Tea Story

Gyokuro is the most sought after and luxurious type of green tea from Japan.
This Gyokuro come from Ise Bay in Mie Prefecture which has 800 years of history for producing high quality tea.
Gyokuro is made from shade-grown tea leaves also used to make matcha. Tea bushes are covered up to 3 weeks before harvest to prevent direct sunlight. This slows down growth, and causes the production of amino acids and theanine, giving rise to a sweet flavour, "mild in taste" and a "greenish in colour infusion”.

Great care is taken when preparing this tea to specific requirements. As guidance the twice the weight in dry tea leaves for a given quantity of water (e.g. 6 to 10 grams for 180 ml); cooler brewing temperatures (in the range of 50ºC-60ºC instead of 65ºC-75ºC for sencha);a longer steeping duration, at least for the first infusion (90 second instead of 1 minute for sencha). Due to its high quality, the thick tea leaves maintain their pleasant flavour for up to 4-5 servings.

Since Gyokuro steeps at such a mild temperature, it is recommend pre-heating both the pot and cup to maintain the warmth of the tea as one drinks it. It is normally consumed very slowly to savor its distinctive flavour.

Japanese Tea : All our teas imported from Japan are governed by the provisions of lmplementing Regulation (EU) No 996/2012 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station. All our teas are checked and certified by the 'Tokai Regional Administration Office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’, that they are compliant with the legislation in force in Japan and EU as regards to radiation. Further, these certifications are examined at the point of entry to UK before the teas are released for distribution. Therefore we can confirm that the teas sold by us are safe and radiation free. Please let us know if you need more information.

Ingredients: Japanese green tea