Gyokuro
Treasured by the Japanese for centuries, gyokuro is renowned for its exceptional quality and taste experience. Also known as 'Jade Dew', the exquisite richness of this tea is the result of a labour intensive farming process requiring lots of skill and expertise.
A true artisanal product, gyokuro comes in the form of a luminous green elixir with a rich body and bold flavours. If it's your first time, you won't have had anything quite like it.
Tana Covering Process
To produce gyokuro the trees are shaded for a minimum of twenty days, using fabric or reeded covers using materials such as bamboo and rice straw. This process, known as 'tana' or 'hifuku saibai', inhibits photosynthesis in the leaves, stimulating a range of biological processes that increase the production of caffeine, sugars, amino acids, antioxidants and flavanols.
One key amino acid that is produced is L-theanine, which promotes alpha brain waves in the form of calmness, concentration and relaxation. Chlorophyll is also increased, giving the liquid a rich emerald green colour. The resulting flavour profile is increased sweetness and umami, whilst greatly reducing bitterness and astringency.
The tana shading process consists of many different types of methods and techniques, and farmers will control factors such as the density and type of covering depending on the tea variety and their individual approach.
For gyokuro, plants are typically shaded in two phases - the first ten days may use shading that blocks 80-85% of sunlight, with the second phase increasing to 90-95%. Tana is also used for other types of tea production such as matcha, kabusecha, and some sencha ('kabuse sencha').
News
A specialty of Kyushu, kamairicha is a type of roasted pan-fired tea that is similar to sencha but more rounded and less grassy, with no astringency and an overall rich yet refreshing palate. Due to the way...
Read moreWhen one mentions 'tea' in countries such as the UK, people think of black tea or a "cuppa" - however, when you go to Nagasaki on the southern island of Kyushu, when they say 'tea', they mean tamaryokucha....
Read more