Gyokuro玉露
Shaded from sunlight for roughly 20 days before harvest. Growing in shade keeps the leaf from building astringency and lets it hold on to savory compounds instead. Brewed cool and slow for a thick, sweet cup.
How to brew
- Leaf
- 6–8 g (for two — generous)
- Water
- 40–60 ml (very little)
- Temp
- 50–60°C / 122–140°F
- Steep
- 2–2.5 min
- 2nd
- Slightly hotter, 30 sec–1 min
How it is made
For roughly 20 days before harvest the field is covered, and in the final stage the light is shut out almost completely. In sunlight the leaf breaks theanine down while building catechins; in shade theanine is preserved and catechins accumulate more slowly. After picking, it is steamed, rolled and dried like sencha.
Flavor
A dense, broth-like savoriness with a sweetness that lingers, and far less astringency than sencha when brewed at low temperature. Shade-grown tea carries a distinctive seaweed-like aroma the Japanese call ooika, the 'covering scent'. Brewed with very little water, so a single mouthful is far denser than sencha.
Where it comes from
Worth knowing
No cooling vessel? Pouring into another vessel drops the temperature by roughly 5–10°C (9–18°F), though how far depends on the vessel, its temperature and the volume. Reaching gyokuro range usually takes several transfers, a pause, or a thermometer. The spent leaves are good to eat, with a little ponzu or salt.