L-Theanine is a unique amino acid present in green tea. It elicits umami taste and has a considerable effect on tea taste and quality. We investigated L-theanine activity on the T1R1 + T1R3 umami taste receptor. L-Theanine activated T1R1 + T1R3-expressing cells and showed a synergistic response with inosine 5'-monophosphate. The site-directed mutagenesis analysis revealed that L-theanine binds to L-amino acid binding site in the Venus flytrap domain of T1R1. This study shows that L-theanine elicits an umami taste via T1R1 + T1R3.