I must admit: for the price point, I would never have tried this tea except for the fact that I got it for free as part of the anniversary sale. Nearly $50 for 30 grams of tea is a bit out of my price range. As such, this will become a special occasion tea for me, since gyokuros can be aged longer than senchas. The aroma is deceptively mild, with classic sencha notes of steamed vegetables, but also hints of corn and sweet cream just under the surface. This isn't an extremely aromatic tea, but compensates for that by giving enjoyable complexity in the flavor. When you take your first sip, the mouthfeel gives some minerality and a thick, brothy texture that coats the tongue. It greets you with a brisk umami and a very mild bitterness that quickly fades into floral sweetness with a hint of sweet corn, then lingers as a mild rocky mineral aftertaste with recurring hints of vegetal umami. And when I say that aftertaste lingers, it REALLY lingers. I was still tasting it a solid 10 minutes after my first cup, and the aroma remained even longer, which is insane, I've never had a Japanese tea linger that long. I highly recommend not only brewing this tea at very cool temperatures (as gyokuro should be), but I also recommend using much less water than usual as well. This allows the tea to have that stronger, syrupy texture and bold flavor. If I had to compare it to anything, I'd say it's like a more umami version of the Cha Meijin, if you've been a Nio Teas customer for a while. My only real complaint is the price point. Again, $50 for 30 grams of tea is a bit on the excessive side. I understand gyokuros are more labor-intensive and are carefully blended, but in this economy, not too many people are going to be able to truly afford that price. If it were $40 or less, I could see myself repeat-buying because it's otherwise a very solid tea.
