Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha from Verdant Tea

Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha

Tea type
Black Oolong Blend
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Chocolate, Cocoa, Nutty, Pastries, Roasted, Toasted Rice, Nuts, Malt, Earth, Rice, Toasted, Bread, Dark Chocolate, Roasted Nuts, Raisins, Toast, Grain, Caramel, Dirt, Roasted Barley
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Kaylee
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 4 g 12 oz / 366 ml

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206 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I enjoyed the green/white/floral blend, but I really want something more robust, so I’m trying again, this time with a favorite. Although I’m still getting bitterness, particularly in the...” Read full tasting note
  • “My other morning tea, thankful that i brought two with me today since i haven’t had 5 mins to get food or anything. What a day! first day back with all the people who have been off for a week or...” Read full tasting note
    74
  • “Holy crap. So I brewed this one up tonight, and was instantly in love. Chocolate, intensifying the natural notes of the Laoshan Black, plus toasty rice flavour. Seriously guys, I’m sure the second...” Read full tasting note
    100
  • “Another sipdown – but this one is bittersweet. I’m now at 72 teas (yay for meeting my own self imposed limits) but this one is SO. DARN. GOOD. I don’t know that I won’t be restocking as soon as I...” Read full tasting note
    100

From Verdant Tea

A warm and comforting take on classic Genmaicha with the addition of Wuyi oolong and cacao nibs. . . .

Genmaicha has humble origins- originally toasted rice was mixed into a pot to make expensive tea leaves go further in a time of less plenty than today. Toasted rice was combined with green tea or even broken twigs and stems to make a hearty and warming brew. At the time, green tea was for more widely available than black tea, but given the warming qualities of genmaicha, we thought that a humble hand-picked black tea from Laoshan Village would be the perfect companion for toasted rice.

This batch of Laoshan black is particularly malty and sweet, qualities drawn out by hand-crafted Minnesota wild rice and organic fair trade jasmine rice toasted in small batches. We add organic cacao nibs to give a darker and more comforting aftertaste, and a touch of Shui Jin Gui Wuyi oolong for its nutty caramel notes and savory aftertaste. All together, we think this new take on Genmaicha very much embraces the tea’s humble origins and stays true to the warm and satisfying nature of toasted rice tea.

Western Style
Use 4g of tea (about 1T) in 6-8oz of fresh-boiled (205°F) filtered or spring water. Steep for 30 seconds in a brew basket or equivalent. Enjoy many infusions. Add 10-15 seconds with each steeping, or to taste.
This tea is very forgiving, so feel free to use more leaf and slightly shorter steep times for more potent tea. It brews up equally well in small quantities as it does in big pots. This tea can also be enjoyed with a meal since it is so hearty and rich.

Iced Tea (Cold Brewing)
Use about 4 grams of tea for every 12oz of water. Combine with room temperature water in a covered vessel and refrigerate for 8-12 hours. Enjoy!

Iced Tea (Flash Chilled)
Use 1TB (5 grams) of tea in a 6-8oz vessel. Steep for 1 minute with filtered boiled water. Fill a martini shaker (or equivalent) with ice, then add brewed tea and shake until well-chilled (usually 10-30 seconds). Pour out through martini-shaker top over fresh ice in a new glass and serve.

About Verdant Tea View company

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206 Tasting Notes

95
Recommended
1184 tasting notes

I have been scared of Genmaicha, but this is SO GOOD!!
There was no need to be scared. This is deep and rich, chocolate, with that lovely malt. I really enjoy that toasty flavour from the rice.

Flavors: Chocolate

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 3 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
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80
1792 tasting notes

First note on this despite the fact that I’ve had it several times before. I love genmaicha. And I love LB. And I love chocolate. So I figured this would be the greatest thing EVAR. But it isn’t. I mean, it’s really good, but to cut to the chase, I think the oolong in this is throwing things off kilter, at least for my tastebuds. I’m not crazy over that mineral note, especially here. It detracts from the maltiness of the LB and the extra shot of cocoa from the cacao nibs.

The smell of the dry leaf reminds me of puffed wheat squares. But oddly enough, when I left the wet leaves in my strainer while I stepped out for a few hours, when I got back and went to dump them, I wondered, “What is this supposed to be? It kind of smells roasted, but meaty. But roasted chicken.” Weirdest thing ever. But hey, at least roasted chicken didn’t show up in the flavour.

Too bad because apparently roasted chicken is an option in the flavour profile list underneath. Good times.

So yeah, this is nice but I would have preferred it without the oolong, ultimately. I’d also rather have plain LB. But it’s still pleasant and can easily be polished off.
12 comments
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Plunkybug
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I will try this one day. I have it on my wish list! :)

Fjellrev
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Have you been stacking up the points on their site? :D

Anna
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Can we talk about ‘mineral’ notes in tea? Are they like mineral notes in wine, i.e. anything from, say, granite to chalk, or is it more of a metallic taste?

Fjellrev
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I typically get an almost metallic-like rocky note in oolongs such as the one in this blend.

Is it red wines that tend to have more mineral notes? I’m allergic, so I never thought of it in that way. :)

Anna
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No, they are present in both whites and reds. I find them far more often in whites, but that’s probably more of a personal thing. =)

Okay, metallic-like AND rocky. Good, thank you!

Anna
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This is pretty illustrative of why I find the term ‘minerality’ a little hard to pin down when it comes to wine (towards the end of the page). It’s so random! http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/style/tmagazine/06tdirt.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0

Fjellrev
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Oh interesting, I wonder if mineral notes are more present in the drier wines then. I prefer off-dry.

That’s a really interesting article! I’ll have to try to pay attention to these subtleties next time I have wine, which is rarely.

Plunkybug
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No, I don’t know anything about points on their site.

Fjellrev
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Seriously? You sign up and every day when you log in, you accumulate points. Then you can use them for rewards like coupons and infusers and stuff. Plus I recently found out that they still offer sample sizes. So ultimately, they make ordering really easy. :)

Plunkybug
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Even if you haven’t bought? Really? Huh, might have to look that up.

Fjellrev
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Yep! You just create an account with an email address and you’re set. Plus if you have Twitter, or link it up to your FB, you can accumulate extra by tweeting and liking their page.

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85
Recommended
73 tasting notes

I’m taking a brief break from my oolong tastings to have some black teas. It is just that kind of day. A dull, foggy, gray morning that calls for a nice warm, rich, bold cuppa. And according to the forecast we are supposed to have a blizzard this afternoon (even though just yesterday it was sunny, “warm”—that is, above freezing, haha!—the snow was melting…and now we are to have another storm. Oh Iowa, you are funny.)

I received this wonderful sample from TeaTiff—thank you for sharing with me! Of course, I am attracted to anything chocolate, and when I saw this I thought it looked very interesting with the oolong and genmaicha blended in. I was not disappointed. It was the perfect cup to combat the dreary day—warm, roasty, not bitter at all, slightly sweet. It tasted like cocoa rice; as if a pot of steamed rice had been made and a bit of cocoa powder added to it. Yum! Very enjoyable!
Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
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122 tasting notes

Hello, tea world. I disappeared for awhile! It’s been a time of many changes and I look forward to being back on Steepster. I just made a cup of my favorite, Laoshan Black, and promptly forgot about it. Even bitter and oversteeped I still love it. There’s a trace of the chocolate brownie flavor I love and a kick of coffee-like bitterness. I bet this gives me a caffeine boost!

Hi Steepster, I missed you. sip
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