Gyokuro Suimei

Definitely a nice treat for this morning. I usually just drink gyokuro on the weekends which is a good thing, since it’s kind of costly.

Lovely and sweet, vegetal and seaweedy kind of cup. I got two excellent steeps out of it, which was great. See my previous notes for more info.

So last night, I had this tea and loved it. The caffeine made my sleep uneasy, but who cares. This tea is awesome! I had a second steep before bed and I think I liked it even more than the first. But I could tell from the strength of flavor that these leaves could probably give up a third steep. Being too tired and full of liquids to make a third steep, I put the leaves in my large mug, poured water over it, and stuck it in the fridge.

I come home from work today and pull this tea out of the fridge and take a sip. I was nearly overcome with bliss. Best tea ever. So sweet and smooth and perfect! I never want to drink anything else ever again. But I have no more of this tea. I will die of dehydration! Okay, not really. But I really am afraid to drink something else now because it just can’t stand up to how awesome this tea is. You know how in class, someone gives this awesome presentation that the whole class LOVES and you’re up next. That’s how it is with this tea. Other teas can’t help but feel inferior.

I think I’m going to have to give this tea a 100. My first ever. Congratulations, Gyokuro Suimei. I’ve long considered oolongs my favorite, but somehow you still win. Don’t get all cocky and sloppy now…

Tried a very successful experiment today with this. I’d say this way of brewing can make any good quality green a ‘100’. :-)

I used 1 TB leaf, 2 TB water, cooled to nearly 32F, and dumped it to the side of the leaves in the pot, so that they weren’t completely covered, and soaked up most of the water. After about 9 minutes, I poured out the, perhaps 2 tsp worth of ice cold, pale green “syrup” into my cup. By the way, the wet leaves smelled peppery, fresh, and strongly marine (like nori or seaweed), and even like salty ocean air.

The tea was like a soup. Like the most warming, comforting soup you’ve ever had. It had the most irresistable savoriness that you can imagine, coupled with a soft sweetness. I took the tiniest sips and the flavor filled my mouth. It was gone very quickly. Excellent.

The subsequent three steepings retained nearly full flavor (as it tastes with normal brewing), and produced a very dark (nearly as dark as matcha) liquor. The 2nd and 3rd were a nice balance of marine/savory and sweet, while the 4th was pure sweetness.
They were done as follows: 2oz water/100F/4 mins, 4oz water/140F/2 mins, 4 oz/140F/ 1min.

Backlogging …

Enjoyed this earlier this evening. A lovely Gyokuro. VERY sweet! And yet, savory … and warm and comforting. One of the sweetest Gyokuro teas I’ve ever tasted. Absolutely wonderful.

First: I have not tried hundreds of Gyokuros, but from a general perspective on tea, this is an excellent one. The flavor is sweet, vegetal, like fresh cut alfalfa, but also unexpectedly with strong notes of hazelnut, and a soothing creaminess that balances out the edge that some Japanese green teas have.

Yet the most interesting part of this tea was in the mouthfeel and the aftertaste. There is an interesting numbing sensation to drinking this tea slowly. As you keep drinking, the sensation builds, and the result is the perception of a more honey-like sweetness. The aftertaste moves towards roasted hazelnut.

About brewing. I tried brewing exactly as directed, and like other people say, it makes a really strong tea. I like the experience, but I would not drink this more than once every few weeks at that intensity. I tried brewing it up like they do in Northern China, where green tea is poured back and forth between two glass pitchers for no more than 10 seconds, but with hotter water, and I got good results. It also steeps up perfectly nicely in a large pot for 1-2 minutes with 160 degree water.

Thank you Den’s for showing me what Japanese tea has to offer.

A wonderful veggie-sweet! Hearty and true! Quite SAVORY and almost brothy. I really like this! VERY tasty!

I am just getting started exploring green teas, and found this one to have umami that overwhelms the honey-sweet that I crave, especially when infused as long and as low as Den’s recommends. I think it will is a great tea for those who are seeking that deeper vegetal flavor. It never gets remotely close to bitterness. It’s just not the tea for me, yet.

My rating reflects my preferred shorter hotter infusion time; because the longer steep is so much less to my preference, I would have to give it a lower rating under those conditions; but people who really crave that deep green vegetal umami, I think the rating would be much higher.

I infused it 5g per 5 oz at 140 for 140 seconds, as recommended, but prefer it 160 degrees for 30 seconds, 4 grams per 5 oz. I have trouble getting a pleasing second infusion because the umami takes over.

I absolutely love this tea. It’s the first gyokuro I’ve ever tried and I’m not lying when I say when I took my first sip – sparks flew. I never knew tea could taste like this! Almost like a soup broth! It was fascinating! Japanese greens have very quickly become my favourite type of tea and I’ve been experimenting with them for the last few weeks. This one is definitely a winner in my book.

My favorite thing about gyokuro is how it looks. I love the fine leaves that look so soft and richly green. The dry leaves smell nutty, a bit like almonds, and the aroma has a juicy character.

I also like the color of the steeped tea — the green in the liquor, rather than the typical color somewhere on the yellow spectrum. This one is a light greenish yellow, more green than chartreuse.

The steeped tea smells brothy, a bit salty, a bit nutty, a bit vegetal. The flavor is grassier than some, which I like, but also has the seaweed notes that I’ve come to expect, and something a little on the nutty side, like edamame.

I made this at a slightly higher temperature than recommended for a first steep, mostly because the Breville won’t go lower than 160.

The description says this is Den’s best, and it is quite good. I wish I appreciated gyokuro more in general. I enjoy it but I feel as though its greatness is somewhat wasted on me since I’m just as happy to drink a good sencha.