White Leaf Tea Shiage 白葉茶仕上げ茶

This Gyokuro from Shizuoka is something different. With 100% of the light being cut during the shading process from the time the first young buds of the year first developed, its leaves are almost completely devoid of chlorophyll and a beautiful pale colour. It is said that this tea has double the amount of amino acids that make up the desired umami and sweetness in Gyokuro and higher doses of theanine, which you can definitely taste in the cup. The umami, sweetness and flavor in this tea are extreme, making it more suitable for special occasions than everyday drinking. The 仕上げ/shiage/sorted version has a subtle, yet wonderful flowery bouquet coming with the buttery green flavours of this Gyokuro.  

About Gyokuro:
Gyokuro is a Japanese Green Tea only made of the youngest buds and leaves of the spring harvest, shaded for a long time for more amino acids to remain in the leaves and ultimately produce more umami and sweetness in the cup. Traditionally left to rest for half a year just like Tencha used for Matcha, it is now also valued very fresh and is especially valued as 新茶/shincha/fresh tea. Coming from 煎茶道/senchadō, the Japanese way of steeped tea, it is prepared using cool water to a lot of leaf, resulting in concentrated drops of essential oil quality. We especially enjoy Gyokuro in summer slowly steeped only using ice.