It seems that the event was eagerly awaited, I just launched the 2020 gyokuros one week ago. As always, the selection is mainly focused on those from Uji, but I also offer two from Yame.
It also seems that it is always good to repeat the same things a little, so no, gyokuro is not to be understood as the high-end version of Japanese tea, whereas sencha would be a mid-range. We must especially be careful not to put these two types of tea in a relationship of vertical hierarchy. They are simply two very different worlds, two separate modes of consumption.
Gyokuro, as you know, is a shaded grown tea, in principle more than 20 days, and originally under an ceiling shelf, that is to say under a structure that does not directly cover the tea plants. Also, the most authentic gyokuro come from so-called “shizen-shitate” plantations whose shrubs are not pruned, which requires a manual harvest, only once a year. Of course we find gyokuro in standard planting with mechanical harvesting, and sometimes even with direct shade.
It is a tea which has a very strong concentration of umami, and must therefore be infused in order to highlight this characteristic. We therefore use very lukewarm water, between 40 and 60 ° C depending on the quality of the tea, and especially very few water, 30 to 40 ml for 4 to 5 g of leaves. It is thus a tea that is enjoyed very dense and concentrated, in very small quantities.
It is obvious that everyone is free to brew it as they wish, but especially in the case of high level gyokuro (shizen-shitate) other methods will hardly be able to take advantage of the characteristics of this very particular kind of tea. For the really skilled amateurs, with very high-end Uji gyokuro, you can do interesting brew with boiling water, or at least very hot.
The highlight of the selection this year is undoubtedly the Kyô-midori cultivar gyokuro from Kyô-Tanabe by the legendary Yamashita-shinjuen estate. I don’t like to put forward the “name value” side too much, but given the reputation of Mr. Yamashita Toshikazu, to whom his grandson Shinki has now succeeded, I could not avoid to mention it. I must say that I had never really considered selling their gyokuro, partly precisely because this “name value” can be annoying when you prefer to highlight the taste of the products rather than, as too many do these days in tea business, little stories around tea that are finally just marketing sells point. So, I was actually contacted by a collaborator of this estate whom ask me if I would be interested in selling some of Mr. Yamashita’s contest Saemidori. I obviously felt this to be a huge honor, but I’m not very interested in Saemidori in the case of Uji’s gyokuro, as there are so many much more interesting and fragrant varietals originating from this region. And imagine the price! On the other hand, now the contact was made, I could only show my interest in other cultivars. Gokô, Uji-midori, Asahi, and … Kyô-midori !!!! This cultivar is now extremely rare, and Yamashita’s has proven to be a wonder. The choice was quickly made.
Kyô-midori was selected from seeds of Uji zairai tea plants and registered in 1954. It is one of the first cultivars from Uji. For some reason, it is almost not used any more today. However, it was notably with Kyô-midori by Yamashita Toshikazu was prized many times in the past.
What emerges is first of all a very strong, very sweet fragrance. It certainly does not have a characteristic as strong and identifiable as a Gokô or even an Uji-hikari, but this wonderful fragrance is very delicious, it almost evokes fruit candies. When in the description I mention corn, it is that sweet scent that we find in popcorn.
It is no surprise but with delight that we welcome on the palate a tea brew that is both fluid and very dense, without thickness, we find an incredible concentrate of umami and sweetness, with an incredibly long length.
It is always very difficult to describe a gyokuro, they are all different but it is so hard to find the right words. It is true that if their aroma density is unparalleled, the aromatic spectrum itself is less broad than that which will be found in sencha. However, we revel in this powerful, elegant, unique umami.
With this Kyô-midori from Kyô-Tanabe this experience seems to reach a rare climax.
As soon as it went on sale, the reaction was very good. Of all the gyokuro presented, this Kyô-midori is the one that has by far attracted the most attention, despite its significant high price. This prompts me once again to reflect on the reasons that drive customers, overseas and online in particular, to buy gyokuro. My fear is still, and I come back to my point at the beginning of the article, of seeing customers buying gyokuro just thinking it is a superior kind of green tea, and thus being sure not to be mistaken. However, it is precisely the opposite, approaching gyokuro without knowing how to taste it, without being ready to take part in this unique experience offered by this tasting, the disappointment is likely to be great.
Nevertheless, the tendency to move towards the more high-end teas of this selection of gyokuro reassures me a little, suggests me that these tea afficionados are looking for this very special experience that no other tea can offer.
Categories: miscellaneous, Reviews, Types of tea
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