Quick answer — what is Okumidori matcha?
Okumidori matcha is single-cultivar matcha made from Okumidori (奥緑), a late-budding cultivar bred at the Kanaya research station and registered in 1974. It gives a deep jade colour, rounded umami and low bitterness — which is why premium houses such as Marukyu Koyamaen build their top grades on it.
Okumidori (奥緑, "deep green") is the cultivar most Matcha drinkers are closer to than they realise. It forms the foundation of the premium grades from some of Japan's finest Matcha producers, including Marukyu Koyamaen, official supplier to the Urasenke tea school. Its profile — naturally sweet, deeply umami, low bitterness — is no accident. It is the result of deliberate breeding and a distinctive plant character.
Registered 1974: What Okumidori is, genetically
Okumidori was registered as an official cultivar in 1974 (Tea Norin No. 32) at NARO's Kanaya Tea Research Station in Shizuoka. The parent cross: Yabukita — Japan's most widely grown cultivar — as the mother (seed parent), and the local landrace Shizuoka Zairai No. 16 as the recorded father, though a 2021 SSR-marker study found that paternity does not match genetically.
The result is a cultivar that combines the best of both: the robustness and high yield of Yabukita, but with a higher theanine content, deeper chlorophyll, and a natural sweetness Yabukita does not have in this form. Under shading, Okumidori's leaf runs notably higher in theanine and chlorophyll than a comparable Yabukita — the biochemical basis for its rounder sweetness and deep jade colour.
The late-budding advantage: why later is better
Okumidori buds about 8 to 11 days later than Yabukita — its spring growth breaks later in the season. In Japanese tea production, this is not a disadvantage but often an asset: late-budding cultivars avoid the frost risk of early April.
Spring frosts — particularly in the mountain-grown regions of Nara, Mie, and Shiga — can destroy the first flush of early cultivars. Yabukita buds early and is vulnerable; Okumidori buds after the last frost and the new growth typically emerges unaffected. For Tencha producers, this matters: a single late frost wipes out the first harvest, which is also the highest-quality one.
The counter-intuitive detail: because Okumidori and Yabukita reach harvest at different weeks, a garden growing both can produce Yabukita Sencha and Okumidori Tencha for Matcha in parallel — from the same soil, under the same vintage conditions, but with entirely different flavour profiles. Two distinct teas, harvested a week apart.
The sensory profile: how to recognise Okumidori
Okumidori has a recognisable sensory profile that sets it apart from other cultivars — especially in direct comparison:
Versus Yabukita: More sweetness, more umami depth, less astringency. Yabukita Matcha has a characteristic freshness and liveliness that can tip into sharpness; Okumidori is smoother, rounder, with a longer, softer finish.
Versus Saemidori: Saemidori (冴え緑, "fresh green") is also sweet and well known for Gyokuro — but somewhat more floral and lighter than Okumidori. At comparable quality, Okumidori is fuller-bodied and denser in profile.
Versus Gokou: Gokou (五香, the old Uji cultivar) offers the deepest complexity and the most intense umami — Okumidori is more approachable, less intense, and suited to a broader range of palates.
Marukyu Koyamaen and the Okumidori decision
That Marukyu Koyamaen builds their premium grades — Soju, Meiju, Oju — on Okumidori is a deliberate quality decision, and one with implications for how products are communicated. When a cultivar is declared, it means the producer can be specific and chooses to be. They are not relying on an undefined blend.
Our Single-Cultivar Matcha collection illustrates what cultivar transparency looks like in practice. For buyers, cultivar declaration is a quality signal: a producer who names the cultivar has control over the process. One who does not may be selling a blend of multiple harvests and sources running under a generic "premium" label.
Okumidori for Gyokuro: the same cultivar, two worlds
Okumidori is not used exclusively for Matcha. The production context from Nishio — one of the most important Okumidori-growing regions — is covered in detail in our dedicated article. In Yame (Fukuoka) — Japan's premium Gyokuro region — some producers also grow Okumidori as a Gyokuro cultivar. The result is a Gyokuro with unusual sweetness and an umami depth that goes beyond what standard Yabukita Gyokuro offers.
This is worth noting because it shows how a single cultivar can produce fundamentally different teas through different processing methods. Okumidori Tencha — flat-dried and stone-ground — becomes Matcha. Try our Okumidori Nishio or Okumidori Kagoshima. Okumidori shaded and rolled becomes Gyokuro. The same cultivar, the same farm, two different processing chains — two fundamentally different flavour worlds.
This is why cultivar knowledge matters in tea: it explains differences you can taste in the cup, but cannot place without the context.
Where Okumidori sits in the cultivar family
Okumidori is Yabukita (mother) × the landrace Shizuoka Zairai 16 (father; the paternity is recorded but genetically disputed). It shares its mother, Yabukita, with Saemidori.
Okumidori vs Yabukita, Saemidori and Gokou
The cultivar decides much of what you taste before region or grade ever enter the picture. Here is how Okumidori reads against the other cultivars you meet most often in matcha:
| Cultivar | Parentage (reg.) | In matcha | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okumidori | Yabukita × Shizuoka Zairai 16 (1974) | Deep jade, rounded umami, low bitterness, long soft finish | Koicha and balanced usucha |
| Yabukita | Shizuoka landrace (1953) | Bright and clean, more astringent, lively edge | Everyday and culinary matcha |
| Saemidori | Yabukita × Asatsuyu (1990) | Sweeter, lighter, more floral | Bright usucha and gyokuro |
| Gokou | Uji landrace (sel. 1953) | The deepest, most intense umami | Top-tier koicha |
Okumidori teas at UNEARTHED
The Okumidori teas we currently carry — each product page shows its full spec table (producer, region, tasting notes):
Okumidori Matcha FAQ
What is Okumidori matcha?
Okumidori matcha is single-cultivar matcha made from Okumidori (奥緑), a late-budding cultivar registered in 1974. It gives a deep jade colour, rounded umami and low bitterness, and forms the backbone of many premium grades, including those from Marukyu Koyamaen.
Is Okumidori matcha rare?
Relatively, yes. Okumidori covers only about 3.3% of Japan’s tea-growing area (against roughly 75% for Yabukita), and single-cultivar, first-harvest Okumidori matcha is a small fraction of that. Most Okumidori is blended rather than sold on its own.
What is the difference between Okumidori and Yabukita matcha?
Okumidori is rounder, sweeter and lower in bitterness with a deeper jade colour; Yabukita is brighter and cleaner but more astringent. They also share a mother — Yabukita is the seed parent of Okumidori — so the contrast is between a shading-bred cultivar and its everyday parent.
Is Okumidori better for koicha or usucha?
Both. Its low bitterness and dense umami make Okumidori forgiving as thick koicha, while its rounded sweetness also gives a smooth, balanced usucha. It is more tolerant of slightly hotter water than sharper cultivars.
What does “Okumidori” mean?
奥緑 combines 奥 (oku, deep/inner) and 緑 (midori, green). It is a botanical description — a variety that unfolds its deep, saturated green late in the season — not a marketing name; the 奥 prefix also signals a late-budding cultivar.
