The Japanese tea cultivars

It was time for an update, and even a rewrite of my old article on cultivars, the first dating from 2009 (on the French blog), despite a few minor edits. And then as a bonus I made a complete list (as much as possible) of Japanese tea cultivars with their crossbreed, year of registration and selection institution!! (to be found at the end of the article).

A cultivar is a species of tree or plant with identical genetic characteristics. The most obvious comparison for a Frenchman is of course the grape varieties of the wine, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, etc. We think of Reinette or Granny Smith in the case of apples. Or Caturra, Bourbon or Gesha for coffee.

Cultivars are an essential part of any agricultural product. They each have their own characteristics both from a taste and technical point of view responding to constraints linked to the culture itself.

Tea is no exception and there are around 150 cultivars in Japan, both officially registered and unregistered.

The tea plant is a self-incompatible plant, a mechanism that prevents the self-fertilization of the same flower or a genetically linked flower. In short, the flower of a tea plant will not be able to produce a seed with pollen from the same tea plant, or from the same cultivar (since a cultivar is genetically the same plant). So, to create and reproduce a tea cultivar, we must have two different tea plants (or two cultivars).

This point is important and it seems that it is misunderstood by many. For example, a Yabukita seed will in no way produce a Yabukita tea plant. To get another Yabukita tea tree, you have to take a cutting from it.

The creation of tea cultivars in Japan

The development of cultivars in Japan began as early as the last quarter of the 19th century. At that time, the tea industry was booming, an important export product mainly to the United States. The industry is modernizing with the beginnings of mechanization, but also with the idea of ​​cultivar selection. This idea will not be shared by all at this time, many thinking it preferable to keep plantations of indigenous tea trees, reproduced by seeds, and therefore all different.

The beginnings of the development of cultivars were obviously made by the selection of individuals, within the native tea plants (“zairai”, all from seeds). Individuals considered interesting (resistant, productive, etc.) are selected and then reproduced by cuttings. Thus in 1906 was selected in Shizuoka by Sugiyama Hikosaburô the famous Yabukita. Later, cultivars such as Asatsuyu or Sayama-midori were selected from zairai tea plants in Uji. But at the same time, tea plants were also brought in from abroad, as in 1877 seeds from Assam brought back by Tada Motonobu and which gave birth later to the first Japanese black tea cultivar, Benihomare.

Then, from the 1920s, we began to make selections from seeds from previously selected cultivars, then to make crosses between cultivars. It is a long-term job, which takes 20 to 30 years, where a single tea tree ends up being selected from thousands, following several phases of selection and testing. Still motivated by the export of tea, productivity was an essential criterion at that time.

After the war, we turned to the domestic market. With the high growth period and the diversification of food habits, we seek to produce cultivars with more varied and original aromas. A will thus find for example Yamakai, or more recently Kôshun.

Moreover, it was not until 1953 that a list of 15 cultivars was officially registered for the first time.

Today, although declining after a peak in the 1970s, Yabukita still represents 73% of the cultivated area, followed by Yutaka-midori 6%, Saemidori 4%, Okumidori 3%, Sayama-kaori 2%, Asatsuyu 1%, Kanaya-midori 1%, all others being less than 1%.

Only slightly more than 2% of native tea trees remain from seed.

Most cultivars are developed and selected in national and prefectural research centers, but some are also the result of selection by producers.

Characteristics

What are the main characteristics taken into account in a cultivar?

– First, we have its resistance to various cold damage. Its resistance to certain pests and various diseases that affect the tea plant.

– The robustness of the shrub. Do the cuttings take well, etc.

– Its productivity. But also, the quality of the leaves, with a tendency to make leaves more or less heavy.

– The budding period, i.e., do the buds come out more or less sooner or later. Yabukita is the standard. A cultivar that grows before Yabukita is early, one that buds later is late. For a producer, this characteristic is important to be able to distribute the harvests well over time and not miss any “ideal” moment of harvest.

