Everything you Need to Know About Gyokuro
You’ve no doubt heard of Gyokuro, but if you haven't, let us shed a little bit of light on the jewel of Japanese green tea for you. It's the tea that takes umami to its maximum levels but there is much more to it than just its rich umami flavor. In today's posts we’ll cover its history, cultivation, production, preparation, and more. By the time you're done reading you’ll learn everything you need to know about Gyokuro.
History
The name Gyokuro translates into “Jade Dew”. It's highly revered within the tea community and is often referred to as the Champagne of Japanese green tea as it is considered to be the highest grade of Japanese green tea. Because of that Gyokuro often comes with a heightened price tag and is often one of the most expensive loose-leaf Japanese green teas available on the market. Without a doubt though the higher price tag is warranted because a lot of hard work goes into creating this incredible tea.
The history of Gyokuro begins in 1853 during the Edo period and is thought to have been first discovered in 1853 by Yamamoto Kahei, the XI of the Yamamotoyama Tea Company. Though the company was based in Edo (currently Tokyo), he would often visit Kyoto to learn more about tea. It was on one of his visits to Uji to learn more about the Tencha process that he met the Kinoshita Family and saw that due to a harsh winter they had had to cover a large percentage of their crops to protect the leaves from frost.
It has been said that the winter that year was longer than usual and so much more protection was needed. As a result the leaves that had been shaded for this long period of time became more sticky in the process, which Yamamoto Kahei noticed, and so he shaped some of the leaves into small pellets and steeped them, he was amazed with the flavor and immediately took the tea back to Edo where it became an instant hit and was originally sold using the name Tamano Tsuyu which translate into Jewel of Dew.
Of course as a result of the tea's success in Edo, he sought to repeat the process to create more of this tea. Only because the leaves he was using weren’t shaded like the leaves from the Kinoshita Family, the results were very different. It was actually a man named Eguchi Shigejuro from Uji that in 1841 noticed that the key to replicating that same flavor was in fact shading the and it is thanks to him that the process was completed. It was then refined by Tsujiri Emon, founder of Tsujiri tea, who played a huge part in making Uji tea a nationally recognized brand by helping to improve trade channels and tea transportation, which he did during the Meiji Era. He also helped to develop the Chabako (Tea Box) used in Japan to store and transport both tea and teaware.
Cultivation and Production
The process of creating Gyokuro is very similar to Sencha, however there are some differences. For example, the extended shading of the plants to create Gyokuro. When the second buds appear on the plants usually around April the plants are covered with straw or black mesh cloth that blocks out around 80-85% of sunlight, usually that lasts for ten days. Then they are covered again to black out 95% of the light which takes place for another ten days. Some plants are only covered once, however as each farmer differs in their technique, sometimes shading can last for longer but anything that is shaded longer than 20 days should really be referred to as Kabuse-cha and not Gyokuro. The added difficulty shading adds to the process is often a contributing factor to the higher price that is usually attributed to Gyokuro.
When it comes to harvesting, whether it is done by hand or by machine is usually decided by the landscape of the farms. Some are located in places that would be too steep or uneven to use machines and therefore those leaves are picked by hand. Others are so flat that it is easier to use machines than to pick by hand to avoid overworking and save time. Some farms are completely machine free and pick everything by hand; it just depends on the choices made by the farmers/producers of the tea as they know what is best for their crops.
Because the mats that shade the leaves are usually elevated to give the plants space to grow, it is common that each plant will usually have 5-6 newly grown leaves and all of them are picked, as opposed to a bud and two leaves like most other teas. Though you will find farms that do not use elevated shaders it is not recommended to purchase Gyokuro that has been shaded directly as direct shading can cause limited growth and hardening of the leaves and that can affect the overall quality of the tea.
After harvesting the process used follows almost the exact process and Sencha does, with short steaming and rolling but less pressure is used as the longer shaded leaves are much more brittle. However, the leaves are usually rolled for hours to break down the cells within the leaves. After the previously mentioned steps the leaves are then dried to ensure long term preservation. Usually the stems will be separated from the leaves during this process as well and actually become a tea as well which is called karigane.
Hot Brewing Recommendations
In order to fully enjoy the incredible levels of umami that Gyokuro holds, it is imperative that it is steeped at lower temperatures and also that it is steeped using freshly filtered water. To ensure exact temperatures we recommend a temperature variable kettle like the VelociTEA maker. But, if you don’t have one, set aside a cooling vessel known in Japan as a Yuzamashi that you can put your freshly steeped water in while you wait for it to cool.
In order to cool the water down faster, pouring it to and from another cooling vessel will cool it by around 10C each time it is transferred. For the first steep the water should be between 50-60C. You’ll want to use around 6g of tea, and 60ml of water for the ideal results but you’ll need to adjust those perimeters depending on the water capacity of your vessel. When it comes to vessels a houhin, shiboridashi or kyusu are your best choices for preparing Gyokuro.
Take your Gyokuro leaves and spread them evenly across the bottom of your chosen vessel, once you’ve done that pour over your water which by this point should be cool enough or should have finished steeping to temperature. For your first steep, you'll want to steep for 2 minutes. When steeping is finished pour it littler by little into the cups going back and forth to assure that all ups are even in flavor. Because Gyokuro is very thick and rich in umami it is best served in smaller quantities from very small cups. Be sure to make sure you get all the water out from your first steeps down to the very last drops to ensure that your second steep is not ruined.
For the second, and all following steepings, with each one slowly raise the water temperature. When it comes to the first steeps umami is what it is all about, however in the following steeps it weakens and a sweet aftertaste is given space to emerge.
Cold Brewing Recommendations
Should you be looking for a way to enjoy your Gyokuro during the summer try out the kōridashi method, which is a slow mindful way of preparing this tea that results in the most refreshing cup. Firstly make ice cubes (you'll want to make sure you use filtered water to do this). Once they are ready gently place them in your chosen vessel. Take approximately 4-6g of leaves, spending on how strong you want it to be and place them on top of the ice cubes. It’s important that you place them on top as putting them underneath the ice cubes will compress the leaves and not allow them a chance to breathe which could result in an uneven distribution of flavor. Simply wait for the ice cubes to melt and enjoy the most refreshing cup of Gyokuro you will ever drink.
Where to Purchase
If you find yourself without any Gyokuro head over to Masters Teas and check out their 2022 Shincha Gyokuro! It's a lively first harvest of the year from the Shizuoka foothills of Mount Fuji. It offers floral notes and a soft savory note among other nuances that relieve themselves as the tea starts to cool. As your steeps progress you discover incredible umami-nutty notes, sweet sugar snap pea greenness, hints of lily-of-the-valley and so much more. This really is an exceptional spring tea.