The Tenmyou Tea Cultivar

Tenmyou (展茗) is a cultivar meant for tencha production.

It’s mainly cultivated in the Uji region.

History of Tenmyou

In 1975 at the Kyoto tea industry experimental site, seeds resulting from natural crossing of the Samidori cultivar were selected.

Note that Samidori is suitable for shaded teas such as matcha and gyokuro.

After passing tests, Tenmyou was registered under the seed and seedling law in 2006.

Characteristics of Tenmyou

Tenmyou is a normal budding cultivar that can be picked two days later than Yabukita.

Its young leaves are green with high luster, and have a long elliptical shape.

They are slightly bigger than those of Samidori, and are also thin.

It has a high yield at harvest, just like Samidori.

This cultivar is weak against anthracnose, and has a medium resistance to the gray blight.

It makes a high quality tencha, since it develops the characteristic seaweed aroma of shaded teas.

Plus, it has a good color when ground into matcha.

Tenmyou can also be made into a gyokuro with good results.