– Aromatic characteristics but also color. Thus, cultivars are a primary source of aromatic diversity.

– The types of tea to which they are dedicated. (See next chapter)

– More recently, certain chemical characteristics, the presence or not of molecules with particular properties (for example, the methyl catechin of Benifûki and its anti-allergic properties, etc.)

Zairai tea trees, very varied colors, shapes, level of leaf growth

Cultivar in the foreground, uniform leaves

Types of teas and cultivars

When they are registered, cultivars are classified as dedicated to this or that type of tea. “Sencha” cultivars are by far the most numerous, with more than 2/3 of the total. The categories are sencha, tamaryokucha (steamed and kama-iri type), shaded teas (tencha, gyokuro), black tea.

Of course, these are big trends (ability to tolerate shade well and to produce a lot of umami for shaded tea cultivars, a lot of tannins for black tea cultivars, etc) but there is no impossibility, it is quite possible to make a black tea with a sencha cultivar and vice versa.

Trends and development

We obviously cannot put all the cultivars in the same bag, but the big trend for 30 or 40 years (we must also take into account the very long time of selection) is to favor cultivars with a lot of umami and a beautiful green color, but also early cultivars.

Indeed, with the trend for fukamushi in particular, consumers got into the habit of believing that a sencha must have a very green and intense color (when in reality, a very limpid golden color was the mark of a well-made tea), and tastes are more and more oriented towards teas that are very easy to drink, very sweet with a lot of umami.

Also, the obsession with “shincha”, a commercial operation that no longer has any real meaning today other than symbolic, means that the teas that arrive on the market the earliest are sold at the highest price. It is therefore important to develop quality early cultivars, with the risk they represent (they are more subject to frost). The great example that is very common today is Saemidori (you will notice in the list that it enters in a large part of the newer crossbreeds). But it is still important to also have good late cultivars, an example would then be Haru-midori.

Another more recent trend is the development of cultivars well suited to the production of powdered teas, i.e., inexpensive matcha. We have Seimei.

Regionalism and unusual cultivars

The term regionalism is perhaps a little exaggerated in the case of Japan, where there is no particular restriction in the use of cultivars in such and such a region, and the very interesting cultivars (according to such and such a point of view in any case) tend to spread everywhere within the limits of climatic possibilities. Nevertheless, there are some notable facts.

– Shaded tea cultivars

It may not come as a surprise but shade tea cultivars were almost all developed in Kyoto / Uji, the main tencha (matcha) and gyokuro production region, with a very strong shade culture, even for sencha actually. The best known are Asahi (especially for tencha/matcha), Gokô (especially for gyokuro), Uji-hikari, Samidori (not to be confused with Sae-midori which comes from Kagoshima) or even Uji-midori. Most come from selection among zairai tea trees in Uji. Recently, Hôshun comes from a seed of Samidori. It is surprising to see that only a few crosses have been used there, and also that most of them have not been officially registered.

These cultivars have spread little outside this region.

Moreover, although its image is not linked to Uji, Asatsuyu comes from a selection among the zairai tea trees of Uji, just like Sayama-midori.

-Sayama

Sayama is the name given to teas from the Saitama prefecture north of Tokyo. I have written a complete article on the cultivars of this region, but I would therefore like to remind you that the research center located in Iruma gave birth to many cultivars, including Sayama-kaori which has spread throughout the country. The development of resistant tea plants is a very important criteria in Saitama, but by pure chance most are very interesting produced with a wilting process. In particular, Yume-wakaba, Fukumidori, Hokumei.

-Miyazaki

Completely unknown for tea by the public, the prefecture of Miyazaki in Kyûshû is nevertheless the 4th tea producer in Japan. His research center has in the past produced many kama-iri cha cultivars (the towns of Gokase and Takachiho are the two main producers of this rare type of tea), like Unkai, Mine-kaori, Yamanami, Tamamidori, etc.

