Backlogging again. I am unsure if I am doing this correctly, I brewed the tea, hot no additives, 2.5 minutes.
I can definitely smell the puffed/toasted rice in the tea pot, but the steeped leaves now have a bitter aroma, I think I may have oversteeped. The bitterness was not found in the tea. The tea has a few layers of flavor: first the toasty rice, then a sweet green, followed by a mellow nut flavor. I drank the pot (22 ounces) over about an hour. The first cup was delicious, the second was alright, then the third I was starting to get that bitter flavor.
Maybe I need to drink this hot? Any suggestions?
Overall, it was not bad, but the bitterness is disappointing, I wish the toasty-rice flavor would remain uncompromised.
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I can’t give you a suggestion on hot/cold since I don’t like this tea at all (iced?! Blech lol!)… but I think I can help you w/ the steeping parameters. Give 2g (or a rounded teaspoon) of leaf steeped in 4oz boiling (or just below boiling if you want to preserve the health benefits), for 30 sec. They’re making improvements, but Adagio is still VERY far off on the steeping parameters of Japanese greens and pu erhs IMO.
My understanding (though I will freely admit I haven’t scoured every available resource in search of contrary opinions) is that it’s actually best to brew this tea in the 170-180 degree range, and that the brewing time can vary all the way from a minute to four minutes.
The only genmaicha that I own (that isn’t the malted version from 52teas, which I don’t count here, because it’s flavored) is Ryokucha. I found that I preferred the tea when I used their parameters; 1 tablespoon in 16oz. for quite nearly four minutes, rather than the first few times I tried it, during which I halved the steeping time and backed off on the leaf (it was intimidating, with all of that additional matcha!).
I’ve not found it to be bitter afterward, using those guidelines. The difficulty is that I’m not certain as to whether this could be from the matcha in the blend or the parameters, of course, but I wish you luck!
Thanks, I will vary and play with the parameters, I appreciate the advice :)
@sophistre, where did you get the Ryokucha from?
Samovar. :)
thanks!!
I can’t give you a suggestion on hot/cold since I don’t like this tea at all (iced?! Blech lol!)… but I think I can help you w/ the steeping parameters. Give 2g (or a rounded teaspoon) of leaf steeped in 4oz boiling (or just below boiling if you want to preserve the health benefits), for 30 sec. They’re making improvements, but Adagio is still VERY far off on the steeping parameters of Japanese greens and pu erhs IMO.
My understanding (though I will freely admit I haven’t scoured every available resource in search of contrary opinions) is that it’s actually best to brew this tea in the 170-180 degree range, and that the brewing time can vary all the way from a minute to four minutes.
The only genmaicha that I own (that isn’t the malted version from 52teas, which I don’t count here, because it’s flavored) is Ryokucha. I found that I preferred the tea when I used their parameters; 1 tablespoon in 16oz. for quite nearly four minutes, rather than the first few times I tried it, during which I halved the steeping time and backed off on the leaf (it was intimidating, with all of that additional matcha!).
I’ve not found it to be bitter afterward, using those guidelines. The difficulty is that I’m not certain as to whether this could be from the matcha in the blend or the parameters, of course, but I wish you luck!
Thanks, I will vary and play with the parameters, I appreciate the advice :)
@sophistre, where did you get the Ryokucha from?
Samovar. :)
thanks!!