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Pouring light green tea from white porcelain Hasami-yaki kyusu teapot with blue logo into white porcelain Japanese teacup

Get to Know Gyokuro

Written on December 17, 2019 (updated on March 02, 2023)

There’s a time for cold beer and a time to bust out the Champagne. Tea is the same way. If you’re looking for something luxurious to mark a special occasion (or just treating yourself for kicks), gyokuro is what you’re looking for. This precious deep-green tea yields a rich, sweet, and umami brew of unmatched intensity. And like Champagne, it’s great to drink all year long.

What is gyokuro?

Just like our sencha, we only select young, tender spring tea leaves grown in the Kyoto region for our gyokuro blends. The two styles of tea are grown more or less the same way, with two key differences. The soil used for planting gyokuro is especially rich and nourishing, which encourages the tea bush to produce extra high levels of theanine and amino acids—the compounds responsible for gyokuro’s umami character. Then, about three weeks ahead of plucking, farmers hoist giant straw or nylon tarps over the tea bushes, shading them from direct sunlight. Suddenly starved for energy, the plants go into overdrive, producing extra chlorophyll to soak up the remaining light. The absence of sunlight also prevents the plant’s abundant theanine from converting into astringent catechins, as it would with sencha bushes. The result? Intensely umami tea with virtually no bitterness or astringency, plus a lush green hue.

If this shading sounds similar to what you’ve heard about matcha, that’s because both teas are grown and harvested the same way. But where matcha leaves are de-veined and ground into powder, gyokuro leaves are left whole, and in the cup, the two teas taste totally distinct. Gyokuro is renowned for its heady fragrance and thick, lipsmacking texture. As soon as you taste it, you know you’re drinking the good stuff.

How do I brew it?

Traditionally, gyokuro is steeped with a high proportion of leaves at a cooler temperature for a longer time, to extract a rich, concentrated brew with heavy sweetness. For a small 3 ounce (80ml) teapot, use 2 tablespoons (about 10 grams) of leaves, and steep with 140°F (60°C) water for 90 seconds. No worries if you don’t have a thermometer; you can cool your water down to the right temperature by transferring it between three teacups, like in the graphic above. This is the ideal temperature to draw out the tea’s sweet and umami qualities while minimizing bitterness.

Standard Gyokuro Brew

Makes one pot
1. Measure the leaves
2 tbsp. (10 g / 0.35 oz)
Add tea leaves to a kyusu or teapot.
Silver tablespoon filled with dried rolled Ippodo Gyokuro premium Japanese green tea leaves with
Silver tablespoon filled with dried rolled Ippodo Gyokuro premium Japanese green tea leaves with
Standard Gyokuro Brew
1. Measure the leaves
2 tbsp. (10 g / 0.35 oz)
Add tea leaves to a kyusu or teapot.
2. Add hot water
80 mL (3 oz) 60°C (140°F)
Cool boiling water to 60°C by transferring 3 times.
Three porcelain teacups beside a small porcelain kyusu with arrows instructing to transfer tea from one vessel to the next
Three porcelain teacups beside a small porcelain kyusu with arrows instructing to transfer tea from one vessel to the next
Standard Gyokuro Brew
2. Add hot water
80 mL (3 oz) 60°C (140°F)
Cool boiling water to 60°C by transferring 3 times.
3. Brew
90 seconds
Brew without stirring or disturbing the tea leaves.
Small white porcelain Japanese kyusu teapot with blue logo on lid sitting beside orange stop watch timer on white table
Small white porcelain Japanese kyusu teapot with blue logo on lid sitting beside orange stop watch timer on white table
Standard Gyokuro Brew
3. Brew
90 seconds
Brew without stirring or disturbing the tea leaves.
4. Serve
Pour out every last drop.
Enjoy in your favorite teacup or mug.
Pouring light green tea from white porcelain Hasami-yaki kyusu teapot with blue logo into white porcelain Japanese teacup
Pouring light green tea from white porcelain Hasami-yaki kyusu teapot with blue logo into white porcelain Japanese teacup
Standard Gyokuro Brew
4. Serve
Pour out every last drop.
Enjoy in your favorite teacup or mug.

Or go iced: Gyokuro is a wonderful tea to drink iced, and only takes 15 minutes to brew. See our video for the full recipe!

And don’t toss the leaves: Since gyokuro leaves are so potent, you can re-steep them three or four times before they lose their sweetness. And once the leaves are spent, give them a common Japanese treatment: Toss with a couple drops of soy sauce, mirin, and sesame oil, then top with toasted sesame seeds. Serve over rice or stirred into eggs for a super-green tea snack.

Ippodo Tea - Iced gyokuro

Cold Brew Gyokuro

Makes one pot
1. Measure the leaves
2 tbsp. (10 g / 0.35 oz)
Add tea leaves to a kyusu or teapot.
Silver tablespoon filled with dried rolled Ippodo Gyokuro premium Japanese green tea leaves with
Silver tablespoon filled with dried rolled Ippodo Gyokuro premium Japanese green tea leaves with
Cold Brew Gyokuro
1. Measure the leaves
2 tbsp. (10 g / 0.35 oz)
Add tea leaves to a kyusu or teapot.
2. Add ice water
210 mL (7 oz) Chilled water
Pour chilled water to cover tea leaves.
Pouring water from glass carafe into white porcelain Hasami-yaki teapot containing Gyokuro green tea leaves and ice cubes
Pouring water from glass carafe into white porcelain Hasami-yaki teapot containing Gyokuro green tea leaves and ice cubes
Cold Brew Gyokuro
2. Add ice water
210 mL (7 oz) Chilled water
Pour chilled water to cover tea leaves.
3. Brew
15 minutes
Brew without stirring or disturbing the tea leaves.
Small white porcelain Japanese kyusu teapot with blue logo on lid sitting beside orange stop watch timer on white table
Small white porcelain Japanese kyusu teapot with blue logo on lid sitting beside orange stop watch timer on white table
Cold Brew Gyokuro
3. Brew
15 minutes
Brew without stirring or disturbing the tea leaves.
4. Serve
Pour out every last drop.
Enjoy in your favorite glass, teacup, or mug.
Pouring light green tea from white porcelain Hasami-yaki kyusu teapot with blue logo into white porcelain Japanese teacup
Pouring light green tea from white porcelain Hasami-yaki kyusu teapot with blue logo into white porcelain Japanese teacup
Cold Brew Gyokuro
4. Serve
Pour out every last drop.
Enjoy in your favorite glass, teacup, or mug.

Choose your style

Every year, Ippodo’s master blenders release several styles of gyokuro, each with its own unique character.

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