Organic Genmaicha

This is my second? Genmaicha ever, so take that for what it’s worth. :) I think i prefer the one from verdant that i tried but this is still pretty decent. There’s a lot more green earthy taste to this than i expected, though having little experience with this, i wasn’t sure what to expect. At the initial sip it seems almost like it’s going to turn into a chicken soup broth, until more of the liquid lands in my mouth. That’s a little wierd though because it tastes NOTHING like chicken soup. I have a few other’s from Den’s Tea that i need to try out this weekend, but this isn’t a bad little tea.

A lovely Genmaicha. Warm, toasty flavors but with a vibrant, fresh flavor in the background. Very nice.

So one of my main tea goals has been to find “The Perfect Japanese Green Tea”, or in my head any tea that tasted as good as the green tea they serve at my local sushi restaurant. I asked one time if they knew what kind of tea and the brand, and all they could tell me was it was genmaicha. I figured it was, but now the hunt was on.

I’ve tried genmaicha from adagio, davidstea, and several other places but they all just taste like burnt rice to me. None of them have come even close to the green tea at the sushi place.

I finally searched on steepster for the highest rated genmaicha, which happened to come from den’s tea. On a whim I bought 2oz each of this and their genmaicha w/matcha (will review soon)

Yes. This is exactly what I was looking for. My tastebuds are singing! This tea is fantastic. It’s perfectly nutty and sweet and has NO burnt smell or taste at all (though my mom would disagree). It’s roasty and has the perfect ratio of nutty to green flavor. This tastes just like the tea at my sushi place.

I can’t explain how happy I am. On to my fifth cup…

Sipdown! I’m going to have to order more. Thank you to whoever it was many moons ago who recommended Den’s to me for their awesome genmaicha. I have been passing along the good advice! If you are new to genmaicha, just start at Den’s.

I was nervous to try this the recommended way – boiling! I recommend you try it though. I think this is my only green tea that can be steeped with boiling water and turn out perfect, with no bitterness.

I was given a sample of this tea from BTVSgal, and I think it’s fair to say I ruined the first infusion. After I brewed this tea correctly, water from a boil, and a 30 second brew, I loved it! The aroma was like that of wonderfully warm toasty popcorn and this tea has a very full vibrant flavor behind it of a mix of gentle earthy notes and a nutty finish. I got 5 great infusions ( 6 oz each ), out of 2 tsp of tea.
I love genmaichas because they just look fun, and I personally equate the smell of popcorn with good times.

Genmaicha is a tea that I return to again and again; I love the roasted flavours of the rice with the delicious green. I’ve had some really good Genmaichas, and I’ve had some … not so good ones. This though… beats all. The tea does not turn bitter at all, or at least it didn’t for me – and I played around quite a bit with my water temps and steep times.

Very well balanced, and a great quality of green tea with this one. The roasted rice flavours didn’t dissappear either wich made me happy. Initially, I was slightly saddened when I saw this is my steepster selects box as I already have two other kinds of Genmaicha on the go right now. But I steeped it up anyways – and it blew me away. So glad to try this one, and will likely be on the lookout for more when my stash runs out.

Thanks Steepster!

High on price and weak on flavor. For me the rich nutty roasted rice flavor is the indication of a good quality Genmaicha. Here I can barely taste it, with the astringency and grassy notes from the tea leaf being quite overwhelming. I stick to Genmaicha Satsuki instead which is usually much better balanced.

This was a gentle, toasty green. In other genmaichas I’ve had the rice taste made it strong and unpleasant. This was quite yummy, easy to drink.

There is something about the roasted rice flavors and the grassy green tea that just make this the perfect breakfast tea on a rainy day. Its almost like a liquid porridge or oatmeal. A sushi place where I live serves a genmaicha that has been dusted in matcha which I think makes an excellent addition to any genmaicha. I have been adding about one scoop to this tea when steeping.

This is my first traditional Genmaicha. I’ve had it only with matcha, so it is nice to have it the traditional way. The dry leaf smelled nice a nutty, while the wet leaf smelled like burnt popcorn. Nice to have a old “poor mans” classic Japanese tea. The “people’s tea” :).