Gyokuro Reserve Green Tea
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Commercial Description
This is our ultimate green tea, made with the finest gyokuro leaves, hand-picked and gently rolled into beautiful needles. It is a strong balance of sweet and savory, with hints of oceanic breeze.
Ratings & Reviews
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90 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5Whiskey (45 reviews) on Oct. 20th, 2018
This and the Maeda-en Gyokuro Grower's Select go hand-in-hand. This is the sweet one of the two while the Select is more savory/umami. Both brew well very consistently (which is great, considering that gyokuro is an expensive tea and not something you'd want to waste).
I had good results with the following brewing method:
Water: 300ml (I use a Hario teapot for this, which I had great results with as it allows a lot of room for the leaves to flow)
Temperature: 75ºC
Tea: 2 1/2 tsp (or more, if you're planning multiple brewings of the same leaves)
Time: ~2 minutes, ~3 minutes, etc.
The Select is savory and umami and is more like the main course, while this Reserve was sweeter to me and was more like dessert. Just like the Select, this has a nice relaxing quality to it. There's a light mouthwatering quality to it. There is some saltiness, but I found it to be less intense than the Select. Both are rich and hearty but lean in different directions in terms of their notes.
I haven't played around with the temperature or brewing times at all. I think that you could brew this using a more classic gyokuro method if you used cooler water, more leaves, and a different brewing time. (I've seen some gyokuro brewed with very low temperatures, for example, room temperature.) But, I was happy enough with the method listed. I didn't want to lose a serving of tea trying to find a better cup when I'm so satisfied with things as they are.
I think both are very good and it really depends upon which taste profile you're looking for when choosing.
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