Traditional Komo shaded and hand-picked Asahina Gyokuro made from the Okumidori cultivar. Powerfully Umami yet sweet, mellow and floral, making for the ultimately enjoyable Gyokuro experience.
This is the OG Gyokuro from Asahina, where some of the most legendary Gyokuro have been produced historically.
Tea lovers know that Gyokuro is usually an umami bomb which will cause the strongest reaction in those uninitiated to 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.
The cultivar in this tea, is not the standard Yabukita used in this area of Shizuoka, but instead the delightful Okumidori with its particular mellow, sweet florality.
This batch is made the old-skool way - shade-grown under Komo rice straw mats for over 3 weeks before being hand-picked and crafted meticulously with expert steaming and rolling.
The Komo mats are important because this method of shading cools the plants during the day and warms them during the night for more even temperatures. This improves the colour and flavour of Gyokuro.
The leaves are all hand-picked for precision selection and they have been steamed and rolled perfectly to make relatively whole, tight rolled, pine green leaves.
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.
Our Asahina Gyokuro has it all - the jaw-dropping Umami intensity but also the instant transformation to a fabulous sweetness of candy and flowers, a creminess of white chocolate and starchy mellowness of corn and taro.
A magical Gyokuro!
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
