Gyokuro Tea - Kanro

Gyokuro is a high-quality Japanese green tea known for its distinctive umami flavor and cultivation process. Grown in shaded fields for several weeks before harvesting, it develops a rich, sweet flavor with a deep umami taste due to the enhanced chlorophyll and amino acids. 

This Kanro gyokuro tea was made from the youngest buds which are hand-picked. In comparison to the Ooen gyokuro tea, Kanro offers a less bitter, but richer and sweet flavor.

This type of tea is harvested from a shaded tea farm (usually open-air, but covered with a standard synthetic netting from mid-April until harvest). After the new buds are picked, they are dried while being kneaded. Covering the tea plants increases chlorophyll in the leaves, making them richly green, thin, and soft. This enhances the umami while minimizing bitterness and astringency. 

Maruri Yoshida Meichaen, located in Uji, Kyoto, has been producing Uji tea for 16 generations since the Edo period, passing down the tradition from their ancestors. They continue to uphold traditional tea production techniques such as hand-rolled tea processing and the Honzu covering method, which shades tea plants with rice straw mats to enhance flavor and aroma. Their Uji tea is carefully picked from meticulously managed tea farms and crafted with the highest level of skill.

Since 1947, they have participated in the National Tea Competition every year and have won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award, the top prize, 20 times. The fourteenth-generation owner, Yoshida Kisaburo was registered as intangible cultural heritage in Uji-City. Since then, they have managed the care of Japan's oldest tea farm, Kozan-ji Tea Farm, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Kozan-ji Temple.

Location: Uji, Kyoto
Taste Profile: Umami
Cultivar: Ujihikari + Samidori (Blended)
Steaming Level: Light (Asamushi-cha)

Umami:◾◾◾◾
Sweetness:◾◾◾◾
Astringency:◾
Aroma:◾◾◾◾

Best for: Moments of relaxation or when you want to savor something special. Ideal for a quiet morning with a book or while having a calm conversation with a friend.

How to brew:
- Use 8g of tea leaves. (2 servings)

- Add 50ml of 120°F water
- Steep the tea for 2.5 minutes.

- Squeeze out every last drop before serving.

This is the first crop of 2024. 

100g