Gyokuro Imperial Shade-Grown Green Tea
玉露 (Gyokuro)
Sweet, savory and seaweed-deep: tea grown in shade for three weeks, brewed in a small bowl with cool water.
Gyokuro is a Japanese green tea shaded for about three weeks before harvest. The shade turns the leaf a deep green and the cup into something unlike ordinary green tea: thick, sweet and savory, with notes of seaweed and melon.
Sensory profile
You should taste
How it unfolds
Where it sits
That is 85 mg in one serving (3 oz (90ml) small bowl), a concentration of 94.4 mg per 100 ml. The scale above ranks whole servings, and servings differ in size, so a larger drink can sit further right while being weaker cup for cup.
Editorial estimate, not a laboratory measurement
Compare it against
Related gear
| Brewing method | Shiboridashi or Tokoname Kyusu Teapot |
|---|---|
| Brew ratio | 1:20 |
| Leaf & water per infusion | 5g → 100g |
| Grind size | Whole Needle Leaves |
| Water temperature | 122°F / 50°C |
| Target brew time | 90 seconds (first steep) |
| Serving | 3 oz (90ml) small bowl |
What you need
- 5 g gyokuro leaf
- 100 g filtered water at about 50°C
Required gear
- Shiboridashi or a small kyusu, 100 to 150 ml
- Small cups, about 50 ml each
- Kettle with temperature control, or a cup to cool boiled water in
- Scale accurate to 0.1 g
- Timer
Step-by-step protocol
- 0:00Warm the shiboridashi or kyusu and the cups with hot water, then pour it away. Add 5 g of leaf. Bring water to the boil and let it cool to about 50°C, or set a temperature-controlled kettle to 50°C.
- 0:30Pour 100 g of 50°C water gently over the leaf, cover, and start the timer. Gyokuro is brewed cool and patiently, and it is not rinsed.
- 2:00After 90 seconds to 2 minutes, pour out every drop in small amounts, going back and forth between the cups so each gets the same strength. The tea is thick and sweet, so sip it slowly.
- 2:30For the second infusion use water at about 60°C and steep for only 20 to 30 seconds, then pour it out completely.
- 3:30For a third infusion use water at about 70°C for 20 to 30 seconds. The leaf is spent when the tea turns thin and pale.
Troubleshooting
What it may be good for
How strong is it?
We list about 85 mg for a 3 oz (90 ml) bowl. Shading raises the caffeine in the leaf, and 5 g of leaf in a small bowl makes a concentrated cup.
Cool water, patient steep
Gyokuro asks for water far below boiling. Hot water pulls out bitterness and hides the sweetness the shading created. If it tastes thin, add a little more leaf or steep a little longer rather than raising the temperature.
What to watch out for
- Caffeine affects everyone differently. If you are pregnant or nursing, sensitive to caffeine, or have been told to limit it, check with your doctor about how much tea is right for you.
Gyokuro is a Japanese green tea shaded for about three weeks before harvest. The shade turns the leaf a deep green and the cup into something unlike ordinary green tea: thick, sweet and savory, with notes of seaweed and melon. Brewed in a small vessel with cool water, at 50°C.
Origin & Story
The story told in Uji is that in 1835 a tea merchant named Yamamoto Kahei noticed that farmers were covering their tea plants with netting to protect them from frost, and that the cover had changed the flavor and aroma of the tea. That discovery became gyokuro, whose name means jade dew, or jewel dew.
Growers now shade the bushes on purpose. They are covered for about 20 days, sometimes up to 30, starting at around 70 percent shade and rising to 80 or 90 percent just before harvest. Starved of light, the leaf makes more of the amino acid theanine and more caffeine, and less of the bitter catechins. That is why gyokuro tastes sweet and savory, with the thick, brothy flavor Japanese tea lovers call umami, and little bitterness.
More than 40 percent of gyokuro comes from Yame, in Fukuoka. The rest is made in Kyoto, in and around Uji, in Mie, and in Shizuoka, where the Asahina valley is counted among Japan's three best gyokuro districts alongside Uji and Yame.
It is a tea to brew slowly and carefully. Water between 40 and 70°C is used, never boiling, and the leaf is generous: a common guide is about 5 g for 150 ml, with a first infusion of two minutes and later ones of 20 to 30 seconds. This recipe goes small and rich, 5 g of leaf in about 100 ml of 50°C water in a shiboridashi, with a first infusion of 90 seconds.
In the cup the tea is thick and green, with seaweed and sweet marine algae and dewy melon. Shading raises the caffeine in the leaf as well as the theanine, and a bowl of gyokuro is made with a lot of leaf in very little water, so it is a concentrated cup and a small one goes a long way.
Reading the Flavor Profile
| Axis | Score |
|---|---|
| Sweetness | 90/100 |
| Acidity | 15/100 |
| Bitterness | 25/100 |
| Body | 95/100 |
| Aroma | 98/100 |
These values are comparative editorial positions within our own catalog, calibrated so entries can be ranked against each other. They are not laboratory measurements.
How much caffeine is in Gyokuro Imperial Shade-Grown Green Tea?
One serving, 3 oz (90ml) small bowl, contains approximately 85 mg of caffeine.
What temperature should I use for Gyokuro Imperial Shade-Grown Green Tea?
Target 50°C (122°F).
How long should Gyokuro Imperial Shade-Grown Green Tea be extracted?
Timing: 90 seconds (first steep). Method: Shiboridashi or Tokoname Kyusu Teapot. Ratio: 5g per 100ml water. Grind or leaf format: Whole Needle Leaves.
What does gyokuro mean?
It means jade dew, or jewel dew, in Japanese. The name was given to shaded tea after a merchant named Yamamoto Kahei noticed in 1835 that covering tea plants changed their flavor.
Why is gyokuro brewed with cool water?
Hot water extracts the bitter compounds quickly and hides the sweetness that shading builds up in the leaf. Water between about 40 and 70°C, often around 50 to 60°C, keeps the tea sweet and savory.
Who should avoid Gyokuro Imperial Shade-Grown Green Tea?
Caffeine affects everyone differently. If you are pregnant or nursing, sensitive to caffeine, or have been told to limit it, check with your doctor about how much tea is right for you. This information is educational and is not medical advice. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, managing a cardiac or gastrointestinal condition, or taking prescription medication, discuss caffeine and botanical intake with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes.
What people say
Japanese Tokoname Clay Kyusu Teapot
In this recipe: Shiboridashi or a small kyusu, 100 to 150 ml
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