"Eighth Goddess" Yame Gyokuro Imperial

Gyokuro is considered the champagne of green teas.  The tea bushes undergo a special process before harvesting.  They are covered for over 16 days with traditional straw mats to block the sun, which causes it to have high levels of glutanine and l-theonine and prevents a type of amino acid in the leaves from changing into more bitter catechin.

The leaves are picked at their youngest age during the first flush of harvest season.  Because of this process, gyokuro is the most exquisite green tea with the strong umami flavor that lingers in the mouth for almost 30 minutes after taking a sip.  It has a lightly sweet, rich flavor. 

Eighth Goddess is one of the names for the city of Yame, where this tea was grown during high temperature days and low temperature nights.  It is an ideal area for tea production.  This high quality tea is produced by a coop of tea farmers who sell directly to our green tea partner.  

One of the joys of gyokuro tea is the simple brewing process and its use in culinary dishes after it has been infused for tea.  The water temperature for steeping does not need to be much warmer than room temperature, and the spent leaves taste great when added to green leafy salads or put on top of white rice with sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds.  See Brewing Recommendations below.