Gyokuro

Gyokuro ("jewel dew") is the most prized of Japan's steamed green teas, made from leaves shaded from the sun for roughly three weeks before plucking. The shading starves the plant of light, so the leaf keeps more of the sweet, savoury amino acid L-theanine and develops less of the bitter, astringent catechins — giving a deep emerald liquor that is intensely umami, sweetly marine and almost free of the bite of ordinary green tea. It is brewed gently in cool water and drunk in small, concentrated sips.