Undercover Gyokuro 2024

A shaded green tea grown without artificial fertilisers or pesticides by Mr Sakamoto in Shibushi, Kagoshima on the southern tip of Kyushu island in Japan. It is shaded before harvesting for twenty days, technically making it a gyokuro, increasing the amino acids and sugars in the plant which would otherwise be converted by photosynthesis. This means that when made at low temperatures much more sweetness and umami is brought out than in a sencha.

This is an versatile green tea that can be made short and intense as a gyokuro but is possibly even better made as a regular sencha. The taste is intensely sweet and slightly herbal, with notes of freshly steamed vegetables and a long citrus aftertaste. Even when made using sencha parameters it is still umami-rich with a thick, oily texture that coats the mouth.

We would recommend brewing this either as a sencha using 65-70°C water and 4g of leaf per 150ml, or as a gyokuro using 50°C water and 6g of tea for just 30ml of water.

ORIGIN
Mr Sakamoto, Shibushi, Kagoshima,  Japan

SIZE OF FARM
12 acres

PLANTS AND PROCESSING
Camellia Sinensis Sinensis. Saemidori cultivar. 20 days shading before harvesting. Light steaming (~30 sec). Harvested April 2024.

BREWING
65-70°C, 4g per 150ml. 3 infusions OR 50°C, 6g per 30ml. 4 infusions.

PLEASE NOTE
Caddy and 100g Refill options are only available online or via ‘Collect from Postcard Teas’ for shop collection, two working days after purchase.