Gyokuro

[thediminished5th]

At the risk of beating a dead horse and being chased away from the forums, I'd like to present my troubles of replicating an amazing cup of gyokuro and hopefully get some (friendly) feedback from the community here.

I had successfully brewed a cup of Adagio's gyokuro about a week ago that had an almost buttery sensation with no bitterness and full body. I thought I had used 6 oz of 140 degree water with 3 rounded teaspoons of leaf. I believe this is about 1 gram to 1 oz. From what I understand, this is the minimum you should use when brewing gyokuro. Being that Adagio's offering is not premium, I thought the 1:1 ratio would be fine.

My problem now is I cannot for the life of me replicate that buttery sensation! When I brew similar to the above, I get a slightly bitter first brew. I am stumped and would love to experience that amazing flavor once again!

Thanks in advance!

- Jon

[thediminished5th]

I should mention that I steeped the tea for 2 minutes as frequently suggested.

[Chip]

Heh, I guess I can delete the response PM to you.

Gyokuro is a pretty finicky tea, takes practice and even then as you go from tea to tea, you will have to adjust. Sometimes you will never quite figure out a particular gyo.

140* can be too hot for some gyo (and too cool for others of questionable pedigree), go lower for the Suimei from Den's ... try 130. Bitter is a result of either too hot or too long.

It is common to brew a little shorter when using a lot of leaf, 1.5 minutes can sometimes improve results.

[thediminished5th]

Chip,

Thanks for the response. Would you consider a rounded teaspoon per 2 oz. an appropriate amount of leaf to start with? Does this equate to a 1:1 ratio?

- Jon

[Chip]

Chip,

Thanks for the response. Would you consider a rounded teaspoon per 2 oz. an appropriate amount of leaf to start with? Does this equate to a 1:1 ratio?

- Jon

Different selections will have different densities. A needle form is going to be much lighter in density than a more broken leaf version.

Since you are trying to really nail this down, perhaps a digital scale would be helpful. They are cheap and easy to use. For Japanese teas, I use them all the time.

[thediminished5th]

I have ordered a digital scale and plan on playing with the temperature and brew time. I'll let you know when I'm successful!

[Chip]

Excellent!