A Gyokuro made from the leaves of plants growing in the hills of one of the better prefectures (provinces) where green tea is made, Shizuoka. This Gyokuro is from a different cultivar than the version from before, in this case the ‘Saemidori’. The cultivar is becoming more widely used in Japan because of the high quality tea that can be made from it. See below for a bit more information on this cultivar.
Saemidori is the most widely planted cultivar after Yabukita and Yutakamidori but still only accounted for 4% of cultivars used for green tea production in 2019. However, its share is rising rapidly because of the high quality tea this cultivar produces. The cultivar is a combination of Yabukita x Asatsuyu.
Yabukita --> is known for its easy growth, has a good yield in good quality.
Asatsuyu --> is known for its sweetness and powerful flavor
Saemidori combines these traits and is now known as the best cultivar for quality and is used for Sencha and Gyokuro. The tea is flavorful, a beautiful green color and has sweetness and umami with little bitterness when properly brewed.
This Gyokuro is an Asamushi, a short-steamed tea. Generally, leaves can be steamed longer to get the amount of bitterness down but since the Saemidori already has less bitterness, this is not necessarily necessary. The leaf retains its nice shape due to the short steaming.
The duration of steaming is generally 20-40 seconds and then the tea is "lightly steamed. After 40-60 seconds the tea is "normally steamed" and after 60 seconds the tea is called "deeply steamed."
Shizuoka has 8 areas where tea plants grow and leaves from the Honyama area are paid the most money. From this leaf, this Gyokuro is made. The area is hilly and has temperature fluctuations that create fog from the river. The fog hangs over the tea bushes so they get less sunlight which benefits the taste.
