In the second of my Kuki-cha reviews from my friends at Maeda-en, I have the pleasure of trying their Gyokuro Kuki-cha, which is a twig tea made from the stems of the Gyokuro tree. Gyokuro, or Jade Dew, is unique in its harvesting process, which involves covering the trees from sunlight for 3 weeks prior to harvest, "which subsequently increases the amounts of flavorful amino acids such as theanin and glutamic acid, and reduces astringent amino acids such as cathechin. The result is a rich, sweet, full-bodied brew, highlighted by a touch of oceanic breeze."

Unfortunately I don't have a lot to say about Gyokuro Kuki-cha... except that it's awesome! It has a very similar woodsy, almost tree-like taste, with the same subtle sweetness that I have come to love in all of the previous versions of Kuki-cha I have been fortunate enough to taste. But the Gyokuro adds a hint of what I can only describe as a creaminess, as evidenced by the taste and also by its appearance in the cup. It has the same lime green appearance as other Kuki-cha's, but the color is a bit more muted, giving it, as I said before, almost a creamy appearance.

As with the previous version of Kuki-cha, I steeped at approximately 180 degrees for about a minute. When I added agave to Maeda-en's Kuki-cha with Matcha for my last review it didn't add a lot to the already incredible flavor, so I only had the Gyokuro unsweetened. I'm really excited to try this tea cold. For some reason it feels like it will make a really good iced tea.

I highly recommend giving this tea a try. Luckily, it looks like it's on sale this week. Gyokuro Kuki-cha tends to be a little more expensive than the other varieties, so I urge you to take this opportunity to check out this high quality tea.

Maeda-en's Gyokuro Kuki-cha