Yamamotoyama Gyokuro Green Tea Review

umami in a cup

This is my first tea review from the CRFA show.  Yamamotoyama wasn’t there, but rather a distributor who had their product was there. The young chef who was cooking cold soba noodles for the crowd opened the box of tea just to give me a sample.  Aw so nice.

Yamamotoyama (say that three times fast) has been around since 1690.  So you can trust that they know tea.  They came to the United States in 1975 hoping to expand their tea line beyond the borders of Japan.  They not only sell tea but they soy wrappers for rolls and nori seaweed as well.  Which is funny because the Yamamotoyama Gyokuro Green Tea smells exactly like nori seaweed.

There are actually different types of seaweed.  Maine Coast Sea Vegetables is one of my favourite companies and carries a wide range of raw seaweed including alaria (my favourite), dulse, kelp and laver.  The traditional seaweed that is found in sushi and in Japanese restaurants is nori.  So now you know.

Gyokuro tea meaning “Jade Dew” was actually named by the Yamamotoyama tea company.   It is for a specific type of tea that is grown in the shade rather than the full sun to reduce bitterness.  From Wiki.

Gyokuro tea leaves are shielded from the sun for at least two weeks before being harvested. This causes the amino acids (Theanine) and caffeine in the tea leaves to increase, while catechin (the source of bitterness in tea, along with caffeine) decreases, giving rise to a sweet flavor. The tea also gains a distinct aroma from the covering process.

If only cooking vegetables was this easy

When I first broke open the green tea packet and took a whiff of the skinny green tea needles, the seaweed smell was strong and rich.  I was super curious to taste the tea and see how the flavour profile would hold up.  I infused the triangle pyramid teabag hot water (40C/104F is best) and steeped for about 7 minutes.  The liquor turned a bright yellow with a hint of green.  A sign of a good Japanese green tea.  Some poorer quality ones may be brownish in color.  The gyokuro tea leaves expanded beautifully in the sachet; there was just enough room.  The smell of the tea was still reminiscent of seaweed.  Now came the taste test.  The tea instantly filled up my mouth with it’s sweet vegetal richness.  Umami was very apparent in this tea.  For the Japanese tea and green tea lover, the gyokuro is definately a tea to seek out.  This is a one steep tea though, multiple infusions don’t work.  On an envionmental note, the pyramid teabags are biodegradable meaning they’re most likely made from corn.

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