But in recent years, Miyazaki has seen a significant amount of new sencha cultivars registered, with Kirari 31 in particular being tipped as a potential new standard alongside Yabukita and Sae-midori.

– “Inzatsu” cultivars

Again, I have written a full article on this very particular type of cultivar. Inzatsu is the abbreviation of “indo zasshu” 印度雑種 ie Indian hybrid.

At the very beginning of the 1920s, Maruo Fumio, a researcher at the Shizuoka Research Center, brought seeds of the Manipuli 15 variety from Assam, which, cross with local varieties, gave birth to Shizu-Inzatsu 131. A most interesting cultivar, it will never be registered, but by crossing with Yabukita will give birth to Sôfû and Fuji-kaori. More anecdotally, Kondô-wase is also a cross Yabukita and Inzatsu 131. Kôju, most likely comes from a seed of Inzatsu 131 too.

They often have a scent reminiscent of jasmine and grapes due to a high rate of methyl anthranilic acid.

This type of “inzatsu” should not be confused with those called “Tada-kei inzatsu”, whose origin is different and older.

– Tada-kei inzatsu and black tea cultivars

In 1875-6, Tada Motonobu was sent to China and then to India, in charge of studying the production of black tea there and bringing back seeds from local tea plants. He brings back seeds of assamica tea trees, which planted in Japan will be at the origin (among others) of the first Japanese cultivar of black tea Beni-homare. This one is the parent of Benifûki, but also of Izumi. Cultivars descended from seeds brought back by Tada are called “Tada-kei inzatsu”.

There have also been several waves of introduction of foreign varieties, and not all black tea cultivars are necessarily descended from “tada-kei inzatsu”. In addition, there were also seeds brought back from China (one finds among its descendants Asanoka, Oku-hikari, Karabeni, Yamanami), and even from the Caucasus (at the origin of Minami-Sayaka).

In 1953, among the first 15 cultivars registered, there were no less than 5 black tea varieties. At that time, Japan still hoped to make black tea an export product. This having remained unsuccessful, the various measures aimed at promoting Japanese black tea abroad ended in 1970, and with them the bulk of black tea production. The development of black tea cultivars also stops, Beni-hikari registered in 1969 will not spread, and Benifûki, registered in 1993 will be the last.

– The famous Shizu-7000 series

This is a series of cultivars selected at the Shizuoka Research Center from Yabukita seeds (the pollinator is unknown) recorded in the late 1960s. They are Yamakai (Shizu-7166), Suruga-wase (Shizu-7109), Kurasawa (Shizu-7111), and Fuji-midori (Shizu-7224). All varieties with strong characteristics to which must be added, Shizu-7132, not officially registered. With its incredible cherry leaf scent (due to a high coumarin content) and its relatively strong umami, it seems surprising today that it was not recorded. The reasons are multiple, first with very heavy shoots, it tends to give very red leaves on summer harvests and to have too dark an infusion color. Also, in plains area it tends to give too much astringency. From the point of view of the harvest period, it falls at the same time as Kurasawa. From a qualitative and aromatic point of view, there were already Yamakai and Fuji-midori.

Today, Shizu-7132 is very popular, as well as Yamakai, long neglected because of its too particular perfume. Until recently, we also wanted a cultivar to be easy to blend with other teas.

However, the renewed interest in tea through single original teas since the 2010s, highlights cultivars hitherto little known or even presented by sellers. While newer cultivars are obviously watched closely, I think many older ones, like Yamakai, deserve to be re-evaluated.

