Okuyutaka (おくゆたか) is a cultivar that makes a good quality sencha.
Its name comes from Yutakamidori, and from the fact that it is a late budding cultivar.
History of Okuyutaka
In 1958 at the Kanaya tea research center in Shizuoka prefecture, Yutakamidori was crossed with a cultivar named F1NN8.
F1NN8 comes from Tamamidori and a cultivar named Shizuoka zairai number 6 (静岡在来6号).
One of the seedlings was selected for further testing.
Fun fact: That same year, another seedling from the same batch was selected and it eventually became the Shunmei cultivar.
After passing tests in 1967 and 1976, it was recognized as a high quality cultivar.
Okuyutaka was registered in 1983 as tea cultivar 34.
Characteristics of Okuyutaka
This cultivar can be picked two days later than Yabukita, and has a higher yield.
However, its young leaves harden quickly, so there’s a short time window before the quality starts to decrease.
Okuyutaka fares well in cold weather.
It has a medium resistance to anthracnose, but it is weak against the gray blight and slightly weak against the white peach scale.
As a sencha, the leaves are deep green and can be rolled into a good shape.
The liquor has a yellow-green color.
It has a pleasant taste with good intensity, because it is high in sweetness and umami.
This cultivar has a relatively low amount of catechins and a high amount of amino acids.
Finally, it has a characteristic sweetness in its aroma.
