I asked Anlina to send me some interesting green teas, and gyokuro is definitely different from your average sencha. :) I brewed the whole 8g sample in 8oz of water at 50 degrees C which yielded quite a strong infusion. It’s very savoury and vegetal and a bit bitter, but not in a bad way… maybe a bit more like chard or bok choy than spinach. I’ve steeped it twice so far and I think it will be good for several more.
Update:
After 2 infusions I had to go out to a meeting, and when I got back I wasn’t in the mood for more green tea. So I added room temperature water and cold steeped it overnight. It’s really good cold steeped! Less bitterness, more of the savoury green flavour. Then I had the tea leaves with a little bit of hoisin/soy sauce/sesame oil for breakfast. :)
