Hikari Gyokuro, Japanese green tea

Gyokuro, translated as "Jade Dew", is one of the most exclusive Japanese green teas that makes up only 0.2% of Japan's entire tea production. For Gyokuro, only the most delicate tea leaves are harvested from bushes that are covered with shades for three weeks to prevent direct sunlight from falling on the leaves. This exerts stress on the plant and activates biochemical processes in the leaf which create a sweet, tender and umami-flavoured tea.

Our Hikari Gyokuro comes from a family owned tea garden in Kagoshima prefecture, South-Japan. The garden is in its third year of organic changeover, in a year it will be officially so. The leaves are machine-harvested to keep the price affordable, from Asanoka bushes which is a rather new cultivar dating back to 1996. The tea is with a milky texture and nori seaweed flavour. For a Gyokuro tea, the umami is less dominant in this one and not overpowering, there's a pleasant amount of complexity of flavour.

Brewing suggestions: 6 grams of tea per 100ml of 55C water, 1st steeping 2min, 2nd steeping 1-2min, 3rd steeping 2-3min OR 4 grams of tea per 200ml of 60C water, 1st steeping 1min, 2nd steeping 30sec, 3rd steeping 1min etc.