Harumidori (はるみど) means “spring green”.
This tea cultivar can be cultivated in all tea producing regions of Japan and thrives in cold weather.
It is meant for sencha production.
History of Harumidori
In 1972, at the Makurazaki station of the National Institute of Vegetable and Tea Science in Kagoshima prefecture, Kanayamidori was crossed with Yabukita.
Out of the 45 samples obtained, the best one was selected and the testing began.
Harumidori was finally registered in the year 2000 as Japanese tea cultivar #48.
Characteristics of Harumidori
Harumidori is a late budding cultivar, three to five days later than Yabukita.
Its mature leaves have an elliptical shape, a dark green color, medium luster, and medium size.
While it has a medium resistance to the blister blight, it is weak against anthracnose, gray blight, and the bacterial shoot blight.
Regarding pests, it offers a light resistance to the white peach scale
This cultivar also fares well in cold weather.
Harumidori has a higher yield at harvest than Yabukita, and sencha made with it has an overall higher quality.
The taste has a high umami flavor and few bitterness and astringency.
Its aroma is different than Yabukita, it has a mellow sweetness to it.
This cultivar isn’t very popular yet, but it has been among the recommended cultivars for the past five years.