Registered sencha cultivar:

Name	Selection	Name registration	Cultivar registration	Selection facility
Asatsuyu	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	1953		National research center (Kanaya)
Miyoshi	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	1953		National research center (Kanaya)
Sayama-midori	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	1953		Saitama prefectural research center
Yabukita	Shizuoka indigenous tea tree seed	1953		Shizuoka prefectural research center
Makinohara-wase	Shizuoka indigenous tea tree seed	1953		Shizuoka prefectural research center
Koyanishi	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	1953		Shizuoka prefectural research center
Rokurô	Indigenous tea tree seed	1953		Shizuoka prefectural research center
Yamato-midori	Nara indigenous tea tree seed	1953		Nara prefectural research center
Natsu-midori	Shizuoka indigenous tea tree seed	1954		National research center (Kanaya)
Yaeho	Shizuoka indigenous tea tree seed	1954		Shizuoka prefectural research center
Hatsu-midori	Seed from Mie	1954		Kagoshima prefectural research center
Oku-musashi	Sayama-midori x Yamato-midori	1962		Saitama prefectural research center
Kanaya-midori	S6 x Yabukita	1970		National research center (Kanaya)
Sayama-kaori	Seed from Yabukita	1971		Saitama prefectural research center
Oku-midori	Yabukita x Shizu zai #6	1974		National research center (Kanaya)
Toyoka	Sayama-midori x Yabukita	1976		Saitama prefectural research center
Hoshino-midori	Fukuoka indigenous tea tree seed		1981	井上十二生  Inoue ??
Oku-yutaka	Yutaka-midori x F1NN8 (Tama-midori x S6)	1983	1983	National research center (Kanaya)
Tsukasa-midori	Shizuoka indigenous tea tree seed		1984	Yamazaki Yûji
Takane-wase	Yabukita seed		1985	村松穂一 Muramatsu ??
Satô-wase	Abe #1 seed		1986	Satô Mitsuteru
Meiryoku	Yabukita x Z1	1986	1987	National research center (Kanaya)
Oku-hikari	Yabukita x Shizu-Cy225		1987	Shizuoka prefecture
Fukumidori	Yabukita x 23F1107 (Sayama-midori x Yabukita)	1986	1988	Saitama prefectural research center
Inaguchi	Yabukita seed		1988	Inaguchi Katsutoshi
Shunmei	Yutaka-midori x F1NN8	1988	1990	National research center (Kanaya)
Minami-kaori	Yabukita x Miya-A11	1988	1990	Miyazaki prefectural research center
Sae-midori	Yabukita x Asatsuyu	1990	1991	National research center (Makurazaki)
Fûshun	Z1 x Kanaya-midori	1991	1993	National research center (Kanaya)
Minami-sayaka	Miya A-6 (Takachiho x Miya F1 9-4-48) x F1NN27	1991	1994	Miyazaki prefectural research center
Hokumei	Sayama-midori x 5507 (Yabukita seed)	1992	1995	Saitama prefectural research center
Sawa-mizuka	Yabukita x Fuji-midori		1995	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Mine-yutaka	Yabukita sport		1996	Matsushita Ei.ichi
Shôju	Kurita-wase sport		1996	Matsushita Ei.ichi
Marishi	Sugiyama-Yaeho seed		1996	Yamamori Miyoshi & Yamamori Risao
Mie-ryokuhô #1	Yabukita seed		1996	Mie prefectural research center
