Cultivation
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| ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS FOR CULTIVATING JAPANESE GREEN TEA. Japanese green tea plant is generally vulnerable to low temperature and requires a lot of water. As such, Japanese green tea plants are cultivated in regions with a yearly temperature averaging between 14 to 16 °C and a yearly rainfall of above 1,300mm. |
| CULTIVARS OF JAPANESE GREEN TEA. Currently, there are about 111 officially registered cultivars of Japanese green tea in Japan. These cultivars include the early-harvest cultivars, late-harvest cultivars, cultivars for use in making Sencha, Japanese black tea, Gyokuro, Kama-Iri-Cha, etc. Each cultivar is selected for cultivation in different regions of Japan according to the type of Japanese green tea produced. Yabukita is the most highly cultivated cultivar. It forms about 75% of the whole country's tea cultivation. |
| PROPAGATING JAPANESE GREEN TEA PLANTS. New Japanese green tea plants are propagated by using cuttings, known as Sashiki-Hou, to ensure genetic consistency and consistency in quality. The cuttings are nursed in seed beds for about 1 to 2 years and then transferred to the tea farm. This process is called Teishoku. It takes a further 4 to 5 years for the young plants to mature enough for the first harvest and 7 to 10 years for the plants to produce enough leaves to meet the yearly crop yields. |
 | HANDPICKED JAPANESE GREEN TEA. Handpicked Japanese green tea consists mainly of 'one-bud-two-leaves' tea leaves. One-bud-two-leaves refers to the bud at the tip of the plant and the two leaves below the bud. Handpicking ensures that only the tenderest tea leaves are picked without cutting or damaging the tea leaves as would be the case when harvested by machines. As the leaves are chosen and picked by hand, all leaves are basically similar in size and tenderness, which is one important factor for producing premium grade Japanese green tea. |
