Gyokuro Pine Breeze Tea by Lupicia

6 Tasting Notes

Two teaspoons of tea, steeped for one minute rather than the minute and a half suggested on the packet, because I’ve learnt to be very, very careful with Gyokuro. But actually, now that I’ve tried it I think this one might stand to be steeped for a minute and a half. It would be interesting to find out if the extra time would make it a teensy bit stronger without ruining it, anyway.

This is a very soft, muted sort of gyokuro. It produces the typical pale green liquor and the taste is vegetal, of course, but not overly so. It’s very soft and gentle on the surface, but isn’t as silky/smooth in the mouth as that softness might lead you to expect. The aftertaste is really, really interesting. There’s a little bit of saltiness to it, and a very slight sharpness that’s so subtle that I’m hesitant to go as far as calling it astringent.

This is the sort of tea that makes you want to sip it slowly and consider every drop. I’ve just finished my first cup and I already want to try it again.

2010-01-20 22:30:04 -0500

140 °F / 60 °C

1 min 0 sec

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Jim Marks 4 tasting notes

Lisbet picked up this tea for me while she was in Tokyo and I’ve been saving it for a rainy day because it isn’t cheap.

Well, it is raining both literally and metaphorically today, so here we go.

Unfortunately…

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this tea, but truth be told, I’ve had better gyokuro sold stateside (so much for the myth that all the best tea is never exported) and there really isn’t anything deeply exceptional or exciting going on, here.

Certainly not enough to make up for financial woes, failing plumbing, deaths in the family, conflicting obligations, office politics or looming holiday travels and hassles.

2011-11-15 14:48:43 -0500

170 °F / 76 °C

0 min 30 sec

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Houston is having an atypically long stint of gloom.

I decided to try to brighten it with some of this bright green tea.

The cup has a very thick mouth feel today. Maybe I did a better job preparing it than I did the last time. But the problem with truly fantastic shaded green teas which are steeped correctly is that they’re mild by definition. They’re subtle. There shouldn’t be anything in the cup that leaps out and grabs you by the nose.

Which, while it makes for a very soothing cup of tea, does make it very difficult to get all that excited about any one particular cup.

We have another Japanese green in the house that Liz got while she was in Tokyo, much less high end, and yes, I can taste the difference between the two. But unless I was having a very special meal that required the pairing or I was hosting a very formal gathering, I’m hard pressed to come up with a justification for spending the money on this kind of tea when the “pay back” is so much less obvious than it is in other categories of tea (where the pay off can be enormous in some cases).

2011-12-13 10:22:00 -0500

170 °F / 76 °C

0 min 15 sec

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The sipping down continues.

Orders with Upton and Verdant have been placed and are anxiously awaited.

Yesterday afternoon we shared a good six steepings of this tea with the reverend Father Symeon during his visit to perform the annual blessing of our home. It proved the perfect brew to stimulate a prolonged discussion and good fellowship.

2012-01-12 17:38:30 -0500

175 °F / 79 °C

0 min 15 sec

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I had to “put up” the green pu-erh cake from Central Market to age at least six months, maybe a year. This leaves (no pun intended) me with just a few teas that I am slowly working my way through so that I can justify an order to Upton, Verdant and/or Red Blossom.

So, this means many cups of this gyokuro and another lesser Japanese green that Liz brought back with her from Tokyo.

In having complained about the lackluster nature of this tea in the past, I have been thinking about what I can do to allow it to show me the best it has to offer.

I remembered observing a senchado — Japanese tea ceremony utilizing sencha instead of matcha — and that their steep times were quite short. Since I am currently obsessed with my two gaiwan method of preparation I have been engaging a very short steep time and the result has been interesting.

Early steeps are extremely delicate and are such a pale green they are almost blue. The liqueur is almost sweet. Later steeps take on the more traditional yellow-green with the stronger, more vegetal flavors.

At least it keeps me busy.

2012-01-10 10:04:39 -0500

165 °F / 73 °C

0 min 15 sec

I am a fan of Japanese greens. I scored this as a sample with a purchase of TKY from Lupicia. Im always a bit iffy with Gyokuro, because they are very picky about the brew, and I become lazy to brew it with the right amount of patience.

I brewed this in a 12 ounce kyusu, with obi-ami mesh. Went extra careful with the water, and brewed it at one minute ascending brews, stopping my pour half way through, swirling the tea around quickly around the mesh and finishing the pour. Over all it drew up a bit more than four cups, if you want bolder flavour go with two minute ascending or tinker with the seconds. I try to just pass one brew with Gyokuro, most of the time the pickiness can’t handle another draw, and I rather not play by the clock with a Gyokuro.

Like any Japanese green it has a vegetable profile, but I agree that it is a soft, more “friendly” Gyokuro, not the menacing green giant in a cup ready to smack your mouth with its’ almost overwhelming beta-carotene rich flavor! The cup drew light green, granted a enjoyable fresh glasslike scent and delivered a flavour that glides through your mouth with a oceanic finish, leaving you wanting to tilt the cup again, I consider it refreshing.

Starting on a Gyokuro? This wouldn’t be a bad choice for a starter in my opinion. After the sample I would try this again if i was in the mood. It’s a great tea.

2010-03-03 00:00:46 -0500

195 °F / 90 °C

1 min 0 sec

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