Benifuji
One of the assamica-derived Japanese cultivars from the black-tea breeding line, and part of the same research lineage as Benifuuki. The beni- prefix marks the group: beni means crimson, and a Japanese cultivar carrying it was almost always selected for black tea rather than for green, even where it is now processed as green by growers who have no black-tea market.
Where it sits in the botany
Benifuji is recorded under Camellia sinensis var. assamica, the variety group one level above cultivar. It is associated with Japan, which is where it was selected or is most widely planted rather than the only place it grows.
Also transliterated as: benifuji, beni fuji.
Where it came from
Selected within the Japanese black-tea breeding programme from assamica-derived material, alongside the better-known Benifuuki.
How firm this is: Inferred rather than taken from a primary breeding or registration record. The programme is well documented in general reference material; this cultivar’s release year and parentage were not verified against a primary source.
What the plant is like
Large-leaf, readily oxidising material that is more cold-tender than Japan’s green-tea cultivars, which is one reason the beni- group was never widely planted outside the warmer prefectures.
What it is usually made into
The categories this cultivar is typically processed into. It is a statement about common practice, not a limit — processing decides the category, and a cultivar can be taken down more than one route.
- Black tea — Tea taken deliberately through full enzymatic oxidation, giving the dark leaf, amber-to-red liquor and malty or brisk character most Western drinkers think of as simply 'tea'.
Teas in the catalogue made from Benifuji
Other cultivars in Camellia sinensis var. assamica
- Assam indigenous jat
- Benihikari
- Benihomare
- Benikaori
- Betjan
- Camellia sinensis var. assamica
- East African seedling tea
- Fengqing Da Ye
- GMB 7
- Kiara 8
- Lingyun Baihao
- Manipuri jat
- Menghai Da Ye
- Mengku Da Ye
- Miang landrace
- PH1
- Shan Tuyết
- Sri Lankan seedling tea
- Tai Cha No. 8
- TRFK 301/4
- TRFK 303/577
- TRFK 306/1
- TRFK 31/8
- TRFK 6/8
- TV1
- TV23
- TV25
- Yinghong No. 9
- Yunkang 10
- Yunkang 14
- Yunnan Da Ye Zhong
- Zi Juan
- Zi Ya
Sources
- TeaHQ editorial synthesis — TeaHQ
This page is TeaHQ’s own synthesis throughout. No breeding register or institutional record stands behind the account above, which is why the origin note carries its confidence in the open rather than reading as a citation.