15 Tasting Notes
At the coffee shop I worked at, we used to call this “Tea of Iniquity”. Because it sounds funny. There are better brown-rice / genmaichas out there, but this is the perfect one for a starter or an entry-level: to get used to the flavor and the idea. And it’s a good fall-back, too, for when you want genmai, but you can’t afford the really expensive stuff from Japan.
I like that this is an all-purpose tea, but it’s in the British tradition: that means it’s intended to be drunk with milk and sugar, and THAT means that if you aren’t a milk-and-sugar-er, it’s probably going to be too strong and too bitter very quickly. Here’s a solve: brew it over and over again for only a minute or so to drink it straight, and take out the tea bag between brewings. Otherwise, it really is good British-style, and develop a taste for the ol’ milk and sugar. It’s also good as a London Fog— brew it directly into a cup of really hot or even coffee-shop-steamed milk, with some sugar or vanilla syrup to sweeten it just a little.
Preparation
The most basic green tea at the Asian Market— only a few dollars for a huge box— but decent. Never bitter, blends well with other teas, has a real green-tea taste without being grassy or overly heavy, and lends itself well to being left in the teapot without getting bitter. A good every-day tea, for when you want to drink lots and don’t want to pay lots.
I love all things roses and this is one of my favorites— it tastes the way roses smell, even if you don’t sweeten it (although it also goes well with milk and sugar). The black tea is pretty mellow; even if you let it sit, like I usually do, it never gets too bitter to drink, and when it’s really strong, it’s good iced. I’m almost out of my beloved box; I’ll have to get more!
