Enshi Yulu
恩施玉露 · Jade Dew
Green
Every other green tea in China meets a hot pan. This one meets steam.
Steaming was the Tang dynasty method. China gave it up centuries ago and Japan kept it, which is why Japanese greens taste the way they do. In the mountains of western Hubei the old method survived anyway, in one place, almost unnoticed.
The leaf is rolled into dark jade needles that could pass for gyokuro until you taste them. A Qing merchant named it jade dew for the way the wet leaf shines. Steam keeps everything the pan would take away. Deep green, soft and savoury, with no smoke in it.
- umami
- vegetal
- smooth
- Origin
- Enshi, Hubei
- Water
- 75°C / 167°F
- Ratio
- 3.5 g / 100 ml
- Caffeine
- Medium
- Rinse
- Not needed
Regional fame; China's only major surviving steamed green
How much leaf
Gong fu brewing is leaf-heavy and short. Set your gaiwan or pot size and this is what to weigh out.
Vessel volume
100 ml
Recommended dose
Use ~3.5g of tea
The session
4 infusions, about 2m 20s of total contact time.
- Steep 120sGreen and quiet, like wet stone.
- Steep 230sUmami blooms, sea-sweet.
- Steep 340sThe needle softens into spinach cream.
- Steep 450sJade fades to sweet water.
Also sold as
Enshi Jade Dew, En Shi Yu Lu
Steaper times this session for you
A countdown per infusion, a gong when each one is up, and the whole library in your pocket. Coming to iPhone.
Get notified at launchThese numbers are a median of independent gong fu sources, not a law. Leaf age, vessel and water all move them. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.