Okumidori is the late-budding cultivar, because the buds open about a week after Yabukita, and that slow start builds its signature in the bowl: deep jade colour, a round, almost creamy umami, and remarkably little bitterness. Shaded, steamed and stone-milled, it makes one of the most forgiving single-cultivar matchas to whisk: sweet enough for everyday usucha, with enough structure for koicha.
We carry Okumidori matcha from two growing regions: Nishio, with its river-clay soils, and volcanic Kagoshima in the south. The genetics are identical, since tea cultivars are propagated from cuttings. What separates the tins is terroir and shading craft. Tasting the two side by side is the cleanest single-cultivar comparison we know.
The full cultivar story (parentage, the disputed father, and how Okumidori reads against Yabukita and Saemidori) is in our Okumidori matcha guide. The same plant as sencha lives on the Okumidori cultivar shelf. All named-cultivar matcha is here.
