Browncoat Genmaicha

Tea type
Green Tea
Ingredients
Cacao Nibs, Genmaicha, Organic Flavours
Flavors
Chocolate, Nutty, Roasted Nuts, Sweet, Toasted Rice
Sold in
Bulk
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Skysamurai
Average preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 2 g 10 oz / 294 ml

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49 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Oops. Missed one. Back up to 184! I also missed my 500th tasting note, so hello 503! Wow. Anyways. This one is tasting soapy to me right now. It tastes like a genmaicha, but with soap. :( I have...” Read full tasting note
  • “How to begin describing this? It reminds me of a Nestlé Crunch but not half as sweet. The smell and taste are also reminiscent of my mom’s chocolate covered rice crispy squares, which use a very...” Read full tasting note
  • “(backlog) Eeeek, I really don’t know what I’ll do with my packet of this. The chocolate is not exactly my idea of authentic. Quite fake. I don’t think I’d even want it as a base in my food. Some...” Read full tasting note
    60
  • “Sipdown!! (213? I think) So I have been on a bit of a genmaicha kick recently if you have not noticed from my constant talk about it (Sorry steepster for my obsessive blabbering :S). This is one of...” Read full tasting note
    65

From 52teas

We think Captain Mal would appreciate this week’s Tea of the Week.

For those of you unfamiliar with genmaicha, a little history: genmaicha was originally the beverage of choice for poor Japanese folk; the toasted rice served to stretch the more expensive sencha. Sounds to me like something you’d see in the outer colonies. The thing is, what started as a poor man’s attempt to stretch his tea, soon became known as “the people’s tea”. The roasty-toasty goodness of the toasted rice was a great compliment to the sea-kissed sencha.

So, you might be wondering: how could we possibly hope to improve on “the people’s tea”? Simple: we add CHOCOLATE!

Our Browncoat Genmaicha is a premium Japanese genmaicha with organic cacao nibs and organic chocolate flavors. (Yes, it’s vegan too!) I’ve been doing some experimenting with genmaicha and while I normally would never think of blending green tea with chocolate, the toasty rice element in genmaicha makes it perfect for some rich, sweet chocolate tones. This being one of our nerdy homages, I don’t think it’s going to last very long, so get yours while it lasts. Speaking of nerdy homages, you might notice on our In-Stock page, we’ve reblended the Weeping Angel!

For anyone who does not get the Browncoat reference, you lose 50 nerd points and need to buy the Firefly series on DVD or watch them on Netflix.

Keep flying!

Our Tea of the Week for the week of December 10, 2012

About 52teas View company

At 52teas.com, you will find unique, hand-blended artisan loose leaf teas: a new limited edition creation every week of the year. We pride ourselves on offering truly unique, one-of-a-kind tea blends that you won’t find anywhere else.

49 Tasting Notes

16
6105 tasting notes

Hrm. This smells really weird. And my package is all strangely bubbly – anyone else’s like that? Anyways, the dry tea smelled a bit strange, but the brewed tea is actually making me gag a bit. Smells kind of like chlorine?? Hopefully the flavour is ok…

Ehhhhh, this is… unpleasant, to say the least. It tastes chloriney (not from the water), and I can taste the genmaicha but it’s really overwhelming… Plugging my nose, taking a sip, and then breathing out during the sip makes it a bit more bearable, but it’s also kind of bitter.

Perhaps I’ll let this one air out a bit and try it again… I think this cup is going to have to be chucked, because I’m feeling a little nauseated now :S

ETA: Still gagging at the smell now. I had hoped it would dissipate overnight, but no such luck. I’ll be hard-pressed to try this one again…

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec
Crowkettle

Even though I love this tea a lot I also think it smells funky. No bubbles however :/

Kittenna

It just seems to be the plastic that’s bubbly… I initially thought the tea was somehow wet, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, thankfully.

Indigobloom

I had a cup, it was definitely chemical like. Not great when steeped but then I didn’t expect it to be just yet

Kittenna

My hopes are not high for this one.

Indigobloom

Me neither, but 52teas has surprised me before. Fingers crossed

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761 tasting notes

It’s still cooling off before I actually take a sip, but so far it is smelling like your general genmaicha tea. The liquor is a pale yellowy green. I could see the cocoa in the dry mix, but I could not smell it. I’m gonna see what it is like without any sugar first, since I can sometimes drink genmaicha plain, though I will likely add a spoon (or partial spoon) as I usually find adding sugar brings out certain flavours not detectable alone. Gonna go back to my backlogs while it continues to cool off more…I’ll come back in a bit when I’ve tried it. but I love genmaicha, so there’s little reason for me to not like this unless I fudged on the steeping side of things.

