Japanese Tea Gyokuro Misho

Gyokuro is translated as “dew drop” and it is  the highest grade Japanese loose green tea. In contrast to making unshaded Sencha, where the covers for blocking direct sunshine are spread directly on the plant, Gyokuro is grown under a special shading for about two to three weeks prior the harvest that allows more space for the tea leaves to steep out. The tea plant is shaded for about three weeks, during which fresh spring tea leaves develop a distinctive rich flavor and sweet smell. After the harvest the leaves are processed with great care, the result of which is tea of unique beauty. Due to the level of care and attention needed to produce Gyokuro it is a rather rare tea – less than 1 percent of all tea made in Japan is Gyokuro.