玉露 Gyokuro Premium

Gyokuro (玉露, 'jade dew') is the most prestigious loose-leaf Japanese green tea — shade-grown, first-flush, accounting for less than half a percent of Japan's total green tea output. The name comes from the appearance of the rolled needle-shaped leaves in the morning light after shading: a deep, lustrous jade that catches the light like dew. It is grown in Uji (Kyoto Prefecture) and Yame (Fukuoka Prefecture), Japan's two historic gyokuro regions. What makes gyokuro different from every other green tea is the shading. Three to four weeks before harvest, the entire tea garden is covered — traditionally with reed screens, now more commonly with black cloth — blocking 85–95% of sunlight. In darkness, the plant cannot photosynthesize normally; it redirects its energy into producing L-theanine, the amino acid responsible for the savoury, brothy depth that gyokuro is known for. At the same time, chlorophyll production surges and the bitter catechins that normally increase as the leaf matures are partially suppressed. In the cup: cloudy pale jade liquor — the cloudiness is suspended amino acids, a sign of quality. The aroma is distinctive: ocean air, dried seaweed (nori), a trace of cream and fresh spring grass. On the palate: an immediate, coating umami with a naturally sweet, smooth body and a long-lingering aftertaste. Worldwide delivery.