created: 2023-10-10T15:55
updated: 2024-03-16T20:38Yabukita (Cultivar)
The Yabukita Cultivar is one of the most popular tea varieties in Japan, and some of my favourite Gyokuro are made with Yabukita. According to Shiho-san of Cha Do Raku, "Yabukita is the Chardonnay of the tea world."
The Yabukita cultivar became popular precisely through this process. It was bred in the early 20th century, registered in 1956 and then cultivated widely as tea production boomed in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, it is by far the most common and popular tea plant cultivar in Japan. (Source: https://naokimatcha.com/articles/tea-cultivars/)