Asahi vs Okumidori for matcha
The two ends of the matcha cultivar question. One is grown regardless of cost for the texture of thick tea; the other is grown because its late season fits the harvest calendar, and it ended up making a great deal of the single-cultivar matcha on the market.
What is being compared
Why these get confused
Single-cultivar matcha is often read as automatically superior to a blend. Blending is the norm in matcha for the same reason it is the norm in champagne — it stabilises a product across seasons — and a named cultivar tells you what is in the tin, not that it is better.
Point by point
| Aspect | Asahi | Okumidori |
|---|---|---|
| Why it is planted | For quality alone. It is slow, vulnerable and low-yielding. | For its late bud break, which spreads the picking window across a farm. |
| Yield | Low. | Workable, which is the whole point. |
| Milled texture | Notably smooth, which is why it is used for koicha-grade material. | Good, and consistent enough to be sold on its own. |
| Colour | Deep under long shading. | Strong colour retention, which matters because milled tea fades. |
| Availability single-cultivar | Rare and expensive. | Common — a large share of single-cultivar matcha is this plant. |
| What its presence signals on a label | A producer prioritising thick tea over economics. | A producer with a late-season block worth naming, not a compromise. |
The short answer
Okumidori being widespread is not a sign that it is a lesser plant; it is a sign that a farm needs its harvest spread over weeks rather than days. Asahi is the one to seek out if the question is what koicha can be, and it answers a question most drinkers have not yet asked.
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