TWG Tea releases its award-winning 2019 Hon Gyokuro Harvests with five exclusive teas – Imperial Gyokuro, Gyokuro Samurai, Gyokuro Mikado, Gyokuro Minami, and Gyokuro Hisui. Grown in the most celebrated tea-producing regions of Southern Japan, it is reverently referred to as the Jewel of Dew. TWG Tea is the first tea company to have introduced Hon-Gyokuro on an international scale since 2015.
The history of Gyokuro dates back to 1835, when it was created by a tea farmer in Japan who covered his tea leaves with straw mats to protect them from the frost during a particularly long and cold winter. The resulting tea was an instant success. The process of shading tea gardens was then developed and improved, resulting in leaves which contained a high concentration of theanine and an exceptionally sweet, grassy flavour.
TWG Tea has specially reserved the entire 2019 harvest (weighing 4.5 kg) of the Gyokuro Minami and Gyokuro Hisui harvests, while only 4.5kg of the Imperial Gyokuro Harvest is available worldwide. Priced from $32.50 to $228.50 per pot, they are available in 50g quantities.