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"Benifuuki" is one of the most common cultivars of "Japanese black tea" that has been attracting more and more attention worldwide in recent years.
We will introduce you to the cultivar "Benifuuki", which is famous as a pollen allergy remedy.
First Japanese cultivar for black tea and semi-fermented tea
We usually drink Japanese black tea from all over Japan, and "Benifuuki" is the one we encounter most often.
In Japan, there are only a few cultivars for black tea, and of the 119 registered cultivars, only 13 are for black tea. Even if we include cultivars for kettle roasted tea and those for green tea but with high quality as black tea, there are only about 20 cultivars.
Among these cultivars, "Benifuuki" has excellent quality as black tea and has contributed greatly to the quality improvement of Japanese black tea. We will introduce the characteristics of "Benifuuki", the most popular black tea cultivar in Japan.
Characteristics of "Benifuuki"
A cultivar descended from the Assam variety.
"Benifuuki" is a cultivar for black tea and semi-fermented tea. Its mother is "Benihomare", a Japanese black tea variety, and its father is a variety from India.
While almost all tea cultivars produced in Japan are Chinese species, this cultivar, which is descended from Assam species, is characterized by its extremely high quality when processed into black tea.
Cold- and disease-resistant, made for the Japanese climate.
As the first black tea cultivar produced in Japan, this cultivar is naturally designed to be easy to grow in the Japanese climate.
Because of the characteristics of the Assam cultivar, which is originally produced in warmer regions, it can be grown in most areas west of the Tokai region, although its cold tolerance is a little lower.
Because of its high disease resistance, this cultivar is easy to grow even without pesticides.
Tea for preventing hay fever
One of the reasons why "Benifuuki" has become famous is because of its effectiveness in combating hay fever.
"Benifuuki" contains a lot of "methylated catechin" which has an anti-allergic effect, and it has been found that regular consumption of this ingredient can suppress allergic symptoms such as hay fever.
In the 2000s, "Benifuuki" became a well-known cultivar because of its ability to improve hay fever symptoms, for which there is no fundamental cure.
However, the composition of methylated catechins changes when the tea leaves are fermented.
Therefore, it is recommended to drink it as green tea without fermentation. Please note that "Benifuuki" is a black tea cultivar, and if you do not drink it as green tea, it will not be effective in preventing hay fever.
Taste of "Benifuuki"
Rich aroma suitable for black tea
This cultivar, which has the characteristics of the assam variety, produces a large number of aromatic components through fermentation in the tea processing.
The production of indole, linalool, geraniol, and other aroma compounds that most green tea cultivars do not have produces the rich and complex aroma of black tea.
Assam black tea is also characterized by its strong astringent taste (catechins).
Strong astringency unique to black tea
This cultivar is originally intended to be processed into black tea. The catechin (also called tannin), which is the astringent component of tea, tends to be stronger than in ordinary green tea cultivars.
If you drink it as black tea, the astringent taste is not so bothersome, but if you drink it as green tea to prevent hay fever, you may be surprised at the stronger astringeny than normal green tea.
"Benifuuki" is a high quality black tea!
As mentioned above, "Benifuuki" is the first Japanese cultivar for black tea with high quality. If you are looking for a delicious Japanese black tea, why not try "Benifuuki"?