Protected local food
Yame Traditional Gyokuro
八女伝統本玉露
A gyokuro green tea from Fukuoka, shaded under rice straw before picking and picked by hand. It tastes rich and mellow, with strong umami.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 22 December 2015
- Region
- Kyushu & Okinawa
- Official name in Japanese
- 八女伝統本玉露
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 福岡県内
Shaded under straw, picked by hand
Before the harvest, growers cover the tea bushes with rice straw and other natural materials on a frame above them. The shade gives the leaves a high level of the aroma Japanese tea makers call ooika, the "covered" scent. The bushes grow naturally, and the leaves are picked by hand, a method kept for more than 110 years.
Why Yame
In this part of Fukuoka the gap between morning and evening temperatures brings morning mist. The mist helps the leaves store more of the compounds that give tea its umami.
Good to know
- Gyokuro is brewed with cooler water than everyday green tea, so the umami comes through. Ask the shop how they brew it.
- For a Kyushu food trip, pair it with Hakata Jidori chicken, also from Fukuoka.
Questions travellers ask
What is gyokuro?
A Japanese green tea grown in shade before picking. The shade makes it rich in umami and gives it a mellow taste.
Where is Yame Traditional Gyokuro from?
Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.