<What you need; (from the left)>
*a small tea bowl, ]
*a tea pot without handle known as "hohin" (lit; treasure jar)
*a vessel to cool down hot water called "yuzamashi"
.
1) Pour hot water into yuzamashi and let it cool a bit. Then transfer some water into the tea bowl. About 40- 50 ℃ is suitable to maximize gyokuro character, which is Umami savory.
2) Put gyokuro (about 5 g) into hohin, and transfer the hot water into it.
3) Leave the lid open and see how the tea is soaking the water. Not ready yet....
4) About 2 minutes later.... soaked well. Now it's ready. You may think " No liquor!!".No worry.
5) Pour the tea until the last drop. You will get this amount of tea. You may still say this is not enough. Anyway, drink it, and you will be surprised how powerful the tea is!! Very very very rich in Umami, and the texture is really thick. You will be satisfied with even this little amount of tea.
6) After multiple infusions, EAT the leaves with a bit of soy sauce, "ponzu (soy sauce with citrus juice)" would be better if available. Like matcha, which you consume all the leaves, the used tea leaves of gyokuro is very edible and has a lot of nutrients.
