Cultivar

Minekaori みねかおり

Minekaori みねかおり

Minekaori, a specialized Japanese tea cultivar bred in Miyazaki Prefecture, is specifically designed for kamairicha production. It was created in 1966 by crossing Yabukita and Unkai. Minekaori is renowned for its distinctive sweet, cooked rice aroma and exceptional quality when processed using the pan-firing method. However, it performs poorly as sencha. Named after its ideal growing conditions in the mountainous regions of Kyushu, Minekaori offers higher yields compared to Yabukita and exhibits good cold and disease resistance.

Lineage

  • Yabukita ♀
  • Unkai ♂

MinekaoriGenTree.png

History

Minekaori is one of the few specialized kamairicha registered cultivars. Bred in 1966 in Miyazaki Prefecture, which has a long tradition of pan-firing tea, Minekaori was selected from a crossing between Yabukita as the flower component and Unkai as the pollen component. Unkai is an interesting cultivar that has a lineage linked to var. Assamica. It is highly regarded when processed with the pan-fired method. Unkai can also be seen being used for both fully oxidized and partially oxidized tea. One of the main characteristics of Minekaori is its aroma, highly regarded as excellent quality in pan-fired processing, although this is not the case if processed as sencha.

In 1968, it passed a first selection, and then from 1972, it was named Mi74-41. Later on in its development phase, it was named Miyazaki No. 3[1] from 1978. This change of names usually coincides with the regional adaptability tests, where the strains are further propagated and sent to several other prefectures for testing growth conditions, quality, etc. After the trials, its highly regarded aroma and suitability for cold weather, it was registered as cultivar No. 38 in the MAFF registry in 1988, then in 1990 in the seed and seedling registry with number 2157. Miyazaki is a prefecture with a long tea-making history, sometime in the 1600s, in particular for pan-fired tea. It has remained mostly unknown, although its production ranks between the 4th and 5th place nationwide alongside Kyoto Prefecture, depending on the yearly statistics. The Miyazaki Prefectural Research Centre.

Minekaori’s name[2] is inspired by its ideal growing conditions in mountainous regions and its distinctive, sweet, cooked rice aroma. An English translation would be “peak” or “summit” aroma.

Characteristics

The growth shape of the bush is medium with great stump strength. Rooting from cuttings of Minekaori is also excellent, making it an easy cultivar to propagate. The growth of the seedlings after rooting is great, with vigorous growth. Once established, the bush develops quickly a canopy foliage that is also thick, and its leaves don’t present excessive wrinkles. The leaves are similar to Yabukita, long, round, and relatively large. The color is slightly dark green and slightly shinny. The number of branches is high, and the internodal distance of the leaves is rather long.

The new shoots are similar to Yabukita as well, long, and round but slightly thicker as well. The bud weight of Minekaori is slightly heavier than average, at a reported 61.9 g against the 50.4 g average of Yabukita. Although the count of buds per measured area is lower on average. Even with that lower occurrence of buds, the release paper of the cultivar reported a 16–18% higher yield than Yabukita in several Kyushu Prefectures. In terms of harvest conditions, it is a medium-growing cultivar, ready to harvest on average 2 days later than Yabukita.

In terms of cold and disease resistances, it exhibits most of the characteristics of its Yabukita lineage, with medium resistance to red blight, cold damage, and root rot. Blue blight cold damage and split bark cold injuries tested reported a stronger resistance than Yabukita in the same areas, in particular in combination of those. Results of anthracnose resistance also reported a slightly stronger resistance than Yabukita. As for ringspot and mochi disease, it is considered a medium-resistant cultivar.

Tea quality when processed as sencha reported a lower evaluation than the one made with Yabukita. When processed in the pan-fired method, the evaluation in terms of taste and, in particular, aroma exhibited a good quality. The report shows a better sweeter taste and aroma performance than Takachiho, another kamairicha-specific cultivar, and similar results for Kanayamidori, a cultivar used in the study. Interestingly, Minekaori got only a fraction less points compared to Unkai, one of its parents.

The Minekaori cultivar is recommended to be introduced into mountainous regions with pan-fired tradition production areas in Kyushu. Mentioned in the release paper appear Kumamoto, Oita, and Miyazaki Prefectures.[3] Those areas can benefit from cold and disease-resistant cultivars that can produce a high-quality tea. Minekaori is relatively strong in terms of both cold resistance and disease resistance, so it is highly adaptable to the region.

  1. 宮崎３号 ↩︎

  2. Its name in kanji can be written as 嶺香 ↩︎

  3. Although it has remained mainly in the Gokase and Takachiho areas of Miyazaki Prefecture. ↩︎

References

上野貞一, et al. “かまいり製玉緑茶用新品種「みねかおり」について.” 九州農業研究, vol. 第51, no. 59, 1989.

品種登録迅速化総合電子化システム. https://www.hinshu2.maff.go.jp/vips/cmm/apCMM112.aspx?TOUROKU_NO=2157&LANGUAGE=Japanese. Accessed 5 July 2025.

AgriKnowledgeシステム. https://agriknowledge.affrc.go.jp/RN/4010001269. Accessed 5 July 2025.

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