Asanoka	Yabukita x Cp1		1996	Kagoshima prefectural research center
Fuji-kaori	Shizu-inzatsu 131 x Yabukita		1996	Morizono Ichiji & Koyanagi Mitsuyoshi
Yama-no-ibuki	Yabukita seed		1997	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Sagara-hikari	Yabukita seed		1998	Nakamura Magoichi
Sagara-midori	Yabukita seed		1998	Nakamura Magoichi
Kôshun	Kurasawa x Kanaya-midori		2000	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Sagara-kaori	Yabukita seed		2000	Nakamura Magoichi
Sagara-wase	Yabukita seed		2000	Nakamura Magoichi
Ryôfû	Hôryoku x Yabukita	1997	2001	National research center (Kanaya)
Musashi-kaori	Yabukita x Sai-27F1-73 (Sayama-midori x Yingzhi-hongxin seed)	1997	2001	Saitama prefectural research center
Saki-midori	F1NN27 x ME52	1997	2001	Miyazaki prefectural research center
Midori-no-hoshi	Yabukita seed		2001	Nakamura Magoichi
Ryokufû	Natural crossbreed seed		2002	Shiratori Toshio
Haru-midori	Kanaya-midori x Yabukita	2000	2003	National research center (Makurazaki)
Tsuyu-hikari	Shizu-7132 x Asatsuyu		2003	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Mie-uejima	Zairai tea tree seed		2003	上嶋親 Uejima ??
Sôfû	Yabukita x Shizu-inzatsu 131	2002	2005	National research center (Kanaya)
Sai-no-midori	Sayama-midori seed	2003	2006	Saitama prefectural research center
Haru-moegi	F1NN27 x ME52	2003	2006	Miyazaki prefectural research center
Miyama-kaori	Kyôken 283 x Saitama #1	2003	2006	Miyazaki prefectural research center
Kiraka	Yabukita sport		2006	Takeuchi Kiyomi, Takeuchi Tadayoshi
Yume-wakaba	Yabukita x Saitama #9	2006	2008	Saitama prefectural research center
Haru-no-nagomi	Saitama #1 x Miyazaki #8	2012	2008	Miyazaki prefectural research center
Hôsai-nishiki	Zairai tea tree seed		2008	Yoshino Sei.ichi
Yume-kaori	Sayama-kaori x Miyazaki #8	2006	2009	Miyazaki prefectural research center
Kanaya-ibuki	Sayama-kaori x Marishi		2009	水野昭南 Mizuno ??
Kanaya-homare	Sayama-kaori x Marishi		2009	水野昭南 Mizuno ??
Sae-akari	Z1 x Sae-midori	2012	2010	National research center (Makurazaki)
Nagomi-yutaka	Saitama #1 x Kyôken 283	2012	2010	Miyazaki prefectural research center
Shuntarô	Saitama #9 x Makura-F1-33422		2011	National research center (Makurazaki)
Yume-suruga	Oku-hikari x Yabukita		2012	Shizuoka prefecture
Kibo-no-me			2012	水野昭南 Mizuno ??
Shizu-kaori	Oku-hikari x Kurita-wase		2013	Shizuoka prefecture
Nanmei	Sayama-kaori x Makurazaki #13		2014	National research center (Makurazaki)
Oku-haruka	Saitama #20 x Saitama #7		2015	Saitama prefectural research center
Kirari 31	Saki-midori x Sae-midori		2016	Miyazaki prefectural research center
Haruto 34	Sae-midori x Saki-midori		2020	Miyazaki prefectural research center
Kiyoka	FYZ41 x Sae-midori		2020	National research center (Makurazaki)
Seimei	Fûshun x Sae-midori		2020	National research center (Makurazaki)
Kanaemaru	Kana F183 x Kanaya #13		2020	National research center (Kanaya)
Danshin 37	Sae-midori x Yume-kaori		2021	Miyazaki prefectural research center

