Gyokuro (玉露) is the tea Japan reserves for its best leaves. For roughly three weeks before harvest the plants are shaded from direct sun. Starved of light, the leaf produces more theanine and fewer catechins — which in the cup means more sweetness and umami, and far less of the astringency people associate with green tea.
Ours comes from Arahataen in Shizuoka, the single farm we work with. It is a slower, more expensive tea to grow, and it rewards being brewed carefully rather than quickly.
Which covered tea should you buy?
Gyokuro — fully shaded, the most concentrated of the three. Deep sweetness, thick texture, very little bitterness. Brew it cool and slow. This is the one to drink on its own when you have five quiet minutes.
Nozomi — our covered tea, shaded for a shorter period. It sits between sencha and gyokuro: more body and sweetness than an everyday sencha, but easier to brew and less demanding than a full gyokuro. A good first step if you have not had shaded tea before.
The Covered Trio Gift Set — matcha, gyokuro and kabuse-cha together. The clearest way to taste what shading actually does, and the set we send people who want to understand the difference rather than read about it.
How to brew gyokuro
Gyokuro is the one Japanese tea where the usual advice does not apply. Use cool water, around 50–60°C, a generous amount of leaf, and only a little water. Steep for around two minutes. Boiling water will scald it and turn the sweetness into bitterness — the single most common mistake with this tea.
The leaves are worth a second and third infusion, and many people eat them afterwards with a little ponzu or salt.
Common questions
Is gyokuro the same as matcha? Both are shaded, which is why they share that sweet, savoury depth. The difference is what happens next: matcha is ground into powder and drunk whole, gyokuro is steeped as loose leaf.
Why is gyokuro expensive? Shading cuts yield and adds weeks of labour before a single leaf is picked.
Does gyokuro have more caffeine? Yes, shaded leaf tends to be higher in caffeine than an unshaded sencha.
