I had another pleasure of trying Gyokuro this time around since my last impression was from an “up-selling establishment”. My first impression was almost always the intense vegetal and spinach aroma along with a deep jaded color. Adagio’s take of Gyokuro is highly authentic grown by respected hands…yet a shadow of its essence. I don’t know exactly, maybe someone out here would explain but my idea is probably the age of the batch is a bit old for a sample, possible a bad batch, or yet the dreaded draw down of intense flavors for customer appeal (something I hate to see in this tea that’s know for its rich taste). Either way, this tea is light in comparison…even T’s gyokuro could rival in its umami salty-like, savory aspect, its tastes much more like grass, a faint familiar vegetal aroma and flavor.
The liqour has a light green color beyond two minutes, though at first I gave it a go at forty-five seconds but it was all too light that its liquor could have been mistaken for White Tea. Negatives aside, its an enjoyable tea with a balance not seen with gyokuro, smooth taste without tannins,without` bitterness after brew after brew. As much as I praise Adagio and the tea grower for this gyokuro, every sip I take always so often it seem generic yet I may be wrong.
Update: I kinda regret what I just mentioned above, It appears it does have an umami flavor close to sushi and seaweed. I dont know what went wrong with brewing this tea before but I certainly enjoy more often then I should of…I ran out of this stuff:( oh well…
