Pan-fried Tamaryokucha

Pan-fried Tamaryokucha | 釜炒玉綠茶

Tasting notes: Toasty, savoury, sweet
Origin: Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan

Tamaryokucha (玉綠茶) is a type of Japanese green tea known for its distinctive curly, comma-shaped leaves, which result from skipping the final rolling step in its production. Also called guricha, it has a smooth, mellow flavor profile and less grassy taste than sencha.

Produced mainly in Kyushu, the tea can be either steamed or pan-fried. Our Tamaryokucha is pan-fried, a niche craft centred in Miyazaki Prefecture and which arrived in Japan only some five centuries ago from China. 

Why we love it:

• The leaves are fired at high heat in vast iron woks, tumbling against the metal until they take on a subtle, smoky silver sheen that catches the light.
• The liquor brews a warm golden hue, offering a mellow, velvety mouthfeel laced with distinctive roasted notes, utterly distinct from the bright, grassy lift of steamed green teas.
• It marries the refined clarity of Japanese sencha with the nutty depth of Chinese Longjing: a singular green tea that quietly bridges two worlds.

What is green tea?