Yutaka Midori: Japanese Tea with Heavenly Fragrance

What is Yutaka Midori (ゆたかみどり)

Yutaka Midori ゆたかみどり means abundant green, is a Japanese green tea cultivar that ranks second after Yabukita in terms of cultivation land and popularity. It is mostly found in Kagoshima Prefecture, with a 30% cultivated area used for most of the green tea variety. This cultivar is suitable for warm weather like in southern Kyushu and is the biggest cultivar in that region. Plants grown from this cultivar are dark green and have a bold flavor.

In Shizuoka prefecture, seeds of Asatsuyu were planted and grown at the testing site. From the grown plants, only the best ones were selected and named Y-2 in 1949. It was later in 1966, Yutakamidori was registered as an official cultivar name. It offers better yield than Yabukita cultivar, but due to non-cold resistance, it is used less and in warmer regions.

Yutaka Midori, when processed as Sencha leaves, gave astringent notes but unliked liquor color. Therefore, to fix the issue, it was a shaded one-week prior harvest and processed as Fukamushi Sencha. This tea has a mild taste and balanced astringency and sweetness level. Now, Yutaka Midori is a popular cultivar of Kagoshima prefecture and has been a success for years in the region.

Yutaka Midori is harvested at least five days before the cultivation of Yabukita. Crops do not survive in cold weather, have medium resistance to gray blight and against anthracnose. It is mostly used for growing Sencha and Bancha and are yielded in larger quantities. It is often sold as Aracha, which vendors later blend with other types to make it more refined and finished. Moreover, authentic, organic, and unblended tea harvested from this cultivar has a deep green color, balanced flavor, and heavenly fragrance.

Here is Yutaka Midori we carry: