The husband caught a whiff of this while we were in the bulk teas section of the grocery store so I picked up a little bit to sample. This stuff is selling for $199.99 a pound! Goodness. I hope this is good but I’ve never had much luck with enjoying gyokuro. But eh, that’s the joy of bulk food buying – I can try just a little.
I’m going to up late tonight so I’m not too concerned with caffeine so I went ahead and did the suggested 4g of leaf in 6oz of water. I’m really surprised at how nice the leaf looks considering where I got it. Dark green, clear, somewhat silky (not silky enough to be super-fresh but fresh enough, I think). Dry it smells both clean and buttery.
And now I remember one reason I rarely drink gyokuro. I’m impatient for the water to cool. Sigh. But finally, the water is ready and in 45s I’ll have some gyokuro.
Mmm, okay, this is good. Very clean tasting but still sweet. Makes me think of honeydew melon. There’s also a thicker taste that gets mixed in there. What I assume they are calling butter but the husband says reminds him of Le Sueur very young sweet peas (a household favorite). I can see both butter and pea-like but waffle between the two. Ultimately, it is more a feeling of creaminess than an actual taste for me.
I can see why this is supposedly award-winning. This is good. The husband thought so too as he tried to drink about half my cup. Depending on how subsequent steeps go, this tea might get my elusive 5 star rating.
ETA:
Steep 2 – pour started at 5s. OMG, it’s buttered grass. So awesome.
Steep 3 – pour started at 1min. This steep isn’t as intense as the first two. Should have done 1:15 – 1:30. Still nice (if light). Tastes like thin honey.
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2 things… 4g/6oz? HOLY COW! and 2nd… your GROCERY STORE sells a $199.99/lb tea? Where do you do your grocery shopping? lol:)
4g/6oz is pretty standard for Japanese greens, especially because such a short steep time is used. It ensures there is a strong enough flavor after just 45s. Teance’s site recommends a range of 4-5gs for 6-8oz but I’ve seen some growers that recommend a 1g/1oz ratio.
The grocery story we use is Central Market. They are owned by HEB and, from my understanding, is their upscale/specialty grocery store. They carry mostly natural and organic stuff so I can find things without any corn in them. Their bulk tea section is pretty nice. They’ve got a couple of Darjeelings that run about $80 – 90 per pound and are really quite fantastic. They carry Rishi, ROT, Teance, SerendipiTea, Planet Tea, David’s Tea and maybe one or two others.
Oh mah gah Auggy I hope you didn’t buy an entire pound of this! Although that would be highly amusing. And your grocery store sounds awesome. :)
Hahah! No way! I got $4.00 worth – less than half an ounce! And it is my favorite place on earth. Seriously. Favorite.
To echo Cofftea’s comment, clearly Texas is the place to do your grocery shopping, the advantage perhaps of living in a state that’s just so big and where grocery stores and supermarkets have room to stock things. If you’re claustrophobic, you don’t ever want to go into a New York City supermarket, Auggy. Although we do have speciality tea stores. But good tea in the supermarket? Generally not in New York, except for Food Emporium, which we derisively call Food Delirium, because when you get to the cash register and learn how much your groceries are going to cost, you tend to get a tad woozy.
Central Market isn’t that huge but it’s a total foodie place. Probably not unlike your Food Emporium because, yeah. Not cheap. But they have tons of stuff that I can actually eat compared to a natural grocery store which is somewhat difficult for me to find stuff in. Plus, their produce section is super-fun. Dragon fruit, pepino melons, purple potatoes, black garlic… I have way too much fun there.
East Side Rob, you’re going to have to eventually give me a list of your favorite tea rooms in NYC. And yeah, the supermarkets in Manhattan tend to be… tight. Although the outer boroughs tend to have roomier places.
Well my post was a little late. Is it me or is steepster exceptionally slow today.
$1 for 2.25g isn’t that horrible I suppose. I mean that’s the price of GM’s samplers. (Assuming my math is correct, but I’m in need of some caffeine)
I think your math is right, Ricky. So it’s about $2.00 per cup (since you need to use 4 – 5 g per cup) which really isn’t bad (and doesn’t take into account the fact that you can do multiple steeps). But compared to most teas, it’s still pretty steep. From what I see on their webpage, though, that price is pretty good for this tea. I’m wondering if it is older when it is sold to CM so it is discounted?
