This fragrant and delicious tea is grown in the lush tea gardens of Uji (Ujitawara), Kyoto, Japan. Uji is the birthplace of tea in Japan, and has long enjoyed its well-earned reputation as the region producing Japan’s finest teas. Kyoto is the heart of tea culture in Japan and the place where the tea ceremony was first established by the Tea Master, Sen No Rikyu.
Several variables conspire to make the taste of Uji tea distinctive:
- the terroir/soils
- tea bush cultivars and varietals
- the dedication to quality shown by successive members of long-standing tea producing families
- the resulting care bestowed on all aspects of the cultivation and manufacture of Uji leaf teas and Matcha
Gyokuro is what is known as a ‘shade-grown‘ tea. During the spring growing season, the tea bushes are covered for a period of 20-30 days with a mesh or straw covering. Shading the tea from the sun alters the normal chemistry of the leaf by increasing the chlorophyll content.
Tea Trekker’s Gyokuro Jade Dew is also very rich in amino acids which gives the tea liquor a buttery, slightly chewy mouth feel. The flavor is full and sweet on the palate, without being overpowering. It is buttery with just the pleasant touch of astringency one comes to expect from a classic Gyokuro. The aroma has a faint biscuity note.
This is an excellent Gyokuro and it is sure to please both our Japanese green tea customers and anyone who is enthusiastic about traditional Japanese green tea.