Gyokuro

Harvested at a small-scale, sustainable farm in Kawane, this tea forgoes the intense umami punch of other gyokuro for a—albeit still quite savory—subtler profile. The soup is pale and slightly milky, the taste recalling soybean, broccoli rabe, and lychee in the finish, and off its mouth-filling surface wafts the tiniest bit of florality, like sniffing a daisy on a grassy knoll. The Harumidori cultivar is quite unusual (though what isn't, in comparison to the overwhelming dominance of Yabukita in Japan), and perhaps we can ascribe the tea's refined character to its use, or else the undivided attention of the small producer. If other gyokuro are simply overwhelming for your taste, this one may be worth a try.