Tea: Yame Gyokuro Premium

Grower: The Kurihara Family

Origin: Yabe Village, in Yame, Japan

Cultivation: Conventional

Harvest Date: June 25, 2014

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Created by The Kurihara Family from Yabe Village, in Yame, Japan. They've won awards for their gyokuro tea craftsmanship for many years. This batch won 1st Place in Japanese Tea at the North American Tea Conference 2014.

The profile includes deep, savory "umami" flavors with a lasting sweet finish, on an incredibly rich and brothy texture.

Grown at an altitude of 680m (2230ft), with the Yabukita cultivar. Shaded from the sunlight for 3 weeks with traditional bamboo shading. Lightly steamed.

Gyokuro tea is grown beneath shading, cutting out some 85% of the sunlight. This allows the leaves to mature without obtaining bitterness. The results is an ultra delicate green tea with an extremely sweet taste profile from elevated theanine levels.

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Recommended Brewing Instructions: Use 1tsp (~2g) of tea leaves per 4oz (~120ml) of water.
Brew for 1-2 minutes.

- 150F for a light but very delicate, smooth tea with a sweet, creamy profile.

- 160F for a sweet, grassy profile with a full, buttery texture and complex flavors.

- 175F for a a stronger umami flavor and more pronounced notes, on a sharper, more aromatic liquor.

This tea can be rebrewed up to 4 times, with hotter water and longer infusions.