Gyokuro (“Jade Dew”) green tea is bound to impress you both in taste and in health benefits — as it did emperors before you. To boot, these fine tea leaves are grown and handpicked from Shizuoka Prefecture: home to Japan’s highest-grade tea.
What’s more, these are shaded green tea carefully protected from the rays of the sun weeks before harvest. All that leads you to a most unique tea experience: an unequaled richness in color that translates to an unequaled richness in taste.
Best of all, all the umami that awaits you brings about untold health. Those sun-less weeks mean you have a green tea here far richer in caffeine and in L-theanine than most. Giving your days ahead a timely energy and mood boost like never before.
Shaded to Umami’s Finest
We’ve always equated the sun as our source of energy and strength. But thanks to the ingenuity of Kahei Yamamoto VI, a tea merchant in 1835, the world stands witness to a most unique green tea experience brought about by a timely tweak: keeping the sun out weeks before spring harvest.
And the results say it all.
Japan, a nation of green tea lovers, may enjoy savory depth in the sweetness of Sencha (and a host of other tea types). But these offerings could pale in comparison to intense umami from Gyokuro. Dr. Kikunae Ikeda, the chemist who coined the word umami in 1908 as a fifth taste, would certainly be proud.
As a reaction to the sudden lack of sunlight, Gyokuro tea leaves:
- Produce more chlorophyll
- Has deeper green leaves in colour
- Produce green liquor (jade-like green)
Steamed rather than pan-fried to contain the oxidation, Jade Dew tea’s exquisite taste stands apart from the rest. The following should make you fall in love with each cup of these needle-shaped loose leaves:
- Umami depth minus the bitterness/astringency
- More intense sweetness
- A syrupy thick mouthfeel
Gyokuro: Relaxing Your Body, Comforting Your Mind
But the mouth-watering taste is just one end of the spectrum. Those days when Japan’s finest tea leaves are left in shade away from the sun works like magic. Not only is the taste profoundly affected but also it drastically alters the chemical make-up of the tea leaves themselves.
For the better.
The absence of the sun’s rays means lesser catechin production in Gyokuro. This explains the diminished astringency and bitterness of the concoction yet deeper umami.
Plus, weeks being covered triggers one more bright spot. It puts the chlorophyll production of the tea leaves in overdrive increasing the caffeine and L-theanine content by leaps and bounds. And that can bring about a world of difference in terms of energy, mood, and overall health.
Key benefits of Gyokuro for you are:
- Better sleep
- Better focus
- Decreased risk for obesity
Even better, the drink benefits the brain like no other:
- Boosts GABA levels
- Boost serotonin and dopamine levels
- Protects brains cells from age-related damage/stress
- Reduce stress/anxiety
- Enhances alpha brain waves
It’s not hard to understand why Jade Dew green tea is Japan’s most loved shaded green tea. After all, it’s not every day that greater tastes and greater health benefits come in one teacup. Drink up. For that’s exactly what Gyokuro has to offer.