The Haruto 34 Tea Cultivar

Haruto 34 (はると34) is a very early budding cultivar with a good taste and aroma.

The name comes from the Chinese characters 春翔, meaning spring and soar.

Hence the idea behind the name is that because it buds early in spring, it can be enjoyed by consumers before any other cultivar.

Besides sencha, it’s also used for kabusecha and funmatsucha.

History of Haruto 34

In 1997 at the Miyazaki prefecture agricultural research center, Saemidori was crossed with Sakimidori.

The best seedling was selected, and it was tested in 2002.

In 2004 the cultivar was known as Miyazaki 34 (宮崎34号).

It applied for registration under the name Haruto 34 in 2016.

Characteristics of Haruto 34

Young leaves of Haruto 34 have a long oval shape, are wider than those of Yabukita, but also thinner.

They have about the same color and luster of Yabukita leaves.

This cultivar has mature leaves with a long oval shape, wider and slightly thicker than Yabukita.

While the color is the same, the leaves have a little more luster than Yabukita.

Haruto 34 can normally be picked 5 days earlier than Yabukita, or even 10 days if it’s growing in a region with a warm climate.

Once harvested, the yield is the same as Yabukita.

Since it buds so early, it has a high probability of suffering frost damage.

Haruto 34 is fairly resistant to the gray blight, but weak against anthracnose and the blister blight.

As for pests, it’s very weak against the white peach scale.

Sencha leaves from Haruto 34 have a bright green color.

It also has a sweet aroma, and a refreshing flavor with high umami taste.

This aroma and taste have a high valuation.