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“Yum. That is all. (Did someone say cheesecake? We’re going to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Woo hoo!)” Read full tasting note
“Dry Smell: like a fruit rollup. Wet Smell: Like snow peas. Tastes like snow peas. Maybe grass as well. Not bad I’ve never had Gyokuro before but it’s nice I think I might like Sencha Better though.” Read full tasting note
“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...” Read full tasting note
“I actually tried to re-steep one and IT WORKED OUT WELL I just let it steep a big longer. I DON’T REALLY KNOW… WHY I DIDN’T TRY IT BEFORE. Wow that was dumb of me. AT LEAST NOW I KNOW!” Read full tasting note
Green tea from Japan famed for its unique shading process. Gyokuro, meaning ‘pearl dew,’ is among the finest of Japanese teas. Our ‘Moonlight Gyokuro’ is made solely from the prized tender buds gathered in the early spring flush. Three weeks prior to plucking, tea bushes are shaded from the sun. The fruits of this hard work are evident in each cup. The result is a gentle tea with an intoxicating fragrance and truly sublime taste.
Adagio Teas has become one of the most popular destinations for tea online. Its products are available online at www.adagio.com and in many gourmet and health food stores.
Dry Smell: like a fruit rollup.
Wet Smell: Like snow peas.
Tastes like snow peas. Maybe grass as well. Not bad I’ve never had Gyokuro before but it’s nice I think I might like Sencha Better though.
Put some ice cubes in a teapot and some gyokuro leaves on top of the ice. As the ice melts…pure tea amino acids melt off snf can be poured off into a cup for a super concentrated sip. Little by little…you get these little tastes of tea. Of course, the better the gyokuro the better the flavor. (Just a suggestion, one of my favorites)
Thanks for the tip Bonnie! :)
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…
If you’re looking for a high-quality gyokuro I’d recommend a place that specializes in Japanese teas like Den’s Tea. They’re more expensive generally but the quality is worth the extra money.
mellow monk, http://www.o-cha.com/ and Yuuki-Cha would be worth looking into as well.
Thanks jillian for that, i checked Den’s tea there quite a good selection and definately expensive. @Kasumi: Thanks for the reference yet I can’t find the amount there selling only the prices are shown.
This came on Saturday and I thought this would be the perfect day to rip into it since it’s the Select item- and it’s my 1st gyokuro!
Prepared as suggested. 1tsp/170 degree purified water. I’m really glad they’ve gotten away from the 1tsp/180 degree water parameters, but this isn’t close enough. Leaf amount is right, but water volume has got to be less, the temp has got to be cooler, and it’s way over steeped. But, this is what they suggest, so it’s what I’ll try 1st.
The liquor is a light olive color w/ a very sweet aroma- almost as sweet as the musk melon I just had. The mouth feel is very smooth- not exactly what I expected since the leaves are so tiny leaving particles in my cup. The flavor is very sweet with just a hint of astringency. Good, but I think an overhaul of the steeping parameters will give me a better cuppa.
I’ve had my sample for months and only now felt brave enough to try brewing it hot. (I tried the cold-brewing method first, without much success, must have been the ice I used.)
Looking for guidance from TeaChat, O-cha (http://www.o-cha.com/brewing-gyokuro.htm) and this post (http://meandmytea.blogspot.com/2008/04/gyokuro-brewing.html), I settled on 2g of leaf per oz of water. I used a heaping tablespoon which turned out to be 6.10 grams, then used ~100mL water. I started with 140F for my first batch.
First impression: Wow. Like matcha, only smokier.
The first batch I used only about 90ml, and it was too concentrated that I had to add a bit more water. It then mellowed down to a considerably more enjoyable cup. In fact, downright tasty I was smacking my lips. As I’m writing this now suddenly I can taste a sweet powdery taste emerging at the back of my tongue.
The succeeding batches, I upped the temperature of water a bit to 150, then 155, and used more water, about 110-120mL, infusion times between 60-90 seconds.
I’ve seen instructions (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/wa_style/sub_contents/101/gyokuro.html) to use even lower temperatures (104 to 122F, or 40 to 50C), steeped for two minutes. Since I still have a lot of my sample, I will give that a try soon, but maybe not today, because damn this stuff is already going to my head, like espresso, and I think I better lie down. :P
Like matcha only smokier? I think I’ll skip those parameters then lol! I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything described like that lol.
feel free to use your own parameters, and share them with me please! mine, uh, suck.
LOL! I love matcha, but yeah smoky matcha would be like drinking ashes. I depend on http://www.denstea.com/perfect_brewing.html for all my Japanese green steeping parameters. Good luck!
First off , just straight awesome!! I brewed it for 45 seconds and the brew had a emerald colour, the taste was that of steamed spinach and melted butter, the texture was like you were drinking melted butter! MMMMM and I got 3 steepings out of it, a first for a tea from adagio.
I brewed this at a slightly lower temp (a recommendation from Twitter) – 160 degrees – and I saw a slightly milder taste than the bitter edge I got at 180d. Grassy is a def, vegatal with a slight sweet taste. Full, grassy scent. The second steep was milder still.
This is a great pick-me-up when I need to focus and keep getting distracted.
160 is the temp recommendation I have as well. 2tsp in 4oz water for 2 min. Glad you got a better cuppa:)
It made such a difference!
I found 165-170 to be fine. 180 definitely brought out some bitterness.
I found that too – I’m glad I have Adagio’s tea kettle – the one where I can change my temp settings.
I love the look of the leaves resembling dark green silky needles. The smell is very grassy and a bit off-putting. Some people, I recall, describing this tea as a broccoli water :) But I actually like the taste. It is grassy, vegetal not as sweet as Sencha.
Sometimes I think my body has a mind of its own and it says: “Give me more of this! I like it!”
Now, I’m talking to myself …. Sigh. Never mind, I’ll have some more tea.
I’m not sold on this yet, but from reading some of the tasting notes, it appears that it may take a lot of experimentation with the time/temp/amount of leaf.
On the advice of the tasting notes, I used 2 tsp of leaf and steeped for 2 min at 160°. This produced a brew that, while initially lightly sweet, quickly turns fairly bitter and leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.
Rating pending. Going to try a second, much shorter steeping now.
You also may want to change the volume of water that you use. For these steeping parameters you may want to only use 4oz water. Another set of parameters you may want to try is 2oz of 140 degree water, 2tsp tea steeped for 2.5min. Hope this helps!:)
That’s quite little water for quite a lot of leaf! What effect would you expect that to have on it?
I expect a much better result. For more info on steeping parameters of Japanese greens, I suggest http://www.denstea.com/perfect_brewing.html
Lucky!! Have a piece of cheesecake for me!! I won’t be able to have their tasty food until I am in Florida in March.
I will be eating from the skinnylicious menu, unfortunately, but I may allow myself a bite of someone else’s cheesecake and I’ll be happy to do it in your honor, VT. ;-)
Awww so sweet. Enjoy yourself!!
Urghhh… Too much cheesecake talk :(
Sorry RS! ;-)
I’ve never been there before but I heard it’s pretty good!
F, it’s decent for a chain. Lots of selections so something for everyone. But ridiculously HUGE portions.