Gyokuro was developed at Uji in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. Even today, it is grown almost exclusively in the Kyoto region. Among many regional varieties of Gyokuro, which is the finest grade of Japanese tea, Uji Gyokuro is said to be the best.
Carefully grown in the shade for 20 to 30 days before harvest, Gyokuro has several unique features: an elegant aroma, a sweetness of taste, and a light green colour.
Gyokuro Super Premium, along with our Gyokuro Pinnacle, is the highest quality Gyokuro produced in Japan.
Each leaf is specially selected and carefully picked by our farmers' skilled hands. Today most tea leaves are trimmed by machine and traditional hand picked Gyokuro is rarely grown and is therefore very precious. The flavor and aroma of hand picked tea is much more mellow and smooth than tea trimmed by machine. (For more information, click here.)
Our Gyokuro Super Premium is grown in the shade for 20 to 30 days before harvest by the way of "Tana" which requires skillful technique and great care. Excellent noble aroma and elegant sweetness are created by the shaded from sunlight of the "Tana" technique.
The tea breed of this Gyokuro Premium is "Gokoh", which has an excellent noble aroma suitable for Gyokuro. It is a very precious breed grown only in quite small amounts exclusively in the Uji region in Kyoto.
Hibiki-an is able to provide premium quality tea because we are located in Uji, where the misty climate, sloping hills, warm days and cool nights provide an ideal setting for tea plants to thrive. Of all our teas, Gyokuro Super Premium is grown closest to the river, where the soil is most fertile. You will be able to taste the difference.
Even in Japan, tea leaves of this quality are difficult to find, so we are very pleased to be able to offer you Gyokuro Super Premium.