Kurihara

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Green

Where to Buy: Yunomi

Tea Description:

Gyokuro tea is grown beneath shading, cutting out some 85% of the sunlight. This allows the leaves to mature without obtaining bitterness. The results is an ultra delicate green tea with an extremely sweet taste profile.

Our Heritage Gyokuro is grown beneath traditional, handmade bamboo and/or straw shading. The moisture that drips from this natural shading flavors the tea — a return to the past with this gourmet tea.

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about Yunomi’s Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club here.

Taster’s Review:

This is the second tea that I’m trying from this month’s Yunomi Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club package – 2013 Kurihara Heritage Gyokuro from the Kurihara family.

It is SO good.

I guess it goes without saying that I drink a lot of tea. I taste a lot of different teas from a lot of different sources. And, the plain and simple truth of the matter is, I enjoy much of what I taste. But, while I do enjoy much of what I drink, there are different levels of enjoyment. I enjoy a delicious, well-conceived flavored blend of tea – these teas are fun and sweet and tasty. They’re kind of like candy in tea form.

And then, every once in a while, I get something like this: a pure, unadulterated Gyokuro. And with the very first sip, I think: “now this is TEA!” This is tea on a whole other level. And while the flavored blends are like candy in tea form, an exceptional Gyokuro like this one is more like going out to a five star restaurant and being served at the Chef’s table in tea form.

This truly is an extraordinary Gyokuro. It is sweet with a complex vegetative taste that is like lightly buttered, steamed fresh vegetables with hints of new, spring grass and just a hint of kelp in there. But because Gyokuro tends to be a delicate brothy taste, these notes are soft.

It is such a wonderful, contemplative cup. It is very smooth with very little astringency. There is absolutely no bitterness … it’s just sweet and delicate and fresh tasting. Such a lovely, lovely cuppa!

A remarkable Gyokuro, this Kurihara Heritage Gyokuro.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Green Tea