Mr Sakamoto's Gyokuro [Okumidori]

£7.50

Simply put...

The tea makes a light green liquor and has a fresh, green aroma. The okumidori cultivar creates a strong umami flavoured tea offering an delicious insight into the beauty and richness of Kagoshima teas.

In more depth...

Origin : Mr Sakamoto's Tea Farm, Kagoshima, Kyushu Island, Japan

Size : 3 hectares

Harvest Time : Spring

Cultivar : Okumidori

Plucking standard : Machine harvested

Processing : Gyokuro is grown under shade for the last twenty days before harvesting, a technique which helps create its sweet taste.

Experience : Strong & umami-rich with a green scent.

Last visited by Comins : October 2017, Rob Comins

How to prepare [Kyusu]

Amount of tea per cup (200 ml): 5g (one tea caddy spoon)

Temperature of water: 60℃ / 140℉

Infusion / brewing time: 1-3 minutes

Number of infusions: 3-4

Tales of the Tea Trade : Mr Sakamoto\

Rob : Extract from our our book Tales of the tea trade : Mr Sakamoto and his brother cut an inspiring presence [...] The calmness, warmth and quiet expertise they present is common to many tea farmers, but they also give out an incredible energy. I soon realise that this comes from a deep passion for the farm, its soil, the plants and the organic manner they have chosen to adopt [...]

Mr Sakamoto: ‘Our family has 80 years of history in tea, as our grandfather used to grow tea to sell to customers in the local town [....] When we took over we decided to reduce the size to concentrate on making high-quality tea [...] The land is better for sweeter teas [...] We continue to work in tea because we want to drink better tea and make healthy tea [...] We use machines to pick our tea and make only gyokuro, but also gyokuro powdered tea and gyokuro matcha [...]

‘Our tea is organic. We make our own bokashi fertilizer on the farm from sesame fibre, rapeseed oil cake, mineral from rocks, silica and a mixture of fermented fish stock and black vinegar [...] We pick only once a year, as more picking will take too much from the plants. After picking we prune the bushes by around 30 centimetres, and these cuttings are left on the ground as compost to feed the good bacteria and promote the soil' [...]

Rob : When you drink Mr Sakamoto’s tea you taste all of the above. That umami flavour is magnified, so it rolls around your mouth, zapping your jaw and continues to change in the aftertaste for a long time. Every decision he takes is to create that moment for his drinkers......

Want to learn more? Theres so much more to this story but you will have to come and see us, taste Mr Sakamoto's tea or read the book Tales of the tea trade to get further inspired by Mr Sakamoto.