Camellia sinensis var. sinensis
★★★★☆
Kanayamidori
Distinctly milky and creamy with low astringency and a soft floral aroma.
Species
var. sinensis
Lineage
Modern hybrid
Country
Japan
Year
1970
Leaf size
Medium
Cup quality
4/5
Kanayamidori (かなやみどり) is a green-tea cultivar registered in 1970, bred at the Kanaya tea research station in Shizuoka from a cross of the Shizuoka Zairai No.6 line with Yabukita. It is best known for a distinctive naturally milky, creamy flavour with low astringency.
That soft, sweet-milk character makes it a popular single-cultivar sencha and a blending component used to add roundness. Like Benifuuki it carries an unusually high level of methylated catechins, so it also appears in allergy-relief green teas.
Modern hybrid
Deliberate cross developed by tea research institutes. Developed 1970. Parent material: Shizuoka Zairai No.6, Yabukita.
Lineage data & sources
Documented cross — its two parent cultivars are recorded in tea-breeding registries and confirmed by SSR/DNA analysis; trace them in the lineage explorer.
Sources: alldayieat.com
Teas produced
Sencha
Flavor signature
Growing regions
- Japan (Kagoshima, Shizuoka)
Origins where Kanayamidori grows
Brands likely carrying Kanayamidori
Direct-sourcing operations with focus areas that align with this cultivar's typical growing regions.