Cherry Cheesecake Genmaicha

Mmmmmmm. Wanted Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha tonight, but decided it would be better to go through some samples I have instead of getting closer to finishing off my beloved half-empty bag (I think I have two marshmallow treat samples, and one of this). I can’t taste a whole lot of cherry here, but I definitely feel like I can taste the creamy cheesy tang of cheesecake, and it’s quite delicious. If this came back, I’d buy it too!!

Thanks to LiberTEAS for passing a sample of this one on to me :)

ETA: Oh Cherry Cheesecake Genmaicha, you remain delicious even after sitting out for nearly 24 hours. swoon :P

I’m surrounded by boxes from the move. Boxes, boxes, boxes everywhere, and one of them contains my teapot! GASP!!! The horror!!!! I feel certain that I labelled the box with my teapot to be opened first, but I can’t find it :O I’ve resorted to using the old one from my family’s house… it’s just not the same. lol…I’m such a whiner eh?

Today is a good day (missing teapot aside) it’s my hubby’s fortieth birthday. I was hoping to throw him a big birthday party but it just so happened that the construction start date for the reno was booked for today, and we didn’t want to delay that. So instead I’m taking him out for dinner tonight. After packing, cleaning, prepping, and reno planning the slower pace of a quiet dinner out is a welcome change. When we got to the house last night I was happy to see that my tea order was waiting here for me. I had promised myself that I would order from another place other than 52teas, to broaden my horizons, but I somehow placed 2 orders with them again. My reasoning for the 1st order was that I was running out of honeybush, and the second order was because they had a sale…yeah…I have no self control when it comes to this company

This tea has a lovely toasted taste, but I’m having trouble tasting the cherry cheesecake aspect. The smell of the dry mix has it, but in the sip, I feel like the genmaicha buries the cherry flavor more than I’d like. I occasionally get the taste, but it’s like a momentary whiff in the background, and then it’s gone again. I’ll have to experiment a bit to see if I can coax the flavors out. Perhaps it just needs a bit more time to cure? Hmmm…

This tea is simply too good. I started writing this review, and then took a sip, and then another sip and relaxed… and then started putzing around online, daydreaming…

Anyway, we’ve been hoarding this tea for special occasions, since I don’t think we’re ever going to see it again. And today is a special occasion, so Missy brewed it up for me. She’s awesome, that woman of mine.

This tea is just divine. The sweet cherry flavor rolls in first as a bit of a treat, followed by the toasty goodness of the rice. The creamy cheesecake flavor comes in with the sweet vegetable flavor of the green tea at the end, really rounding off this cup. It is just so good.

It’s taken me about 22 ounces of tea to write this review, just so we’re all aware. It is that good.

I’m trying to drink up more old teas before I open new ones (except Weeping Angel, I’m almost to the Doctor Who episode they first appear in and I’m having a cup with it), and I completely forgot about this tea so it was exciting to find it…it seems like I only drank it once, which is sad.

I’ve got the radio up pretty loud cause the guy above me was vacuuming, and for some reason this turned Sebastian into a chatterbox. So here he is: http://youtu.be/pcf0kO3vonI He’s quiet now but he was really getting into it.

I just got distracted realizing if I do well next semester, I can graduate next fall. Here I was thinking I had to go until spring 2014 because I wasn’t going to get the C in health econ. YISSSSS.

This is so tasty still. I love the nuttiness of genmaicha mixed with tart cherry and tangy cheesecake. I also like that it’s not too sweet to have right now, because I haven’t had dinner yet.

Seriously though I have to definitely try what I mentioned in my only other tasting note on this tea. Infuse this in some butter for a cheesecake crust, that would be so good. But I almost don’t want to lose out on that tea for drinking!

Four teas in one day?! Technically 5, really, as I have some Bangkok cold brewing in the fridge. This is what happens when I am left to my own devices, tea overload!

I must have tried this tea before as it was in my cupboard, but I think I just mixed a pinch in my Den’s genmaicha to brighten up a 5th infusion. I don’t remember how it tasted though, so apparently it didn’t make much of an impression. Probably because I only brewed it for 30 seconds, not really enough time to bring out the flavors added to this blend. Brewed at 2 minutes, it’s heaven! The cherry is tart and not at all artificial, there’s a hint of creamy tanginess from the cheesecake, and the toasted rice mimics the crust quite nicely! All these flavors don’t overpower the base at all, there’s a buttery smoothness from the green. This is just the perfect tea if you want something sweet but not overpowering: it’s very dessert-y but also light and airy. I’m pleasantly surprised that this is such a delicate tea! I wish they’d add this to the permanent collection, because it’s something I’d like to indulge in often but I find myself hoarding my stash.

