Did you know that Japanese tea comes from many varieties of the tea plant? These varieties are called cultivars, and they can influence a teaās flavor, aroma, and appearance.
Some cultivars are widely grown across Japan, while others are closely associated with certain regions or characteristics. Yabukita is Japanās most widely planted cultivar, while Uji Hikari and Gokou are known for rich, umami-forward teas.
Below is our growing list of tea cultivars found in Japan, including those in our catalog and others weāve encountered through our work with tea growers and producers.
This page last updated Oct 8, 2026. If you see any mistakes, please feel free to reach out!
Japanese Tea Cultivars
- Asahi - ććć² / ęę„
- Asanoka - ććć®ć / ęć®é¦
- Asatsuyu - ććć¤ć / ęé²
- Benifuuki
- Benihikari
- Benihomare
- Fukumidori
- Fushun
- Gokou
- Hakuyo
- Harumidori
- Hime Midori
- Hokumei
- Horai Kincha
- HÅshun - ć»ććć ć / é³³ę„ - Registered 2006 in Kyoto from a Samidori seed and sister cultivar to Tenmyo.
- Inaguchi
- Inzatsu 131
- Izumi
- Kanaya Midori
- Karabeni
- Kirari 31
- Komakage
- KondÅwase
- KÅshun
- Kuritawase
- Makinohara-wase
- Meiryoku
- Minami Sayaka
- Minekaori
- Mineyutaka
- Nagomi Yutaka
- Nanmei
- Okuharuka
- Okuhikari
- Okumidori - ćććæć©ć / å„„ē·
- Okumukashi - ććććć / å„„ę - Registered 1962 in Saitama from a hybrid of Sayama Midori and Yamato Midori, strong against cold weather and flushes about 10 days later than Yabukita.
- Okuyutaka
- Ooiwase
- Saeakari
- Saemidori
- Sai no Midori
- Sakimidori
- Samidori - ććæć©ć / ę©ē·
- Sayama Kaori - ććć¾ććć / ēå±±é¦
- Sayama Midori - ććć¾ćæć©ć / ēå±±ē·
- Seimei
- Shimamidori
- Shizu #7132 - é7132
- Shoju - ę¾åÆæ
- ShÅshun - ę„ēæ
- ShuntarÅ - ćć ćććć / äæå¤Ŗé
- Sun Rouge - ćµć³ć«ć¼ćøć„
- Takachiho - ććć”ć» / é«åē©
- TenmyÅ - ć¦ććæćć / å±č - Registered 2006 in Kyoto from a Samidori seed and sister cultivar to HÅshun.
- Terakawa-wase - ć¦ććććć / åÆŗå·ę©ēز
- Tsuyuhikari - ć¤ćć²ćć / é²å
- Uji Hikari - ććć²ćć / å®ę²»å
- Uji Midori - ćććæć©ć / å®ę²»ē·
- Yabukita - ćć¶ćć / č®å
- Yabukita MishÅ - ćć¶ćććæććć / č®åå®ē
- Yaeho - ććć»
- Yama no Ibuki - å±±ć®ęÆå¹
- Yamakai - ćć¾ćć / 山峔
- Yume Wakaba - ććććć° / 夢č„č
- Yutaka Midori - ććć / č±ē·
- Z1
- Zairai - ćććć / åØę„ - the "native" plant, but in practice a tea from a field planted from the seeds of fields planted from seeds. Over generations these fields could be considered "specific" to a region. A single field would contain plants of varied DNA.
What Is Zairai?
A cultivar is a specific type of tea plant that has been selected for particular characteristics, such as flavor, aroma, and leaf shape. Yabukita, for example, is a tea cultivar.
Zairai (åØę„), on the other hand, refers to tea plants that have not been selected as one specific cultivar. They are traditionally reproduced from seeds, so each plant can have different characteristics.
A cultivar = a specific type of tea plant with defined characteristics.
Zairai = naturally varied tea plants that have not been selected as one specific cultivar.
When a specific cultivar such as Yabukita is grown from seed, the term mishÅ (å®ē) may be usedāfor example, mishÅ Yabukita (å®ēćć¶ćć).
We include zairai in this list because it is an important term for understanding traditional Japanese tea.
Notable Tea CultivarsĀ
A few cultivars stand out for their history, distinctive character, or connection to particular styles of Japanese tea.
Yabukita
Japanās most widely planted cultivar, valued for its balanced characteristics and versatility.
Uji Hikari
Known for its rich umami and especially associated with high-quality matcha.
Asatsuyu
Known for its vivid green color and naturally sweet, mellow character.
