Gyokuro Kin, is truly a great gyokuro at a fair price.
Open the bag and you can instantly smell the delicious fresh sweetness this tea gives. The leaves are an even mix of broken and unbroken needles with a rich dark green color.
I brewed this tea following very closely Den’s brewing guide using 160F water and 1 and a half min steep time in a Kyusu.
The resulting brew had a very subtle sweet aroma with a very saturated green color (mostly due to a large amount of particles in the cup). This gyokuro is sweet and full bodied with a slight bitterness that becomes more apparent as your cup cools down. My second cup, this time brewed at 180F, had a much stronger bitter finish but still had the sweetness of the first.
Overall, I like this gyokuro. It has the sweetness that you expect, but with a heavy mouthfeel similar to that of a fukamushi sencha. This combination makes a heartier brew than other gyokuros, perfect to drink with a meal.
