Took this to work with me yesterday and blew it. I used my Tea For Life set with the metal infuser and WAY too much leaf. The leaf soaked up a good third of the water and didn’t turn it loose, and I think I oversteeped by about 30 seconds to a minute, so I ended up with strong, bitter tea.
I cut it with a dash of half-and-half, which helped, but locals reading this beware: this was definitely user error. Exercise moderation in all things!
I got my David’s Tea shipment so will be reviewing that genmaicha shortly.
Update, 5/25/14:
Been a long time away from Steepster! I stopped by Path of Tea to try this again. This time I used about 1 1/2 tsp tea for a 10-12 oz. mug, water not quite boiling, steeped 3 minutes. I still don’t have it right. Also, plenty of browned rice but no popped kernels in this purchase — the dry tea looks the same except for the absence of popped rice. Wonder whether that makes a difference? Still smells lovely but tastes slightly bitter. Onward.