Matcha Black Soybean Rice Tea

Thanks to Indigobloom for a sample of this interesting-sounding tea!

Yeah, so I probably shouldn’t be drinking this one at night. At least I kept myself from brewing up a couple mates that I have sitting in my “Drink Me!” pile! I was just so determined to try this one, though, that I didn’t care.

Anyhow, this one tastes much like a genmaicha, but I am definitely noticing the soybean. it’s coming in as a familiar flavour, that of roasted soybeans I’ve had as a snack. It adds a bit of additional… thickness/weight to the tea, which would otherwise be fairly light and toasty. It’s also adding a bit of a weird bitter flavour that I can’t say I’m terribly keen on. I can’t really taste the matcha in here (I don’t imagine it’s a terribly strong flavour, as there wouldn’t have been too much of it).

Although this is definitely an interesting tea that I am glad to have tried, I have to say that I prefer standard genmaichas (or genmaimatchas). The soybeans are adding a strange flavour that I just don’t particularly like, although the flavour difference would probably be unnoticeable if this was consumed with a meal (so perhaps I will try that?)

ETA: Bleh, yeah, the soybeans are definitely causing an off-flavour that I don’t care for. Perhaps I’ll try the rest of the tea I have without the soybeans, to make sure that’s the problem. I’m pretty sure it is though; it’s not necessarily an objectionable flavour, but one I don’t really care for.

My first Lupicia tea!!!
A girlfriend of mine went to Japan visiting family and brought back a small tin of this for me. She’s a good friend :)
I received the gift last night and indulged in it this morning… so eager was I to try it out!
Funny thing though, I find I really need to be in the mood to enjoy a Genmaicha, and I simply wasn’t… sadly! Thus, my tea thirst was left unsatisfied. shrugs
As for the flavours, well I most definitely notice the rice, and the soybean. Not much different than your standard Genmaicha.
There is a strong roasted note, that reminds me of barley, which I suppose is the “bean” and toasted combo. Behind that there is a matcha sortof flavour, but I don’t find it very strong.
One of the other notes mentions adding some sugar, so I think I’ll try it that way as well next time.

This is one of the samples I got got indigobloom. I had it the other night, so this is a bit of a backlog. I used the whole sample, but perhaps maybe I shouldn’t have. It was a strong genmai cha roasty toasty flavour, which isn’t a bad thing…I love genmai cha specifically for those flavours. I could detect a little of the soybean. I had a slightly bitter brew, but it might be due to using all the tea, or not being diligent enough to watch the water temp or time too closely.

This was still a nice tea. It is a nice one to try, and I appreciate the thought to blend this all together.

There have been a lot of sick people around me, primarily because it’s that time of the year for midterms. I felt like drinking something healthy aka grassy tasting so I steeped a pot of this. I need something to wake me up that isn’t black tea, but the toasty flavor may put me to sleep.

1.2 tbsp for 375 ml

Nice roasted flavour. Extra savoury and nutty tinge from the soybeans. Oceanic quality of the green is present but possibly milder when compared to other genmaichas. Mild roasted flavour. Clear/smooth/soup-y mouthfeel.

Thanks Indigobloom for sharing!

A very underrated tea in my opinion. Excellent toasty flavor and full body thanks to the matcha. Takes a splash of soy milk very well, which turns the liqueur a beautiful mint-green. You can even eat the beans and rice after brewing (they’re very tasty!)

Love this tea. It delightful with milk and honey.

Thanks again Cameron B! I LOVE Lupicia’s matcha genmaicha blends. This one is no different, except for the black soybeans. I did see a soy bean in the infuser. However, I could not tell a difference in taste. It tasted like matcha genmaicha which is perfectly acceptable on its own. I love the combination: toasty yet fresh and definitely very sweet and so GREEN. Quite tasty. I love all that matcha that wafts from the infuser into the mug of bright green. I’d love to have tasted the black bean though, as this is such a unique idea I haven’t seen anywhere else. I give the matcha kirara rice tea from Lupicia a rating of 93 (which is VERY high for me for a green tea) and this tea is basically the same as that one, but since the soybeans aren’t adding much to the flavor for me here, I’m knocking down the rating a bit.
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon for a full mug// 30 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 30 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep

Sampler Sipdown September! I sipped down another older tea today at work… and my perfectly fine kettle from home had that same weird “burnt rubber/metallic” water taste when I took it to work! I’m beside myself now. I’m convinced the power outlet at work has done something to the heating element in my kettles, and now I’ve just given up on making tea at work at all. I’ll have to brew at home and take it in a thermos (and iced tea in water bottles like I’ve been doing over the summer) because I just can’t take it. I really hope the element isn’t fried. Now I have two kettles packed into storage, and my new Bonavita has just arrived…

I don’t particularly feel bad about the upgrade though. Nice to finally have a kettle at home that I can precision input temperatures into when the need arises. Plus, I can get really low temperatures on it, which is handy for gyokuro.

Anyway, this is a single-serve teabag from a sampler pack I bought from Lupicia during a Mottainai sale. I’m really shocked that green tea that was technically from a Christmas sampler, which I purchased last April, tastes really fresh. The tea has a very savory aroma that reminds me a bit of baked beans and roasted nuts. The base of the tea has a very clean, fresh green taste, and it has a nice, nutty, genmaicha flavor, but there is something unique about this version of genmaicha that is a bit hard for me to describe. Something about the overall flavor reminds me a bit of Chinese green teas, as there is this “savory bean/green bean” sort of flavor that mixes pleasantly with crisp, roasty nuttiness from the rice. Personally, I really am enjoying this variation on genmaicha! Genmaicha is one of my favorite teas, and the black beans seem to create this fusion of Chinese and Japanese flavor profiles for me… and since I love both Japanese and Chinese greens, I’m all for that. This is certainly a tea I wouldn’t mind restocking sometime!

Not bad! I was a bit sceptical if the black soybeans would taste okay in genmai-cha. I don’t drink genmai that often but I do enjoy it on occasion. The roasted rice flavor is toned down so you can taste the black beans; a good blending of the two flavors. I steeped it for 2-3 minutes even though it should be like 30-60 seconds.