What is Asahi Cultivar Matcha?

Introduction

There is more to matcha than ceremonial and culinary grade, which are unregulated marketing terms. The demand for specialty matcha products has led to the rise of non-blended matcha products, including single-origin and single-cultivar teas. This gives us a fantastic opportunity to taste more direct expressions of terroir and the cultivars themselves.

New tea cultivars are usually created through graft hybridization, crossing traits from an existing cultivar to another existing cultivar. Similar techniques are used in other crops such as apples to give us the wonderful varieties we know today such as honeycrisp, ruby frost (a personal favorite), and gala.

Background:

Asahi (あさひ) is a cultivar of the tea plant Camellia sinensis, first bred in Uji Japan in 1952 by Mr. Hirano Jinnojo (宇治品種について 京都府 https://www.pref.kyoto.jp/chaken/mame_ujihinnshu.html). Directly translating to morning sun, Asahi is considered a prized cultivar, especially for ten cha (precursor product to matcha) production. Asahi is commonly considered a difficult cultivar to grow, offering a medium crop yield, and is usually picked by hand.

Flavors, Aroma, and Textures of Asahi Cultivar Matcha:

The umami flavors found in the Ashahi cultivar are concentrated, a preferred trait for matcha in Japan. Much tea plant breeding, farming practices, and research has gone into making tea more and more umami. It is considered the highest mark of quality, especially in the national competitions and government awards. The additional notes of vanilla and meringue sweetness, and subtle aroma of seaweed and forest green, make this cultivar a favorite for matcha. Properly prepared bowls of Ashahi matcha are known to have a velvety, creamy, delicate texture, for a smooth full-bodied experience.

The most commonly referenced flavors, when merchants, consumers, and bloggers talk about Asahi cultivar matcha, are:

• Umami
• Creamy
• Sweet
• Nutty
• Vanilla

Flavors you could find in your cup of Asahi cultivar matcha:

What causes variation in flavor profile?

• Age of the ten cha when milled (the best ten cha is generally rested for 6 months after the spring harvest, stored in jars called Chatsubo, and opened in November during the New Year Tea Ceremony, Robiraki. When high quality ten cha is aged or rested, the profile tends to get more rounded and balanced.)
• Differences in farming and shading practices, especially shade duration
• Ten cha processing, especially the degree of heat treatment which can give a more roasted and earthy profile
• Age of the matcha since it was milled and how much oxidation has occurred to change the flavor profile (i.e. getting stale). For extremely high-quality teas slight aging (months to 1 or 2 years) it tends to have a rounding effect and can harmonize otherwise youthfully expressive fresh matcha, and for normal to low quality matcha it aging and oxidation creates bitter, unbalanced, and sharp notes
• Terroir - just like a pinot noir from California can taste very different than one grown in Burgundy, terroir has a large effect on the way varieties express themselves

While these flavors are found in Asahi cultivar matcha, not every cup of Asahi cultivar matcha will taste the same. But that’s the beauty of tea!