Gyokuro Green Tea -- How do I determine quality??
Hi!
So… I am reading and drinking as much time as money will allow, in an effort to learn, and I’m more confused than ever.
One of my questions is around gyokuro, and determining the quality of the tea.
There are many sites out there selling it, some list the breed, others (most) don’t. I have to sort of trust their claims and reviews, and I don’t know if the people reviewing it know, either.
Does anybody know of the main visual/taste qualities I should be paying attention to?
Also, is this Gyokuro even possible to be selling so inexpensively?
Thanks!!
basic rules from my experience (i’m into oolongs mostly) -
good vendors list the breed.
ebay is mostly cheap.
cheap generally tastes cheap.
dont trust ebay. (unless proven vendors)
I’ll suggest you to choose Japanese product. Gyokuro is Japanese tea.
Especially Uji Kyoto and Shizuoka is very famous place with green tea in Japan.
It’s absolutely good quality.
My favorite is;
https://wabisabi-tea.com/shop-cat/gyokuro
The regions of Uji, Shizuoka and Yame are good bets.
Gyokuro must be tightly rolled, the leaves should be a very dark green and glossy. Not much powder in them nor stems and stalks.
When you smell the leaves it should be sweet, and seaweed aroma. It should feel fresh.
If you prepare it correctly, it should have a lot of umami but not much bitterness.
Hope that helps.
Thanks Mahiro.
Ricardo, great tips. Much appreciated. My only have two experiences with Gyokuro. One was when I purchased it from Teavana. It was close to what you described. Second time was, I think, from Upton Tea. It definitely wasn’t dark green and glossy. I do recall it being a little dusty, too.
I’ll be ordering some better versions.
The two things that are still confusing to me are the brewing recommendations and the sheer number of people selling different types, for all different prices, all with varying claims to quality.
Do you have any advice on how to sift through all the variations? Or, should there really not be that much variation, since Gyokuro is really only harvested in one of those few areas you mentioned, and I think there are only a few different breeds. If that’s the case, asking the vendor for the location/cultivator/breed/etc, should weed out all the garbage, right?
Thanks!
Using Hojo Tea’s recommendation with some input of my own, this is how I brew gyokuro. Ultimately, sifting through the various methods of brewing, you’ll figure out a method that works best for you.
Brewing
The quantity of tea leaf can be calculated by the formula “Divide the Volume of Water by 5”. For example: the volume of teapot = 200ml; 200ml/50 =4g. You need to measure 4g of tea leaf for 200ml of water.
Temperature
Cool boiling water down to 70-80C. If you have an extra pitcher (cha hai) or cooling pitcher (samashi) this will assist in obtaining the correct temperature. Pour the boiling water into the pitcher and count to ten. Then pour it on the tea. If tea is too weak, then only let boiling water sit in pitcher for 5 seconds. If its too bitter/strong, let it sit in pitcher for 15 seconds. And adjust the time as you go to get the right temperature. You’ll figure it out with practice. Use the same temperature the whole tea session. Use boiling water for the last steeping to bring out the remaining flavor.
Brewing time
First brewing: 30 seconds to 40 seconds. The 2nd and 3rd brewing is just a few seconds. 4+ brewing, increase to 10 seconds and add 10 seconds for each additional steep.
http://hojotea.com/item_e/g04e.htm
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