What is gyokuro? Japan’s most expensive green tea

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What is gyokuro?

Gyokuro, which means “jade dew” (玉露), is Japan’s rarest and most expensive green tea [1]. It’s exclusively harvested from the freshest leaves in spring and boasts some of the highest levels of tea’s celebrated health benefits.

If you haven’t heard of gyokuro before, it’s likely because you won’t find this fancy green tea bottled up on a store shelf or in tea bags. That’s because it’s usually steeped from loose leaves (sometimes with special teaware) and sold almost entirely by Japanese tea companies.

How is gyokuro made?

Gyokuro is thought to have gotten its start in 1835 from a tea merchant [1]. It’s worth noting that another type of Japanese green tea, hojicha, was also the product of an innovative merchant!

This tea merchant wanted to see what would happen by shading tea leaves grown for sencha in the same manner as with tencha, the tea that’s ground in matcha powder. Back then, natural materials like straw and rice stalks were crafted into shading tarps and suspended above tea bushes to shield them from direct sunlight before harvest. Today, a modernized approach uses synthetic nets.

The important role of shading

The shading period is typically 20 days, although this can vary [1]. An Australian study found that regions with more direct sunlight require additional shading to achieve better quality [3].

The effects of sunlight on temperamental gyokuro were also demonstrated through a Japanese study published in Tea Research Journal. It suggested that overall quality decreases the longer it takes to harvest the leaves after unshading [4]. Specifically, “as the exposure time increased, the green color of the fresh leaves faded” and amino acid, aroma, and theanine contents were reduced.”

Harvest and processing

The shading process has a critical impact on the tea plant’s chemical composition, taste, smell, and health benefits. To ensure consistent quality, there are some other measures taken beyond careful shading.
For example, gyokuro is somewhat unique in that it has a single annual harvest in spring, usually in May [1]. Other tea like sencha can be harvested throughout the year, although springtime still yields the most highly sought after quality.

Tea bushes grown for gyokuro can also have up to 5-6 new leaves plucked, which allows the new growth to settle in with plenty of room in over the next year. By comparison, sencha and matcha use only the youngest 2-3 leaves off the top of each branch [5][6].

After harvesting, gyokuro then passes through the same process as sencha [5]. This involves steaming for typically less than a minute to stop the oxidation process (oxidation makes black tea!), fanning to lower the temperature, then pressing, rolling, twisting, and drying to remove moisture. Finally, the crude leaves are sorted and cleaned up for consistency in the finished product.

💡 Same, same, but a little different

All types of tea come from the same camellia sinensis tea plant. How each tea is grown and produced determines which kind it becomes in the end.

Sencha vs gyokuro

Sencha receives full sunlight. Gyokuro is shaded for a few weeks before harvest.
Gyokuro uses a few more leaves off each tea branch.
Sencha has multiple harvests throughout the year. Gyokuro is only harvested in the spring.
Both are processed the same way after harvest.
Sencha has a more robust and bitter taste than gyokuro, which is also sweeter.

Matcha vs gyokuro

Both are shaded for a few weeks before harvest.
Gyokuro and matcha undergo different processing.
Matcha’s end product is a concentrated powder, while gyokuro stays a tea leaf and steeps into an airier tea.
Both are high in caffeine and l-theanine relative to other green tea

What does gyokuro taste like?

For first time gyokuro drinkers, this tea’s taste might take you completely by surprise.

Gyokuro’s flavor can be best described as umami, a taste similar to savory, which is tasted in foods like meat, mushrooms, and seaweed [7][8]. The shaded growing process encourages the production of more l-theanine in the tea leaves, an amino acid that also increases the umami taste [9].

If not steeped correctly gyokuro can taste very subtle and watery. When done right, gyokuro gives off an incredibly savory and concentrated taste unlike any other green tea. I personally think it tastes a bit like kelp. Award-winning Japanese gyokuro company Maiko Tea suggests slowing sipping and enjoying the tea to fully absorb its flavor.

Can you eat gyokuro leaves?

For the higher price, you might as well use every last leaf of gyokuro that you steep!

You can eat leftover gyokuro leaves by making them into furikake, a seasoning for white rice, by pan frying the spent leaves. Or you can simply add a bit of salt and enjoy. There’s some great tips and recipes for eating gyokuro leaves on Fresh Cup Magazine.

What are gyokuro’s health benefits?

The shading process during gyokuro’s final weeks before harvest gives this tea a unique health profile.

With less sunlight, the tea leaves are less able to photosynthesize, which increases the amount of l-theanine [7]. This is also the case with matcha, which undergoes a shading process as well. The mighty amino acid is found in all tea (black, white, oolong, and green) and while green tea generally has it in higher concentrations, the shading increases it even more for gyokuro.

L-theanine is responsible for gyokuro’s umami taste and a whole lot of wonderful health benefits. It is known to have these effects:

Antioxidant
Anti-inflammatory
Neuroprotective
Anti-cancer
Anti-anxiety
Liver and kidney protection
Immune regulation

Another curious fact to note is that l-theanine content in tea leaves is highest in the fresh leaves of spring [10]. As gyokuro is only harvested in the spring, it’s ensured to contain only the youngest leaves packed with l-theanine.

Does gyokuro tea have caffeine?

