2011 Gyokuro Hoshino

Of all the Japanese whole leaf teas, Gyokuro is the most prized.  In early spring, when the first new shoots start growing on the tea trees, the plants are shaded from the sun for the last 20 days before being harvested.  By reducing the sunlight, the tea leaves compensate by producing more chlorophyll and less catechins.  This results in a tea with more sweetness and less astringency.  Because of the intense conditions this puts the plant through, Gyokuro is only harvested once per year to allow the tree to recover.

Ask Mr. Tea

When talking to people about tea I sometimes find that my expectations of what people should already know sets the bar too high.  A classic example is how I'm always surprised when somebody doesn't know that green tea and black tea come from the same plant.  Now, now, don't worry if this is you, because I've just discovered an interesting fact of history.