Yame Dentô Hon Gyokuro

The Cultivar

The cultivar used by the producer is Saemidori, delicate, rich in amino acids, umami flavour and very aromatic. Harvesting for this exceptional artesanal tea is done by hand, something increasingly unsusual in Japan due to its high cost, which is why they can only produce 10 kilos per year. Immediately after harvesting, the fresh leaves are lightly steamed, as they are very tender, rolled into shapes, and dried.
This gives the leaves a fine needle-like shape and and intense emerald color.

The traditional Kanreisha Sunshade Method

For producing Gyokuro, the plants must remain under shade (Oishitaen) for the last three weeks before harvesting. In the traditional method, the cover is made with rice straw mats secured to a frame, main,maintaining a certain distance from the leaves, i.e., withouth touching them. Thanks to this method, called Kanreisha, the new leaves are protected from 85% of the sun’s rays, accumulating more chlorophyll and amino acids, and also receiving extra minerals carried by the rainwater that soaks the straw. Ten days before the harvest, more straw is added depending on the temperature, reaching 98%. This puts the plant under moderate stress, slowing the growth of young shoots. They are foreced to grow straight and this effort is the source of Gyokuros delicious aroma. The umami flavor lingers in the mouth longer than with those shaded with synthetic fibers that generate more heat.

About the origin and the Producer

Yame, on the Chikushi Plateau, in south Fukuoka is famous in Japan for the production of exceptional Gyokuro. It’s no wonder they’ve been cultivating tea there for centuries. 45% of the gyokuro produced in Japan is grown and manufactured in this region.
Morning mists and fog from the Chikugo and Yabe rivers envelop the plantations, blocking out sunlight. This helps generate more amino acids in the leaves, such as theanine and glutamic acid. The temperature difference between the warm of the day and the cold of the nights is vitally important for the health and vitality of tea plants.

Takaki San’s plantation is over 100 years old, and in his words, "The most important thing for making excellent tea, more than anything else, is preparing the soil well, using organic fertilizer and compost"

The unavoidable hand-picking of a bud and the first two leaves for a tea of this high quality is a difficult technique to learn and is currently perfomed by older women.