Harumidori

 

 

 

 

 

Harumidori: Luxury tea with rich aroma and umami unique to Sencha

   

 

 

Notes on cultivation

The “Harumidori” tree is slightly an open-book type, similar to its mother “Kanaya midori”. For this reason, a tea plantation with a good horizontal spread between each tree can be made without particularly low branching at a young age. It is a late-maturity cultivar, 2 to 4 days later than “Kanaya Midori” and 6 days later than “Yabukita”. The yield of fresh leaves is higher than “Yabukita”. At the young stage, the growth is rather slow, so the yield is not high, but as the tree maturity progresses its vigor becomes stronger and the yield increases remarkably. Generally, it is a type whose first flush tea crop yield is high.

This cultivar is characterized in that the growth of autumn buds is small because the growth of buds stops in early autumn. This makes it possible to conduct autumn tree trimming 1 to 2 weeks earlier than that of “Yabukita”. It is also very resistant to laceration-type frost damage and usually requires little special attention.

Its disease resistance is weak against ring spot disease, but is generally fine for other diseases. It should be noted that it is not resistant to white peach scales.

 

Quality characteristics

The quality of its Sencha is extremely good. The appearance consists of a bright green color and luster and the shape is good because the leaves are soft. In terms of components, its first flush tea has amino acids exceeding 4% and tannins as low as 10% to 11%, so it has a strong umami taste and less astringency. The aroma has a different fragrance form that of “Yabukita”. The sprout has a particularly soft feel and cures slowly even when the degree of leaf spreading progresses (spreading: the state in which the leaf to be opened fully opens and the growth stops temporarily during the bud growth process).

 

Notes on cultivation

The rooting of cuttings is good, but the growth of the young tree is somewhat slower than that of “Yabukita”, etc., so it is necessary to exercise sufficient management. In particular, strong branching at the young age causes poor growth of the main trunk resulting in the  delay of tree maturity. Also, since the growth of autumn buds is small, plucking should be stopped at the time of the third flush tea (there should not be a fourth picking), and it is advantageous from a management perspective to manage the tea garden with an emphasis on the first flush tea.

 

Notes on processing

The standard tea production method is used. It is necessary to pay attention to a peculiar aroma which may appear in the original leaves with a younger opening degree of spreading.