Description

Yame Gyokuro Grade 1 – Luxury Shade-Grown Gyokuro from Yame

Yame Gyokuro Grade 1 is a high-quality, first-flush gyokuro grown in Yame, Japan. Yame is one of Japan's most important gyokuro-growing regions, producing more than half of all gyokuro in the country. Because of its rarity and extraordinary taste, aroma and complexity, this tea is traditionally treated as a luxury for special occasions.

Gyokuro is a specialty Japanese tea that's shaded for approximately three weeks before harvest. In Yame, the tea bushes are covered using traditional methods with special bamboo-and-straw shades. This shading produces a tea that's theanine-rich and very aromatic, brewing a liquor in a beautiful shade of green with a uniquely sweet and delicate flavor — and no astringency.

Tasting Notes

Liquor: beautiful, vivid green
Aroma: very aromatic, sweet and fresh
Flavor: uniquely sweet, delicate and rich in umami
Character: smooth, with no astringency
Finish: long, complex and satisfying

Why You'll Love It

This isn't your everyday tea — it's a tea to celebrate with! Yame Gyokuro Grade 1 offers the depth, sweetness and complexity that make gyokuro one of the world's most prized green teas. It's naturally rich in L-theanine, promoting a calm, focused state of mind.

From Yame, Japan's leading gyokuro region
First-flush, Grade 1 quality
Traditionally shaded for about three weeks
Sweet, delicate and never astringent

How to Enjoy

Brew it gently with cooler water in a small teapot and savor it in small cups. Re-steep the leaves for several infusions to experience its evolving sweetness. It makes an extraordinary gift and a perfect centerpiece for special moments.

Rare, refined and truly exceptional, Yame Gyokuro Grade 1 is gyokuro at its finest.

Write your own Review

David Psathas

April 2023

.....Oh I don't know I can see making this my everyday tea. For the price quite exquisite. Drinks nicely if steeped on the long or short side of the 1 to 2 min. range. I do wish you would put your rec. amounts in grams though . While I know most people may not own a gram scale any high end tea drinker should own one and they aren't any more expensive than 75 grams of this tea.-d-

André Lanciault

June 2022

[FR] Deuxième message: Ce thé demeure remarquable. Après plusieurs essais, je recommande de fire bouillir l’eau à 70 C. Il sent tellement bon et sa couleur ajoute à l’expérience.

André Lanciault

January 2021

[FR] Nous adorons les thés verts japonais. Celui-ci est est d’une très grande qualité. L’odeur qui émane du sac donne le goût d’en manger. L’odeur se poursuit pendant l’infusion. Le goût est caractéristique du Gyokuro, sans amertume et avec une bonne longueur en bouche.

Un thé vert remarquable!

Jon

February 2018

My favorite green tea out of all the ones I've had. It's got lots of grassy alfalfa flavor, with umami theanine aftertaste. Very light and smooth.

See all 12 reviews

Thomas Richmond

October 2017

One of the highest quality teas I have ever tasted, definitely top shelf grade- clean marine kelp/seaweed with fresh vegetal notes and an intense umami savory punch. Well worth the expense , very uplifting, positive tea :)

Jeff Larsen

March 2016

I compared 3 similarly priced Gyokuro varieties: Gyokuro Ureshinocha, Gyokuro Premier, and Yame Gyokura Grade 1. I found the Gyokuro Premier and Yame Gyokuro Grade 1 to be indistinguishable from each other. Both of these varieties yielded tea with a richer and better flavor than Gyokuro Ureshinocha. In all case, I heated 8 oz of water to 130F and steeped with 1 tsp of tea leaves for 1 minute.

Stephane Dudart

March 2016

With a dense green color and intense and sweet fresh grass to the taste WITHOUT theine aftertaste. Wonderful tea. Smell it when you open the bag...

Derekarmstrong

August 2015

Really fragrant, and subtle yet rich at the same time. Don't brew more than three minutes, about two finger pinches per small pot (2 cups). Delicious, my daily tea, I keep a lot on my shelf. Also, for those concerned about the nuclear accident, Yame is VERY FAR away, it's south of Jeju island South Korea. I can't give up my green teas from Japan (they taste different from anywhere else), and Yame is the best for me, and also very worry-free.

Andrew

May 2014

When made properly the way I like it I haven't come across green tea this good ever! I like the water to be around 60-65 degrees before steeping the leaves. The taste is wonderfully sweet with green tea's unique umami flavour. I can't get enough of this tea. If you like your green tea buy this. You will not be disappointed. A little goes a long way so don't afraid of the price. 5 stars.

Bruce Tison

April 2020

Slightly bitter to me. I prefer the Gyojuro Premier.

Mohamad Beydoun

March 2023

This shit taste like boiled seaweed. Smells like boiled seaweed. Even after I added like 250ml of jasmine tea and watered it down. *THIS IS HIGH QUALITY BUT I PUT 1 STAR BECAUSE WHEN I WAS CHECKING THE REVIEWS I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE TEA RATING NOT THE QUALITY RATING WHICH WAS MISLEADING* I was convinced it would taste sweet and a little grassy. This is girthy Atlantic seaweed. I'm still gonna finish the whole 100g though. It's not the teas fault. I'm pretty sure I just jumped to conclusions when I bought it.

Mel Sweetnam

June 2022

I don't know if this gyokuro is misclassified as Grade 1, or if I was just really unlucky and received an old/stale batch (although the tea was properly vacuum sealed). There is no aroma, almost no colour, and pretty much no flavour. It isn't really an improvement over just drinking hot water, though the second infusion is a very slight improvement over the first. The senchas I ordered at the same time are wonderful (I will write separate, very positive reviews for those), but I am at a loss as to why a premium price is being charged for this insipid gyokuro.