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.

I’ve had kuromame cha several times which is roasted black soybeans steeped in boiling water but this is an interesting mix. Matcha, roasted black soybeans, roasted rice. So matcha iri genmaicha + roasted soybeans.

The dry tea is pretty with dusted green matcha and a few dark-roasted large soybeans. The pale to medium golden liquor smells faintly like beans, black soybeans, vegetal.

I used 5g in 120ml, boiling water 212°F, for 4 steeps: 30 sec, 1m, 1.5m, 5 min. On the last infusion, it was smooth, mellow, slightly sweet beginning, then chased by strong roasted rice and roasted black bean flavor. That was my favorite steep. So I’ll probably keep steeping it until there is no flavor. The earlier infusions, less bean, more umami, vegetal, roasted rice notes.

I think it’s underrated but a few of the reviews enjoyed it as I did. :D

Go Georgia, go Georgia, you can do it! LOL.

I found this one in my focus box and felt a cozy genmaicha was just the ticket at this highly stressful hour. Normally I would probably steep this at 175 for maybe 2 minutes, but I figured I would try the very different parameters prescribed by the label. For science!

Soybean, especially roasted soybean flour (or kinako) is a very popular flavor in Japan, especially for confections. I had a mighty tasty kinako-flavored soft serve there that I loved, and kinako-dusted mochi is a very traditional sweet as well. But man, don’t even get me started on their soft serve flavors… ❤

Anyway! This is yummy. The toasted rice is the strongest note here, as is usual for genmaicha, but I do feel like I can taste the soybean as well (although really the flavors are very similar). The matcha adds a nice sweet grassy note and a little pop of roasted-seaweed-like umami, though it also somewhat obscures the flavor of the sencha.

Very tasty, and definitely hitting the spot for a comforting tea right now… :D

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