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Fujikaori: The Japanese Tea That Smells Like Jasmine

Fujikaori: The Japanese Tea That Smells Like Jasmine

Fujikaori is a Shizuoka tea cultivar with a natural jasmine aroma from methyl anthranilate. Bred in Fujieda in 1980, and never a Cha Norin cultivar.

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A granite stone mill grinding tencha into matcha, fed by a metal funnel, in a mill room dusted with green powder

Why Organic Ceremonial Matcha Is So Hard to Find

Japan had exactly 1,955 hectares of certified-organic tea fields as of 31 March 2025, against 35,100 hectares of tea in total. That is about 5.6% of the country's tea land. But the shortage you run into when you try to...

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Sayamaakari: Saitama's Cultivar Bred to Beat Its Parent

Sayamaakari: Saitama's Cultivar Bred to Beat Its Parent

Sayamaakari was registered in 2021 as plant variety 28264, forty years after the cross that made it. Its pollen parent is Sayamakaori, the plant it outyields.

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Sayamamidori: The Tea Cultivar That Became a Parent Instead

Sayamamidori: The Tea Cultivar That Became a Parent Instead

Sayamamidori is Chanorin No. 5, registered in 1953, the earliest cultivar tied to Saitama and one number before Yabukita. Five cultivars carry its lineage.

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Sayamakaori: The Tea Cultivar Japan Measures Other Cultivars Against

Sayamakaori: The Tea Cultivar Japan Measures Other Cultivars Against

Sayamakaori is Chanorin No. 31, bred in Saitama in 1971 and Japan's fifth most-planted tea cultivar. Four national breeding records rate other plants against it.

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Tsuyuhikari: The Shizuoka Cultivar Bred for Character

Tsuyuhikari: The Shizuoka Cultivar Bred for Character

Tsuyuhikari is a Shizuoka sencha cultivar registered in March 2003, rated extremely strong against anthracnose and known for an emerald green liquor.

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Okuhikari: The Tea Cultivar That Turned Into a Place

Okuhikari: The Tea Cultivar That Turned Into a Place

Okuhikari is a Shizuoka tea cultivar registered in 1987, bred from Yabukita and a Chinese line. It only makes proper sense grown on a mountain.

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Matcha Tested for Heavy Metals: What 2026 Lab Reports Show

Matcha Tested for Heavy Metals: What 2026 Lab Reports Show

Should matcha be tested for heavy metals? Yes. What labs check for, the safe limits for lead and cadmium, and how to read a matcha lab report in 2026.

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Meiryoku: The Tea Cultivar Whose Weakness Became the Point

Meiryoku: The Tea Cultivar Whose Weakness Became the Point

Meiryoku is Chanorin No. 35, bred at Kanaya in Shizuoka from Yabukita and a line called Z1. Judged thin when it was bred, it is now valued for exactly that.

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