Oct 16
Vanessa’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "This tea is medium-bodied, slightly sweet tea that is just savory enough to be an ideal beverage for a meal. Although it's not the absolute best gyokuro I've ever had, it is certainly a delicious and affordable one!"
|
Gyokuro green tea is a tea that I have only recently, say within the last eight months or so, have really come to appreciate. Due to the special harvesting method, which I won't get into here, the tea is less bitter and much sweeter than your average green tea. Maeda-en offers a variety of Gyokuros, including their 'reserve' and 'select' batches, but today I reviewed their standard gyokuro offering. The dried blend is a good representative of gyokuro, being of a very dark green color and of a skinny, almost pine needle-like, shape. When steeped, the leaves open up to show their wider shape and after the liquid was strained from the leaves, the wet leaves resembled chopped spinach. The resemblence to spinach stops at the appearance, as the spinachy/vegetal flavor often associated with many green teas is much muted in this gyokuro. Maeda-en's website refers to a grassy flavor, but for me I found this grassiness pleasantly subdued. This tea is medium-bodied, slightly sweet tea that is just savory enough to be an ideal beverage for a meal. For me, drinking this tea was quite the pleasant experience. This tea is not at all bitter, although I suspect that if it was prepared improperly (e.g. with overly hot water), it could, as with any green tea, become bitter and unpleasant. The brewed liquid is an intense yellowish-green color and although mostly transparent, does have a slight cloudiness which is likely attributed to the small broken leaf bits and fannings in the blend. I did manage to get a weaker second infusion out of the leaves and although this second cup was also sweet and enjoyable, the first infusion was far better. Maeda-en offers this in 3-ounce pakages for just under $17. Bottom line: Although it's not the absolute best gyokuro I've ever had, it is certainly a delicious and affordable one!
— To purchase Maeda-en Gyokuro, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
 |
Vanessa Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Vanessa's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Vanessa. |
Recent Comments