Gyokuro Secret Garden

Gyokuro Secret Garden

Secret Garden is a reserve grade of pure Kyotonabe Gyokuro made from a single Aracha batch. Matured for one year, it is well balanced with a smooth texture and deep umami flavor accented by fresh notes of evergreen, pine, sweet Nori seaweed and semisweet, slightly acidic Kombu. This quality of Gyokuro is rarely exported and only tasted by a small circle of Japanese tea connoisseurs when it is available.

Gyokuro is the most precious tea from Japan. The oldest Gyokuro cultivation area is located in Uji, Japan, and much of the best quality Gyokuro comes from Uji’s neighboring towns. The unique character of Gyokuro depends on skilled artisan farmers who practice frame and straw shading of tea bushes as well as traditional fertilization techniques developed over many generations. Furthermore, a select group of tea bush varietals and a special curing process of the made tea are the keys to Gyokuro’s exquisite character.

Gyokuro, known as (Precious) Jade Dew Drop, has a pale green, almost clear infusion color with a very thick flavor and mouthfeel. It has extreme umami and sweet flavors without bitterness or astringency. The flavor of Gyokuro is developed by artisan farming techniques of shading the sun’s light and providing specific nutrition geared toward the tea bush variety and its stressed growing condition.