Gyokuro Kin

Tea: Gyokuro Kin
Vendor: Den's Tea
Source: Asahina, Shizuoka, Japan
Price: $13.50/ 2 oz
Vendor Description: Kin offers the elegance and beauty of the famed Gyokuro teas. The harmony of slight astringency and natural sweetness turns to full-body in your mouth. Den’s Gyokuro Kin is a cup of affordable luxury.

Leaf: This leaf is very dark green in color with a slight flatness to it. There is a quite a large amount of dust to it, and a slightly matte and slightly glossy color. The leaf has a very thick and sweet aroma to it.

1st Infusion Brewing Parameters: 5g, 3 oz, 140F, 2 mins

1st Infusion: The color of this tea was a light almost luminescent green color. It had a very sweet and creamy gyokuro aroma. The flavor was thick and creamy as a gyokuro normally is, but lacked the grassiness and strength of flavor of some of the more distinguished gyokruos.

2nd Infusion: This infusion had a darker and murkier green color to it. There are hints of a grassier taste here, and it still has a thick gyokuro flavor. The flavor was sweet yet a bit weak.

3rd Infusion: This infusion was a bit lighter and had a yellow/green color. There is a light astringency and bitterness paired with the gyokruo flavor, and the flavor is still creamy.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: This is the lower of the two grades of gyokuro offered by Den's tea. Going into this I did not have much in terms of expectations from this tea. Shizuoka is not as famous for gyokuro as Yame or Uji. The flavor was a bit weaker than most gyokuro that I have tried. It also felt like the flavor should have lasted for more infusions.