Okumidori Matcha: The Cultivar Behind Nice To Matcha's Master's Reserve

Most matcha brands do not tell you what cultivar you are drinking. The grade gets the attention. The origin occasionally. The cultivar almost never. We think that is a significant omission, because cultivar is one of the most important factors in what ends up in the cup. Master's Reserve is Okumidori. Here is why we chose it, and why it matters.

What a cultivar is

A cultivar is a specific plant variety, selectively bred for particular traits. Think of it the way you would think about a grape variety in wine. A Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon can come from the same country, the same region, even the same vineyard, and still be entirely different drinks. The same is true of matcha cultivars. The plant determines the character of what you are drinking in a way that no amount of processing or blending can replicate.

Japan has registered over 50 tea cultivars. Most commercial matcha uses Yabukita, one of the country's most widely grown varieties, valued for its clean, naturally sweet flavour profile and its adaptability across Japan's tea regions. Okumidori is rarer, more demanding to grow, and produces something with a distinct character all of its own.

What Okumidori is

Registered in Japan in 1974, Okumidori was bred from a cross between Yabukita and a native Shizuoka variety. The name means "deep green" in Japanese. It is not a coincidence. The plant produces a leaf with exceptional chlorophyll density, particularly when shade-grown in the weeks before harvest.

Where most cultivars are selected for yield and ease of cultivation, Okumidori demands patience. It matures later in the season than most other varieties, its window for first flush harvest narrower and less forgiving. The farmers who grow it understand that the difficulty is the point. That slower maturation, in the right environment, is what allows the leaf to develop the depth and complexity that makes Okumidori worth seeking out.

The UK matcha market has grown quickly. With that growth has come a lot of product that looks the right colour and carries the right language on the label. Knowing the cultivar is one of the most reliable ways to cut through it. You can read more about what ceremonial grade actually means and how to spot the real thing here.

What it produces in the cup

Open a tin of Master's Reserve and the colour is the first thing you notice. A vivid, almost electric green that does not look like anything you will find on a supermarket shelf. That colour is chlorophyll, accumulated during 21 days of pre-harvest shade coverage. It is a direct measure of how the plant was grown, not a processing trick.

In the bowl, Okumidori is deeper and more layered than most ceremonial grade matcha. The umami is pronounced without being heavy. The sweetness is present without being obvious. The finish lingers in a way that a blended or lower-grade matcha simply does not. It is a drink that rewards attention, and one that tastes noticeably different from the second sip to the tenth.

If you have tried matcha before and found it flat or one-dimensional, the cultivar was almost certainly part of the reason.

Why Wazuka

We source Master's Reserve from Wazuka, a small farming village in the hills south of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture. It is not a region you will see on many UK matcha labels, and that is part of what makes it worth talking about.

Wazuka's terrain is steep. The fields sit at altitude, carved into hillsides rather than spread across flat plains. The temperature drops significantly at night, even in the growing season, and that variation is exactly what Okumidori needs. Slow growth. Environmental stress. Time to develop. The same conditions that make Wazuka difficult to farm at scale are what make it exceptional for high-quality single cultivar matcha.

If you want to understand more about how Japan's matcha regions differ and why origin matters as much as grade, you can read our full guide here.

Why Master's Reserve

We went through a significant number of samples before we settled on Master's Reserve. Different regions, different cultivars, different producers. The gap between good and genuinely exceptional became obvious very quickly, and Okumidori from Wazuka kept rising to the top. The depth of flavour, the colour, the consistency across the harvest. It was the one we kept coming back to.

For the UK, it is the matcha we wanted to lead with. Okumidori from Wazuka, first flush, 21 days pre-harvest shading, stone-milled to 10 microns, certified organic. Every one of those details is there for a reason. Together they produce a matcha we are confident putting our name on.

Master's Reserve is available now, delivered across the United Kingdom.