Tea: Gyokuro Green Tea
A Gyokuro from Arbor Teas - Organic
Brand: | Arbor Teas |
Style: | Gyokuro |
Region: | Japan |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Loose? | Loose |
# Ratings: | 2 View All |
Product page: | Gyokuro Green Tea |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1453 teas reviewed
✓ 4 of Gyokuro
✓ 219 of Green Tea
✓ 32 of Arbor Teas
✓ 65 from Japan
Review of Gyokuro Green Tea
June 19th, 2014
Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
5 of 10 | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 70 of 100 |
Fair | Good | Good Value |
Relatively inexpensive among Gyokuro, especially for being organic. Pleasant, and easy to brew, but less aromatic than other samples of this type of tea I've tried.
Very long, straight leaves, very dark green. Dry leaf has a pleasant aroma, similar to some sencha, and a bit nondescript.
Brews up a cup that isn't quite as aromatic as I'd expect. When fresh, flavor is sweet and slightly umami/savory. This is probably the sweetest gyokuro and among the sweetest of any green teas I've tried. Little to no bitterness and only a slight astringency.
Aroma is subtle and very mild. More floral than typical for a Japanese tea, slightly nutty, suggesting pecans, and slightly vegetal, although less spinachy or grassy than other examples of this type of tea.
A very easy drinking tea. Also, easier to brew than some Gyokuro; not particulary picky about temperature: doesn't develop that unpleasant spinachy aroma if the temperature is too hot. A single teaspoon of leaf easily brews three cups, one after the other. I liked steeping 2, then 3, then 5 minutes to produce cups of roughly similar strength. The later cups have more of a fresh celery / parsley aroma than the first.
Gyokuro is never cheap, but I thought the price on this reasonable.
A final note, I found this tea did not store particularly well. After only a few months, the sweetness in the flavor was noticeably diminished, although the aroma didn't change much. I recommend drinking it when it's fresh.