Gyo·ku·ro

A shade-grown Japanese green tea, prized for its deep umami sweetness and low astringency. Literally “jade dew.”

Gyokuro is grown under shade cloth for the final weeks before harvest, a process that boosts chlorophyll and amino acids while suppressing the bitterness that comes from direct sun. The result is a tea with an unusually deep, savoury sweetness — closer to a rich broth than a typical green tea.

It's traditionally brewed at a lower temperature and steeped longer than sencha, coaxing out sweetness without bitterness. Because of the labour-intensive shading process, gyokuro is one of the more prized and expensive Japanese green teas.