Gyokuro

Oddly enough, I’m drinking this while watching Grimm and season 2 ep 8, by pure coincidence, includes one of the characters explaining what gyokuro is (while another just wants them to stop, a not unfamiliar dynamic).

Circling back to this tea from Kelmishka’s homemade advent calendar. This was Day 7, but I had put it aside for a day when I can really savor it because it’s one of my favorite types of tea.

This has the expected umami and grassiness for a gyokuro, as well as a smooth, medium-thick mouthfeel. I think it’s suffering by comparison a bit from my having had Ippodo’s premium gyokuro yesterday, which is downright brothy and silky. This was also slightly bitter on the second steep, even though I steeped at a low temperature for a fairly short time. The third steep didn’t have that issue though. Overall, this is a nice gyokuro that I happily savored today – it’s just not the best of its kind that I’ve ever been lucky enough to have.

This green tea was included in the final installment of my six-month Whistling Kettle gift subscription. I’ve been pretty ambivalent about the WK boxes—there have been a few really tasty blends, but there’ve been more duds.

This one, however, is not a dud! It’s a gorgeously light green tea with delicate, almost buttery soft and smooth flavor. It’s mildly vegetal, but pretty unobjectionably so. I’m getting the tiniest hint of asparagus in the aroma, but I have to really sniff deeply to find it.

There’s not a whole lot to this one, but what’s there is good. I haven’t been drinking much tea in this hottt weather, but I’m glad I made time for a cup today. :)