a very specific blend of cultivars for a rich and nuanced experience. White chocolate, savoury broth, comforting starchiness and zesty florality.
Tea lovers know that Gyokuro is usually an umami bomb which will cause the strongest reaction in those uninitiated in its intensity. It is like drinking a bowl of savoury to sweet, jellied broth.
This umami is due to the careful work of the producers in feeding the soil enough nutrition and then starving the plants of sunlight for weeks before picking.
All of these actions boost the level of the magical L-Theanine amino acid in the the tea leaves. L-Theanine radically boosts mood by stimulating alpha-brain waves (meditative brain state), increasing dopamine and serotonin (feel good neurotransmitters) and increasing GABA and Glycine for calming. It also tastes super Umami.
But sometimes Gyokuro can be a one trick pony - all umami and no subtlety.
Asahina is where some of the most legendary Gyokuro is historically produced and is most often made from the more 'one-note' Yabukita cultivar. This cultivar is great for consistency and yield. It makes a very standardised Gyokuro - high grade but a little boring.
We want the pinnacle stuff - teas brimming with character and individuality. So we have usually been sourcing Gyokuro made from lower yielding but more interesting cultivars like Oku-Hikari or Okumidori.
But the producers in Asahina are happily experiementing and this Gyokuro is a glorious result of their efforts.
Triple Dew Gyokuro is a blend of three different cultivars - Saemidori, Kirari 31 and Okumidori. This creates a beautiful triad of characteristics in the cup.
The tea plants have all been shade-grown using the time-consuming double-layer method where layers of material are added incrementally to gradually increase shading.
The leaves have then been hand-picked at the optimum time - the great advantage of mixed cultivar teas is that they naturally have different growing times which means that each one can be picked and processed without rushing to pick the others (or leaving them to pass their optimum picking window).
Triple Dew Gyokuro is a masterful blend of cultivars. The Okumidori is mellow, rounded and brothy with a sprinkling of herbal top-notes, the Saemidori is sweeter with some vanilla and melon fruiiness. Finally the newest cultivar (from 2015) to the mix is Kirari 31 which adds a creaminess and hints of zesty florality.
Put them altogether and you have a Gyokuro which is so much richer and livelier than a Yabukita Asahina. Creamy white chocolate, nettles, marrow soup, sweet porridge and citrus blossoms.
Oh and don't worrry, this still has a BIG Umami hit - all three cultivars are naturally high in L-Theanine.
The body sensation is bliss. Happiness, calm and stress-dissolving with every brothy sip.
Brewing Gyokuro
We always recommend experimenting with brewing parameters however we suggest that you try the following method at least once to have the full Gyokuro experience.
- Measure out 6g per 100ml of water. This is a good amount for 1-2 people.
- Preheat the teaware with very hot water and pour away the water before you are ready to brew. We recommend a Shiboridashi or wide and flat pot that is not too much larger capacity than the amount of tea you are making.
- Add the tea leaves to the pot and enjoy the aroma briefly (we don't want the pot to go cold before brewing).
- Here is where you have a choice. For an ultra thick, smooth and umami tea, pour over room temperature water and leave to brew for 14 minutes. This is essentially making a strong cold brew of the tea. For a slightly more refrained umami (with a bit more minerality), pour over 50 degree water (120F) and leave to brew for 120 seconds. Some people say that you should leave the pot uncovered but we have not noticed any difference in the resulting tea.
- Strain the tea into a Gong Dao Bei or directly into cups.
- Enjoy the first infusion of Gyokuro - this is the most flavourful brew that you will make so savour the small but concentrated sip of tea.
- For the second infusion brew with 50 degree (120F) water for 150 seconds.
- For the third infusion brew with 50 degree (120F) water for 180 seconds.
- For the fourth infusion brew with 70 degree (160F) water for 150 seconds
- For the fifth infusion brew with 80 degree (175F) water for 150 seconds.
- You can keep infusing but after five infusions the tea is usually lacking flavour. We like to take the leaves and add a squeeze of lemon juice and some soy sauce and eat with a meal or by itself. BE CAREFUL though as the leaves will continue to contain some caffeine and we have overdosed on caffeine by eating too much tea!
For the most extreme Umami Bomb
If you want to taste the most intensely jellied Gyokuro then brew 6g per 100ml for 14 minutes in room temperature water. It wil be a life-altering experience!
Why shading makes a difference and how does it taste