Registered kamairi-cha cultivars:

Name	Selection	Name registration	Cultivar registration	Selection facility
Tama-midori	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	1953		National research center (Kanaya)
Takachiho	Miyazaki indigenous tea tree seed	1953		Miyazaki prefectural research center
Izumi	Beni-homare seed	1960		Kyûshû research center
Yamanami	Seed from Hubei (China)	1965		Miyazaki prefectural research center
Unkai	Takachiho x Miya-F1 9-4-48	1970		Miyazaki prefectural research center
Minekaori	Yabukita x Unkai	1988	1990	Miyazaki prefectural research center

Registered gyokuro / tencha (matcha) cultivars:

Name	Selection	Name registration	Cultivar registration	Selection facility
Asagiri	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	1954		Kyôto prefectural research center
Kyô-midori	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	1954		Kyôto prefectural research center
Hime-midori	Fukuoka indigenous tea tree seed	1960		Kyûshû research center
Terakawa-wase	Uji indigenous tea tree seed		1990	Terakawa Toshio
Narino	Uji indigenous tea tree seed		2002	Horii Nobuo
Oku-no-yama	Uji indigenous tea tree seed		2002	Horii Nobuo
Hôshun	Samidori seed		2006	Kyôto prefectural research center
Tenmyô	Samidori seed		2006	Kyôto prefectural research center

Registered black tea cultivars:

Name	Selection	Name registration	Cultivar registration	Selection facility
Beni-homare	Tada-kei Assam seed	1953		National research center (Kanaya)
Indo	Seed from india	1953		Kagoshima prefectural research center
Hatsu-momiji	Ai2 x NkaO5	1953		Kagoshima prefectural research center
Beni-tachiwase	Ai2 x NkaO1	1953		Kagoshima prefectural research center
Akane	Ai2 x NkaO3	1953		Kagoshima prefectural research center
Beni-kaori	Ai21 x NkaO3	1960		Kagoshima prefectural research center
Beni-fuji	Beni-homare x C19	1960		National research center (Kanaya)
Satsuma-beni	Nka03 x Ai18	1960		Kagoshima prefectural research center
Beni-hikari	Beni-kaori x CN1	1969		National research center (Makurazaki)
Benifûki	Beni-homare x Makura-Cd86	1993	1995	National research center (Makurazaki)

Registered others:

Name	Selection	Name registration	Cultivar registration	Selection facility
Abrégé
Sun-rouge	Camelia taliensis and camelia sinensis hybrid seed		2011	National research center (Makurazaki)

Non-registered

Name	Selection	Tea type	Selection	Selection facility
Hôryoku	Tada-kei Assam seed	sencha	1956	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Suruga-wase	Yabukita seed	sencha	1962	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Fuji-midori	Yabukita seed	sencha	1962	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Kurita-wase	Shizuoka indigenous tea tree seed	sencha	1966	Kagoshima prefectural research center
Yutaka-midori (Y2)	Asatsuyu seed	sencha	1966	National research center (Kanaya)
Yamakai	Yabukita seed	sencha	1967	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Kurasawa	Yabukita seed	sencha	1967	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Shizu-7132	Yabukita seed	sencha	1967	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Ooi-wase	Yaeho x Yabukita	sencha	1976	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Gokô	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	Gyokuro-tencha	1954	Kyôto prefectural research center
Uji-hikari	Kyôto indigenous tea tree	Gyokuro-tencha	1954	Kyôto prefectural research center
Asahi	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	Gyokuro-tencha	1954	Kyôto prefectural research center
Komakage	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	Gyokuro-tencha	1954	Kyôto prefectural research center
Samidori	Kyôto indigenous tea tree	Gyokuro-tencha	1954	Kyôto prefectural research center
Ogura-midori	Kyôto indigenous tea tree	Gyokuro-tencha	1954	Kyôto prefectural research center
Uji-midori	Uji indigenous tea tree seed	Gyokuro-tencha	1985	Kyôto prefectural research center
Karabeni	Seed from Hubei (China)	Thé noir	1956	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Tada-nishiki	Graine de Assam Tada-kei	Thé noir	1958	Shizuoka prefectural research center
Beni-tsukuba	Ibaraki indigenous tea tree	Thé noir	1958	Makabe research center (Ibaraki)
Beni-ibara	Sayama-midori seed	Thé noir		Kimura Noboru
Kondô-wase	Yabukita x Sôfû	Sencha		Kondô Hiromasa
Kôju	Inzatsu type	Kama-iri cha		Takahashi Tatsuji
Kominami		Sencha
Shigeru #2		Sencha
Misaki	Ibaraki indigenous tea tree	Sencha		Yoshida Masahiro
Kogane-midori	Sport	Sencha		Satô Mitsuhiro
Z1	Tamamidori seed	Sencha

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