This sounds AWESOME. I want some!
About the only tea you’d find in bulk in grocery stores here in BC is Red Rose teabags. I have to say I’m jealous Auggy! ;)
sounds great!! I am moving up to SF soon! I can’t wait.!!!
Teaplz, when you say tea rooms, are you asking about tea salons (places to have afternoon tea) or tea purveyors (places to buy quality loose-leaf teas)?
Both, actually! I’ve been getting into loose leaf slowly but surely, and I know that NYC isn’t a huge tea-drinking city. Most of my friends are heavily into coffee, and the most they’ll ever touch is a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks. I haven’t explored the city yet for tea, and I’m always looking for recommendations as to where I should go.
2 things… 4g/6oz? HOLY COW! and 2nd… your GROCERY STORE sells a $199.99/lb tea? Where do you do your grocery shopping? lol:)
4g/6oz is pretty standard for Japanese greens, especially because such a short steep time is used. It ensures there is a strong enough flavor after just 45s. Teance’s site recommends a range of 4-5gs for 6-8oz but I’ve seen some growers that recommend a 1g/1oz ratio.
The grocery story we use is Central Market. They are owned by HEB and, from my understanding, is their upscale/specialty grocery store. They carry mostly natural and organic stuff so I can find things without any corn in them. Their bulk tea section is pretty nice. They’ve got a couple of Darjeelings that run about $80 – 90 per pound and are really quite fantastic. They carry Rishi, ROT, Teance, SerendipiTea, Planet Tea, David’s Tea and maybe one or two others.
Oh mah gah Auggy I hope you didn’t buy an entire pound of this! Although that would be highly amusing. And your grocery store sounds awesome. :)
Hahah! No way! I got $4.00 worth – less than half an ounce! And it is my favorite place on earth. Seriously. Favorite.
To echo Cofftea’s comment, clearly Texas is the place to do your grocery shopping, the advantage perhaps of living in a state that’s just so big and where grocery stores and supermarkets have room to stock things. If you’re claustrophobic, you don’t ever want to go into a New York City supermarket, Auggy. Although we do have speciality tea stores. But good tea in the supermarket? Generally not in New York, except for Food Emporium, which we derisively call Food Delirium, because when you get to the cash register and learn how much your groceries are going to cost, you tend to get a tad woozy.
Central Market isn’t that huge but it’s a total foodie place. Probably not unlike your Food Emporium because, yeah. Not cheap. But they have tons of stuff that I can actually eat compared to a natural grocery store which is somewhat difficult for me to find stuff in. Plus, their produce section is super-fun. Dragon fruit, pepino melons, purple potatoes, black garlic… I have way too much fun there.
East Side Rob, you’re going to have to eventually give me a list of your favorite tea rooms in NYC. And yeah, the supermarkets in Manhattan tend to be… tight. Although the outer boroughs tend to have roomier places.
Well my post was a little late. Is it me or is steepster exceptionally slow today.
$1 for 2.25g isn’t that horrible I suppose. I mean that’s the price of GM’s samplers. (Assuming my math is correct, but I’m in need of some caffeine)
I think your math is right, Ricky. So it’s about $2.00 per cup (since you need to use 4 – 5 g per cup) which really isn’t bad (and doesn’t take into account the fact that you can do multiple steeps). But compared to most teas, it’s still pretty steep. From what I see on their webpage, though, that price is pretty good for this tea. I’m wondering if it is older when it is sold to CM so it is discounted?
This sounds AWESOME. I want some!
About the only tea you’d find in bulk in grocery stores here in BC is Red Rose teabags. I have to say I’m jealous Auggy! ;)
sounds great!! I am moving up to SF soon! I can’t wait.!!!
Teaplz, when you say tea rooms, are you asking about tea salons (places to have afternoon tea) or tea purveyors (places to buy quality loose-leaf teas)?
Both, actually! I’ve been getting into loose leaf slowly but surely, and I know that NYC isn’t a huge tea-drinking city. Most of my friends are heavily into coffee, and the most they’ll ever touch is a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks. I haven’t explored the city yet for tea, and I’m always looking for recommendations as to where I should go.