How to brew gyokuro so it tastes like broth

Gyokuro is a Japanese green tea grown in the shade for about three weeks before the harvest. In the shade, the leaves build up more theanine, the amino acid responsible for sweetness and umami, and fewer catechins, which make tea bitter. To taste this in the cup, gyokuro is brewed unlike any other tea: lots of leaves, little water and a low temperature.

What you need

• 5 g of leaves, about two level teaspoons
• 60 ml of water at 50–60°C
• a small teapot (kyusu, 100–150 ml) or a gaiwan, and two small cups

Step by step

1. Boil the water and pour it from one vessel to the next: into the cups, then into a jug. Each pour lowers the temperature by a few degrees. A kitchen thermometer makes this much easier.
2. Put the leaves into the dry teapot and pour over water at 50–60°C. The water should barely cover the leaves.
3. Wait 2 minutes. Don't stir.
4. Pour the infusion into the cups, down to the last drop. The first cup is small and dense, and tastes like a delicate seaweed broth.
5. Second infusion: slightly warmer water (60–70°C), 20–30 seconds. Third and fourth: 70–80°C, 40–60 seconds.

The most common mistakes

• Water that's too hot. At 80°C and above, gyokuro turns bitter and loses its sweetness.
• Too much water. Gyokuro isn't a tea for a mug. 60 ml for the first infusion is deliberately little.
• Later infusions that are too long. The leaves are already open, so a few seconds is enough.

What to do with the leaves

After four infusions the leaves are soft and edible. In Japan people eat them with a little soy sauce or ponzu, like a small salad.

Gyokuro from our shop: Gyokuro Uji. You'll find the brewing parameters for all our teas in the brewing guide.