Ujimidori うじみどり

Lineage

• Kyoto Uji landrace Zairai tea tree seed.

History

It is an unregistered cultivar breed by Kyoto Prefectural Tea Research Centre. Ujimidori, cultivated in 1983 under the strain name Kyoken Nº307^[1], is an Uji landrace selected cultivar from the Kyoken^[2] series. Many of the Kyoken cultivars never became officially registered, although some are grown in a small amount inside the Kyoto Prefecture. Thus, there is very little information publicly available about Ujimidori and others in this same unregistered, mainly regionally used selected or breed cultivars.

Among the traditional Kyoto cultivars, Ujimidori is used for Gyokuro production, characterized by its rich aroma, taste, and strong umami. Although unregistered and remaining a quite rare cultivar, especially outside the Kyoto prefecture, it has been studied as a way to improve the Uji tea brand by using prefectural cultivars like Gokou and Komakage. One report from the Kyoto prefectural tea research station studied the blend of Yabukita and Ujimidori in different amounts to study its qualitative characteristics. Although the Ujimidori cultivar had an overall better evaluation than Yabukita as a standalone, the best results were those blending Ujimidori with Yabukita. With a ratio of 60% Ujimidori and 40% Yabukita, giving the best results two years in a row in 2009 and 2010. However, the same result was achieved with Komakage at the same or similar blending percentages.

Characteristics

Ujimidori is an intermediate-shaped tea bush with good early growth. The budding period is a bit after Houshun, an early budding cultivar, but also earlier than two other Kyoto prefecture cultivars, Samidori and Gokou. Its shoots have a good green colour and in terms of size are considered medium. The only paper I found reporting the average 100 buds weight reporting a 5,9g per 100 buds, which is behind the second lightest one at 30,9g. Most likely an error in the report from 1985.

Kawamura, Shinya, et al. ‘Lipids of “Tencha”.’ NIPPON SHOKUHIN KOGYO GAKKAISHI, vol. 32, no. 12, 1985, pp. 870–75. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.3136/nskkk1962.32.12_870.

Toyao Tadayuki. ‘Present and Future Prospect: Extention of New Cultivars in Tea Field in Japan’. Chagyo Kenkyu Hokoku (Tea Research Journal), vol. 1989, no. 69, June 1989, pp. 49–64. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.5979/cha.1989.49.

Katrina Wild. ´Japanese Tea Cultivars : A Short Guide´, https://obubutea.com/shop/uncategorized/japanese-tea-cultivars-a-short-guide/

Last update: 2025 August 23rd
Added footnotes, revised overall text structure