Organic Gyokuro Seimei BIO

 Tea Type: Green Tea

Tea Cultivar: Seimei

Tea Region: Kagoshima, Japan

Tasting Notes

• Appearance: Slightly cloudy, pale green coloured infusion.
• Aroma: Creamy, cooked vegetal and marine notes accompanied with herbaceous notes. 
• Flavour: Rich, umami, buttered steamed greens (spinach, zucchini) with lingering, vegetal sweetness. 
• Mouthfeel: Supple, smooth, full-bodied liquor with velvety mouthfeel. Absolute lack of bitterness and astringency.  

Brewing Guidance

• Measure 3g of tea per 150ml water. Boil water to 50℃. Steep for 2 minutes.

What You Need to Know about Organic Gyokuro Seimei

Made from meticulously, hand-picked, Seimei cultivar tea leaves grown in a certified organic tea garden in Kagoshima, this sublime Gyokuro made with an exceptionally rare, Seimei cultivar, was made by the 3rd generation tea master. As it's made from entirely hand-picked tea leaves (it's extremely rare to find hand-picked tea in Japan, as most of the teas are machine harvested), this beautiful, long, dark green needle shaped Organic Gyokuro Seimei offers a full-bodied, sweet and velvety infusion with creamy, milky, vegetable notes with a fruity hint in the finish. 

Seimei (せいめい), meaning “clean and pure tea”, when written with the Chinese characters 清茗, is a cross-breed cultivar between Fuushun and Saemidori cultivar developped in 1992 at the Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science of Makurazaki in Kagoshima prefecture. Seimei cultivar has a bright green colour and offers deep, rich umami taste with low astringency, due to its higher amino acid level. That's why this cultivar is also suitable for making high quality matcha. The aroma of Seimei is sweet and slightly creamy.

Seimei makes an ideal cultivar for delicious Gyokuro, thanks to its full-bodied, umami character that it gets from Saemidori cultivar and refreshing, vegetal sweetness that it gets from Fuushun cultivar. Once brewed, you will be delighted with sweet umami vegetal notes and noticeably less astringency. Our Organic Gyokuro Seimei is ideal for Gyokuro lovers who are looking for umami, sweet, refreshing, herbaceous notes with a complete lack of astringency in their Gyokuro.   

Tips for Tea Connoisseurs

Gyokuro, which translates into "Jade Dew" in Japanese, is a highly appreciated, much sought-after green tea by Japanese green tea connoisseurs for its elegant and refreshing aromas and flavours. 

To make Gyokuro, tea plants have been shaded 30 days in advance before harvest to achieve its iconic mellow sweetness. Due to its limited exposure to the sunshine, tea plants undergo a chain of physiological changes in order to survive, which, in turn, results in the changes of the chemical composition of the tea leaves. As this shading method imposes a heavy burden on the tea plants, tea leaves for Gyokuro green tea are harvested only once a year, in contrast to tea leaves for Sencha green tea which are harvested 4 times a year. Produced this way, Gyokuro green tea is extremely rich in L-theanine, the essential amino acid in developing Gyokuro green tea's desired flavour profile - mellow, sweet, rich, umami flavours.

As with all green tea, Gyokuro is rich in antioxidants and known for its potential health benefits such as promoting heart health, cancer prevention, boosting the immune system and lowering down blood pressure. 

A supreme example of masterfully crafted, organically grown, pesticide-free, single-cultivar, Gyokuro that will not only enhance your vitality and energy, but will also lift your sprit any time of the day. 

Please ensure to use low water temperature (50-60℃) for no longer than 2 minutes to appreciate its iconic, deep, umami flavour. Infusion at any higher temperature will result in bitterness in the liquor, which will cover up the distinctively elegant and mellow character. 

If you like this product you may also like Gyokuro Kukicha, Matcha Eroica, Sencha Asamushi and Wild Arbor Joongjak.