Thanks to Laurent at Nina’s Paris for this sample!
Ever since tasting 52teas’ Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha (and Cherry Cheesecake Genmaicha), I have been seeking out flavoured genmaichas, so naturally, I wanted to try this one! It’s a bit of a twist, with black tea in the blend as well, but I was hoping that it wouldn’t really be a big contributor to the flavour.
Anyhow, I opted to brew this as a green (though I regret not lowering the temperature further due to some astringency even with my short 2 minute infusion), which was probably the way to go. The dry tea didn’t have a ton of flavour that I recall, but once the water hit the tea? Instant thoughts of Marshmallow Treat, though more of a caramelly version. Which is super exciting, since MT is not being reblended as I would like, but this should be much more readily available!
I let the tea cool a fair bit before drinking it (as I always do), and at first sip, I definitely have to say that I have a bit of a tea crush, haha. It’s not as good as MT, and definitely more caramelly than fluffy vanilla/marshmallow, and I’m getting some astringency (tough to know whether that’s because I used a temp 3 degrees C higher than I should have, or because of the black tea, and sadly I don’t have enough to try again). The astringency is really the most annoying thing for me, since it dampens my enjoyment of the otherwise quite delicious toasty genmaicha/caramel blend.
Overall, I think if I ever made a Nina’s order, this would be included, though I personally wish that there wasn’t any black tea in this blend, as I don’t think it’s adding anything positive.
Thanks again for the sample, Nina’s Paris!
ETA: This one re-steeped well! So I got a tasty second cup from it today :)
Shopping list!
Mwuahaha!
A wise choice Morgana! You can actually email the people at Nina’s for samples. And because you are in the US, I don’t see shipping being costly at all.
TY, VT. Good to know.
No problem. I love this company so if I can help get their name out there, I am more than happy to do so. Honestly it is definitely worth trying as their teas are delicious.
this sounds outrageous….wow! i’m really at a loss for words with all your wonderful reviews. caramel, buttery, vanilla, smooth, toasty. sold!
Yeah, OK. I added this to my shopping list too. :)
Oh god. So many people have added this to their shopping list that I will feel really bad if this doesn’t live up to my review when they eventually try it. With that said, I don’t know why it wouldn’t live up to the review because it is pretty tasty.
It will. Because it is magical.