Description
Japanese green tea Gyokuro mare preparation
Gyokuro mare is brewed in a small teapot and enjoyed in small cups and is best brewed on soft water.
Use 5-8 grams of tea for 50-100 ml of water.
Water temperature: 50-60 degrees.
1st brew: 2 minutes
2nd brew: 30-45 seconds
3rd brew: approx. 2 minutes
The leaves can be eaten after brewing. You can "season" the tea leaves with a few drops of soya.
More about Japanese green tea Gyokuro mare
Making gyokuro is a very demanding process that requires a lot of knowledge. The bushes are covered with bamboo mats 20 days before harvesting and develop a deep green leaf with a distinctive aroma. Gyokuro means "pearl dew". Gyokuro is among the finest of Japanese teas.
Our producer Hoshino Seichaen
Hoshino Seichaen is a family-run business founded in 1946. It is currently run by the Yamaguchi brothers, who have spent the last 10 years training the next generation to take over in the near future. Hoshino Seichaen is a well-known and highly recognised tea production company in Japan. They are often honoured in Japan for their high quality. Last year they received a gold medal for one of their gyokuro teas. This is quite an achievement in Japan, where there are thousands of tea producers.
Production methods of Japanese tea
In Japan, the leaves are steamed and dried in several stages and then rolled to give them a "needle-shaped" appearance. For the finer teas (gyokuro tea and matcha tea), the tea bushes are covered with straw mats so that the bushes are not in direct sunlight. This shading helps give the tea a more intense, fresh and sweet flavour. The high quality teas are only picked once a year in May. This picking is called ichi ban cha. Once the leaves are picked (by hand for the very high quality teas), the leaves are transported by refrigerated lorry to a nearby production site and within 1 hour, the leaves are processed and placed in cold storage so they do not lose their freshness and vitality.