Gyokuro is a high-quality and expensive green tea from Japan, made by shading the plants for at least three weeks before harvesting only the young shoots. It has a distinct deep green color, salty then sweet taste, and high levels of amino acids and caffeine. The tea is harvested from less hardy plant varieties, such as Asahi, Goko, Midori, or Yamakai, which are known to absorb high levels of nitrogen from the soil. The tea is grown in regions such as Uji and Okabe, and shading the plants slows the growth of the first shoots, allowing them to fill with essential amino acids. The result is a tea with little bitterness and a tangy flavor known as umami.
Japanese Gyokuro, which means “jade dew”, a very refined and very expensive green tea. Most Japanese green tea is called sencha, made from leaf crops. When gyokuro is made, however, farmers shade the plants for at least three weeks before harvesting just the young shoots for a distinctly deep green tea. The result is an expensive drink with a salty then sweet taste and the best punch of amino acids and caffeine.
Farmers have been brewing green tea in the gyokuro and sencha styles for at least 3,500 years. The Yabukita plant is the primary source of sencha, but gyokuro is better suited to come from less hardy varieties such as Asahi, Goko, Midori or Yamakai. The latter plants are known to be the best at absorbing nitrogen from the soil, which results in high levels of amino acids. Another difference in gyokuro is that it takes very little time to steep and brew.
What makes this green tea more distinct, however, is how it’s harvested. Gyokuro undergoes most shades of green tea varieties, with at least 20 days of suspended photosynthesis. This produces a more nutrient-dense, flavorful tea with an even body. Another type of shaded variety is called kabusecha, which is shaded just before harvest, but only for a week.
Some of the regions with the most respected gyokuro crops are found in and around Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, and the Okabe Region. Many farmers here and elsewhere use straw to shade their crops, adding more in the last week to ensure adequate coverage. Uji farmers typically shade their crops for a month or more, starting from the time young shoots appear; however, others only shade them for about three weeks. The amount of shade often depends on the species of plants being grown.
The result is a green tea with very little bitterness and a tangy flavour, known in Japan as umami. After an initial savory taste, a sweet aftertaste obviates the need to add a lot of sugar. Shading causes divergent taste by slowing the growth of the first shoots of the season, allowing them to fill to overflowing with essential amino acids, especially theanine. As the season progresses, tea plants transfer many of those amino acids into antioxidants called catechins, which give green tea its astringent qualities. That’s why the first gyokuro sprouts taste less astringent than green teas.
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