After reading the recent posts about this tea, it really made me want some again! Give me that creamy, cherry, cheesecake-y flavor!

I upped the brewing temperature a little bit, and the resulting cup smells heavily of cheesecake and genmaicha. Of course, that’s what it should smell like, right? So far, so good great!

Hmm, this is good but I think I like it better at the lower temperature. The aroma is better now, but the taste is more grassy and less creamy.

Okay, now the rest of this post is going to have nothing to do with tea. But I need some advice. You see, I spend a lot of my time reading. I’ve always loved reading. I have a huge collection of books that I cart around with me every time I move, which unfortunately is quite often. It’s getting to be a bit ridiculous. With the invention of the Nook and Kindle, I’m starting to think that’s the better way to go. You can carry 3500 books in one tiny little tablet! But honestly, it’s hard for me to get over not having the actual book. I like looking at the covers and feeling the pages. I like the smell as they age and the sound of the pages as they turn. I like having a collection of books. Will an eReader really appease me? It’s hard to tell. I know you can’t tell me what to do, but I’d appreciate any advice you can give me. What has your experience been with eReaders? Which eReader would you recommend? Thanks in advance everyone!

Thank you so much to CHAroma for sharing!!
I had the Marshmallow Genmaicha earlier this week, and realized afterwards that well, I should have saved it to compare with this one. but alas I did not and here I am drinking this one all by it’s lonesome.
Anyhow, I’m surprised to like the Cherry version more than the Marshmallow.
I don’t get any rice flavour, but definitely something fruity, and faintly cherry. Cheesecake? I’m not so sure. Would need to try another few cups to suss that out.
Overall, I like this. Not love though. and… am I the only one who got a minty/cooling sensation from the Marshmallow version?!
In any case, I only have a few minutes. Sorry for the hasty note!

The aroma of the dry leaf smells just like cherry cheesecake to me. I can even smell the graham cracker crust! The brewed tea offers very little fragrance, only hints of what I smelled before steeping.

I like this, but, it is a bit different than what I expected. This doesn’t really taste like cherry cheesecake. I mean, I taste the elements: I taste the cherry, I taste the tangy cheese, I even taste a buttery note that unifies with the toasty rice flavor of the genmaicha to form a crust-like flavor. And, then, of course, I taste the fresh, light notes of the green tea. But, somehow, these flavors don’t come together in a way that my palate identifies it as cherry cheesecake.

It is a very enjoyable tea – delicious even. But, just a little different than I’d thought it would be.

This one yields two infusions, with the second one tasting just as good as (if not better than) the first.

Thank you to Amy oh for sending me a generous amount of this tea! I’ve been eyeing this one for a long time and I’m so excited to finally get to try it.

Dry, this one smells tart. I know that tart isn’t really something that one usually describes a smell as but that’s the only word I can think of. Once I poured the water on the leaves, though, the scent immediately changed! The toastiness of the genmaicha really came out during the steeping and the cherry took the backseat. The tea smells sweet and yummy, like cherries.

So, the verdict-this is good! It doesn’t taste exactly like I thought I would but it is pretty nice. I think I really agree with what LiberTEAS said about this-I can taste the cherry, I can taste the cheesecake aspect, and I can taste the delicious toasty flavor of the genmaicha. But, I don’t see this as cherry cheesecake. It is good, but it doesn’t really taste like what I thought it would.

Thank you again Amy oh for letting me try this!

Sipdown!!

YAY!! My kettle arrived! I got so excited and started going through all my greens and whites to find something that needed a special temperature. I ended up grabbing DAVIDs Genmaicha from Roswell Strange and once I was making that I decided to simultaneously make this using the same parameters.

I prepped the kettle to boil and it was ready in about a minute. I waited another two while the tea steeped and I was ready to go. Unfortunately, this tea was not nearly as impressive as the kettle. I am tasting genmaicha and not much else. The base is more vegetal than I would hope for and there is no cherry or cheesecake to be found. I am glad I got to try it though as this is one of the reblends I considered purchasing. Thank you Scheherazade for the opportunity to try this without being stuck with 2 disappointing ounces.