What temperature should water be for gyokuro?

122–140°F (50–60°C), much cooler than other green teas. Cool water brings out its sweetness and umami without the bitterness.

How long should you steep gyokuro?

90 seconds to 2½ minutes for the first steep, using a lot of leaf in a small amount of water. Later steeps are shorter and hotter.

What's the difference between gyokuro and sencha?

Gyokuro is shaded for about three weeks before harvest, which makes it sweeter, more savory, and less bitter. Sencha is grown in full sun and tastes brighter and grassier. Gyokuro is brewed with much cooler water.

Does gyokuro have more caffeine than other green tea?

Yes. Shading raises caffeine as well as L-theanine, so gyokuro is one of the most caffeinated teas, though the small servings and cool water keep a typical cup moderate.

Why is gyokuro so expensive?

Shading takes labor and lowers yields, the leaves are hand-picked in spring, and only a small amount is made. It's also one of the most carefully processed teas in Japan.

Can you cold brew gyokuro?

Yes, and it's excellent cold. Use about 10 g per 17 oz (500 ml) of cold water and refrigerate for 3–6 hours, or try the ice brew method for a small, concentrated cup.

How to Brew Gyokuro

Steep time: 1m 30s – 2m 30s
Water temperature: 50°C – 60°C

About Gyokuro

Gyokuro, meaning jade dew, is one of Japan's most prized green teas. For about three weeks before harvest the tea bushes are covered to block most of the sunlight. In the shade, the leaves make more chlorophyll and hold on to more L-theanine, the amino acid behind tea's savory umami taste, while producing fewer bitter catechins. Yame in Fukuoka and Uji in Kyoto are its best-known regions.

What it tastes like

Intensely savory and sweet, with a rich, almost brothy umami often compared to seaweed or fresh peas, a deep green color, and very little bitterness. The first steep, brewed cool and concentrated, can feel thick on the tongue.

Step by step

Measure your tea Use about one teaspoon of Gyokuro leaves per 8 oz cup.
Heat the water Bring fresh water to 50°C – 60°C. Water that is too hot will scorch the leaves.
Steep Pour the water over the leaves and steep for 1m 30s – 2m 30s. Start at the shorter time and taste as you go.
Strain and serve Remove the leaves as soon as the steep is done so the tea does not turn bitter.

Brewing tips

Use small cups. Gyokuro is traditionally served a few sips at a time, more like a fine spirit than a mug of tea.
Eat the spent leaves. After the last steep, Japanese tea drinkers sometimes dress them with a drop of soy sauce or ponzu.
It's expensive, so brew it carefully. Cool water is the whole point; boiling water wastes it.

Timer

Gyokuro steeps for 1m 30s – 2m 30s — start the clock as you pour.

Gyokuro

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Other ways to brew Gyokuro

Traditional, in a small pot

Use a lot of leaf in very little water: about 5 g (two heaping teaspoons) in 2–3 oz (60–90 ml) of water at 122–140°F (50–60°C). Steep 90 seconds to 2½ minutes and pour out every drop into small cups. The result is a few concentrated, savory sips.

In a mug

For a larger, lighter cup, use about 3 g per 6 oz (180 ml) of water at around 140°F (60°C) and steep 2 minutes. You'll lose some of the intensity, but it's still noticeably sweeter and more savory than sencha.

Cooling the water

Gyokuro needs much cooler water than most teas. Boil it, then pour it between empty cups or a pitcher three or four times, or let it sit with the lid off for about 10 minutes. A thermometer or variable-temperature kettle makes this much easier.

Ice brew (koridashi)

Put a few grams of gyokuro in a small pot or bowl, cover the leaves with ice cubes, and let them melt slowly, which takes 30 minutes to an hour. The result is a tiny amount of thick, intensely sweet, savory tea with no bitterness at all.

Can you re-steep Gyokuro?

Yes, three or four times. Each steep uses hotter water and less time, because the leaves are already open. After a 2-minute first steep at 122–140°F (50–60°C), try about 30 seconds at 160°F (70°C) for the second and around a minute at 175°F (80°C) for the third. The savory notes fade and the cup gets brighter and more astringent as you go.

If your Gyokuro doesn't taste right

Bitter or brisk, like ordinary green tea? The water was too hot. Gyokuro's sweetness depends on cool water, around 122–140°F (50–60°C). Above that, it releases catechins and tastes like an expensive sencha.
Thin or watery? Use more leaf and less water. Gyokuro is brewed far more concentrated than most teas, about 5 g in just 2–3 oz of water.
Too savory or brothy? Use slightly hotter water, around 140–150°F (60–65°C), which brings in more sweetness and a little astringency to balance the umami.

Ways to drink Gyokuro

Kabusecha

Shaded for about a week instead of three, so it sits between sencha and gyokuro in sweetness and price. Brew it at around 140–160°F (60–70°C).

Tencha

Shaded like gyokuro, but dried flat without rolling. Tencha is mostly ground into matcha, though it's occasionally sold as loose leaf. Brew it like gyokuro, with cool water.

Gyokuro karigane

Made from the stems and twigs left over from gyokuro production. Sweet, light, and much cheaper, with some of gyokuro's savoriness. Brew it at about 160°F (70°C) for a minute.