JAPANESE TEA CULTIVARS

While all tea is made from the same tree, Camellia Sinensis, there are a number of varieties in this plant family. The major varieties are the Chinese plant and Assamica. In Japan, 108 cultivars have been registered. Yabukita is widely used, accounting for 80% of Japanese tea production and probably most of the Sencha you have tasted was Yabukita. Yabukita was found in Shizuoka in 1908 by a planter named Suzuki. He happened to find this new tea cultivar north of a bamboo bush. In Japanese, "bush" is "Yabu" and "north" is "kita", consequently the named "Yabukita". The other relatively major tea cultivars in Japan are Yutaka-midori, Sayama-kaori, and Kanaya-midori. These are registered cultivars and sometimes the name is used for the product itself. Each cultivar produces a leaf with a different shape, color, and flavor. Yabukita has been popular because it has very good flavor and is resistant to diseases.