Gyokuro

Product Description

This truly extraordinary Japanese tea generates a bright green, almost luminescent infusion with a wonderfully smooth, sweet & creamy taste
- we'd compare it to freshly shelled peas, lightly steamed & coated with melted butter. Sound a bit far-fetched? Just wait till you've tried it. Although the technique of steaming tea first originated in China, it's since become more widely associated with Japan where steamed green tea has been favoured since first being introduced by the Chinese during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). We've sourced our Gyokuro from Shizuoka, perhaps the most famous of Japan's tea-growing regions. The secret behind the tea's vibrant colour & rich, buttery taste comes down to the technique of covering the bushes with blankets to protect them from the light, forcing the leaves to store up their nutrients. This unique style of cultivation accounts for less than 1% of all Japanese green tea: fewer leaves are produced, but each one is packed with green chlorophyll, picked & skilfully steamed to keep that natural neon glow. Amino-acid aficionados might be interested to hear that Gyokuro is reputedly high in amino acids such as mood-enhancer L-theanine, but we'd recommend this tea primarily for its taste
- anyone who associates green tea with a tannic, bitter brew will soon be disproved.