TeaHQ

Sayamamidori

A Saitama cultivar selected for the Sayama district’s cold winters, and one of the older prefectural selections still in the ground. Sayama tea is conventionally described in Japan through a saying that gives Shizuoka the colour, Uji the aroma and Sayama the taste, which is a piece of trade lore rather than an evaluation — but it does record accurately that the district’s reputation rests on its firing practice as much as on its plants.

さやまみどりCamellia sinensis var. sinensisJapan

Where it sits in the botany

Sayamamidori is recorded under Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, 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: sayamamidori, sayama midori.

Where it came from

A cold-tolerant selection developed for the Sayama district of Saitama.

How firm this is: Inferred rather than taken from a primary breeding or registration record. The district association is well established; the breeding date and parentage were not verified against a primary source.

What the plant is like

Hardy and thick-leaved, giving a robust cup that takes the heavy final firing used in the district without collapsing.

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.

  • Green tea — Tea whose oxidation is halted early by heat, keeping the leaf green and the cup fresh, vegetal or marine in character.

Teas in the catalogue made from Sayamamidori

Other cultivars in Camellia sinensis var. sinensis

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.

How TeaHQ handles sources