Thanks to JC for a sample of this one…
It’s been a while since I’ve had gyokuro of any kind, I do like them but it can be hard to justify the price. My allergies were bugging me when I woke up this morning, so I thought I’d focus more on green teas today after drinking my matcha smoothie.
I think I may have steeped this at too high a temperature (around 175) with my variable temp kettle. The 1st steep at 90 seconds seems a bit bitter though there are pleasant grassy and nutty notes in the tea with a vivid greenish/yellow tea liquor…
I tried the 2nd steep at a much lower temperature and liked it better. There is more of a umami flavor with some brothiness present. Still grassy but much less assertive. I think you’re supposed to brew gyokuro at lower temperatures but I forgot about that when I prepared this.
I seem to recall I’ve had some other gyokuros that were sweet and a much deeper green than this one. I don’t know if I messed it up due to my brewing parameters? I appreciate having the chance to try it but won’t rate it for now.
