Adagio Gyokuro
Name: Gyokuro
Company: Adagio
Type: Green, loose
Cost: $39 for 5oz
This tea fascinates me. Gyokuro is in many people’s opinion the finest Japanese green tea. It also seems to be the costliest. What makes this type of tea so unique is it is grown underneath the shade instead of in the sun. The name translates into ‘jade dew’ which gives a hint at the beauty and delicate nature of this tea.
I’m almost certain this has got to be the most finicky and difficult tea to brew correctly. It requires lower temperatures and that really makes quite a difference in whether or not this type of tea will turn out enjoyable. The temperature of the water needs to be between 122 and 140 which means preheating your teaware is essential if you don’t want to end up with tea that is lukewarm. It is also necessary to use the correct amount of tea leaves which should be about 1 gram per 1 oz of water. Steep time needs to be 2 minutes. All of the above information came from O-Cha’s green tea brewing tips. Please visit them if you would like more information.
Now on to the review of Adagio’s Gyokuro. Like all of Adagio teas there is a brewing recommendation on the tin which suggests this should be brewed for 3 minutes in 180 degree water. I personally wouldn’t use that recommendation for this particular tea. You won’t end up getting the full experience or a great cup. I followed the instructions I found on O-Cha to help me get the most out of this.
The dry leaves are tiny and a lovely shade of dark green. They omit a wonderful fragrance that is vegetal and sweet. The taste of the tea is incredible to my untrained pallet. I wish I could find the right words to describe this but they all seem to elude me. I’ve actually been meaning to write a review on this for a little while but could not come up with a good description that would do this tea justice. But I am doing the review anyway expecting you to explore it and experience it for yourself. I suppose you could say this tea almost makes me speechless. It is green tasting with a lovely sweet undertone that I can literally taste several hours after I finish a cup. Not necessarily aftertaste, but a hint of it comes back long after I have finished drinking it making me want more. I also greatly appreciate that this tea can be re-infused several times before the leaves have been spent making the heavy price tag a little easier to swallow.
This is one of my favorite teas and I most definelty want to try more. I can only imagine how good all the other Gyokuro’s out there might be and I must get my hands on some! This delicate and special tea is truly a tea to enjoy and one you must try. I have a feeling I may end up making this a staple despite the price but I can’t help myself. There is something mysterious and alluring about Gyokuro.
The product(s) included in this post were purchased by myself or sent as a free sample along with a purchase.
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Gyokuro is by far my favourite Japanese tea.
The Gyokuro is generally only grown under shade for the last 20 days before plucking, to increase the presence of umami (amino acid) in the tea. I currently have the first place Gyokuro from Japan’s recent speciality tea cupping event. It is by far the best I have tasted, almost trance inducing it is so good (and a meal in a cup!). For preparation I use Gyokuro specific Japanese tea ware, steeped at 55 – 60 degrees Celsius for 3 minutes. We have a total of 9.2 kg available to us at $500 AUD per kg (+ postage). It is part of our new Chamellia Reserve Selection.
Kind regards,
Nathan
MD Somage Fine Foods