Like other green tea, gyokuro is caffeinated. The shading process is known to increase the caffeine content in the tea plant, which is why gyokuro and matcha have the highest caffeine levels among green tea [11].

How to brew gyokuro

Gyokuro needs a relatively low temperature of hot water for steeping to maximize the umami flavor and avoid bitterness. Because of the lower temperature, gyokuro can be prepared in specialized teaware like a yuzamashi, a small teacup sized vessel with a spout and no handle [2]. A yuzamashi is also meant to help cool the hot water to a suitable temperature of around 40-50°C (104-122° F) before steeping.

Other Japanese teapots like a small kyusu, which typically has a side handle, or shiboridashi, which has no handle or filter, can also be used for high-grade green tea like gyokuro.

Of course, special teaware isn’t required to make the perfect cup of gyokuro. Just follow these general tips by Japanese gyokuro company, Maiko Tea:

Cool water to 40-50°C (104-122° F).
Put 2 tablespoons of gyokuro leaves in a small teapot or mug with an infuser.
Fill with water and steep for 2 minutes. Others recommend steeping just 90 seconds, but it’s up to you.
Enjoy the first cup! You can re-steep gyokuro tea leaves another 1-2 times and see how the flavor changes with each steep.

Try cold brewing gyokuro instead

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A post shared by MAIKO TEA JAPAN (@maiko_tea_japan)

Another (much less complicated way) to enjoy gyokuro and cut out the water temperature guesswork is to cold brew gyokuro. This method also eliminates the possibility of oversteeping and ending up with bitter tea.

All you need is to leave your tea leaves steeping in water for a few hours in the fridge and BAM!

You can also try ice brewing gyokuro for the same hands off approach. Japanese tea company Senbird Tea recommends combining ice cubes and the gyokuro together in a pot and leaving it out at room temperature for 4-5 hours or putting it in the fridge overnight.

Where to buy quality Japanese gyokuro online

Considering just 0.3% of Japan’s tea production is gyokuro, it’s not that easy to come by. However, there are several trustworthy Japanese tea brands that make buying it online accessible and simple.

These are just a few of the best gyokuro brands that I’ve personally tasted and enjoyed. All their tea comes directly from farms in Japan, they have reasonable shipping rates, and some of the gyokuro has even won awards.

Maiko Tea - Japan-based. Dedicated farm to grow gyokuro. Celebrated as one of Japan’s best gyokuro with the awards to prove it.
Senbird Tea - US-based. Works directly with farmers in Japan to skip the middleman. US shipping costs.
Japanese Green Tea Company - US-based. Single-farm sourced. Grown using a distinct, traditional tea growing method.

There are also a number of other Japanese tea brands that I’ve written about worth checking out too.

[1] Current Outlook of Japanese Tea - Maff. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/agri/attach/pdf/tea_202012.pdf.
[2] “Japanese Tea Kinds.” Global Japanese Tea Association, 4 May 2020, https://gjtea.org/info/japanese-tea-information/japanese-tea-kinds/.
[3] Krahe, James, and Michelle A. Krahe. “Optimizing the Quality and Commercial Value of Gyokuro-Styled Green Tea Grown in Australia.” Optimizing the Quality and Commercial Value of Gyokuro-Styled Green Tea Grown in Australia, 1 Jan. 1970, https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/7808556.
[4] Sakaida, T., et al. “Influence of the Exposure Time after Removing of Covering Materials over Shading Tea Field on the Quality of Gyokuro.” AGRIS, 1 Jan. 1970, https://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=JP2010005507.
[5] The Processing of Sencha Green Tea. ITO EN, http://www.itoen-global.com/allabout_greentea/production_processing.html.
[6] “How to Grow Matcha (If It Were That Easy, Everyone Would Do It).” Ujido, https://ujido.com/blogs/matcha-insider/how-to-grow-matcha-if-it-were-that-easy-everyone-would-do-it.
[7] “How Gyokuro Is Processed: Ippodo.” How Gyokuro Is Processed | IPPODO, https://web.archive.org/web/20180425233636/http://www.ippodo-tea.co.jp/en/tea/gyokuro_03.html.
[8] “What Is Umami?: Everything about Umami: Umami.” Ajinomoto Group Global Website - Eat Well, Live Well., https://www.ajinomoto.com/aboutus/umami/5-facts.
[9] HORIE, Hideki, et al. “Umami Taste of ‘Gyokuro’ High Grade Green Tea.” Chagyo Kenkyu Hokoku (Tea Research Journal), Japanese Society of Tea Science and Technology, 31 July 2009, https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/cha1953/2002/93/2002_93_91/_article.
[10] Li, Ming-Yue, et al. “L-Theanine: A Unique Functional Amino Acid in Tea (Camellia Sinensis L.) with Multiple Health Benefits and Food Applications.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 1 Jan. 1AD, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.853846/full.
[11] Japanese Green Tea Co. “Everything You Need to Know about Covering Process for Matcha and Gyokuro.” Japanese Green Tea Co., https://www.japanesegreenteain.com/blogs/green-tea-and-health/everything-you-need-to-know-about-covering-process-for-matcha-and-gyokuro.

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about the author

Hello, is it tea you’re looking for? Raquel is an Arizona-based tea drinker who writes about tea as a side hobby. Her current favorites are Earl Grey with a splash of milk and any Japanese green tea.