I think I fudged up the steeping…this tastes like regular genmaicha to me. I’m getting no chocolate. I love genmaicha, so I am not worried, but I was hoping for that Nestle Crunch flavour. Maybe next time. I’m beginning to wonder if my buds are off. I might have to try a tried and true fave and see what happens.

Indigobloom

Don’t worry, I find the chocolate really tends to hide with this one to!! :(

Plunkybug

I might steep it longer on this one next time, but I was a little light handed due to fear of burning it or oversteeping it.

Indigobloom

How long did you steep for? I usually go 2.5min. Well, with other 52tea blends haha

Plunkybug

I don’t remember how long I steeped, but probably a minute to a minute in a half.

Indigobloom

ah. try a little longer, for sure! fingers crossed for you that it works better :)

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82
564 tasting notes

Resteep. I thought the second steep might tease out some of the chocolate notes, but it doesn’t seem that it was meant to be. There’s a sweeter aftertaste that’s sort of white-chocolate-y? Maybe? It’s trying but not quite getting there. I do love the genmaicha flavor with the sweet aftertaste, though. This doesn’t quite live up to the description but it’s a good cup.

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77
4169 tasting notes

thanks so much, Starfevre, for sharing this one with me! I love these fandom blends. It really should be time for me to revisit Firefly… maybe in the summer when there isn’t as many decent new shows on TV. (Also, I think now with the success of The Avengers, isn’t it time that Mr. Joss Whedon has his own TV channel to air everything he creates or likes? With no fear of cancelation? I think so!)

I really loved the idea of a chocolate genmaicha! There is a ton of toasted rice here that pairs perfectly with chocolate. I didn’t see too many cocoa nibs, but maybe they are hiding with the rice. Since this is a 52Teas blend, I went with a short steep time at 45 seconds, but decided it needed more flavor so I kept the infuser in for a minute and 40 seconds. This is good! It tastes like a great roasty genmaicha with a tiny bit of bittersweet chocolate milk added to it, though it does leave the mouth a bit dry. As it cools, it tastes like chocolate ice cream. I can see Captain Mal sipping “the people’s tea” while protecting them. I think it would have been a nice touch to add a bit of strawberry, since they are so precious in the ’verse.

Preparation
1 min, 45 sec

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82
94 tasting notes

This is my first time trying genmaicha, and I do not think it was a bad introduction. This is also my first time trying anything from 52 Teas, I plan to try more of 52 Teas in the future.

In the first steeping the chocolate was very faint, barely there (Maybe my sample got exposed to too much light/air?) but it was still a really good cup of tea. So much like drinking slightly sweet popcorn.

Strangely the second steeping had a more chocolatey taste. Maybe I should have just steeped it longer the first time?

Makes me wish I had gotten around to watching Firefly so I know what this Browncoat is about.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 1 min, 30 sec
Serenity

If you have netflix, you can stream it! “Keep flying and stay shiny!”

Miss Starfish

Definitely take the time to watch it sometime. It’s amazing.

@Serenity – Can’t stop the signal! ;)

Lazey

I don’t have Netflix, I’ll see if it’s on Hulu and if not there I’m sure my library has the DVDs.

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90
125 tasting notes

I have been meaning to get a flavoured genmaicha for my stash for a while now. This one tastes like normal genmaicha but better, it has a hint of chocolately-ness that I really like. I drank a bunch of it yesterday at work.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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94
105 tasting notes

So, I was not planning on buying any more tea until after I return from my trip to Japan (I leave in 10 days!!!!). But then I saw this tea. Firefly + Genmaicha + Chocolate = me caving in and purchasing.

I really love genmaicha but have never tasted one with chocolate in it. The taste of this kind of reminds me of those Krakel chocolates that come in the Hershey’s miniatures packs. The chocolate really enhances the toasty flavor of the genmaicha. The after taste is kind of vegetal, and the toasty, chocolatey taste fades a bit. Overall, the chocolate in this tea is not overwhelming. Instead, it enhances the flavor of the genmaicha.

Shmiracles

well that does sound nice >>> added to my shopping list!

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60
1908 tasting notes

I agree with other Steepsterites in that this tea has an odd scent – or at least the dry leaves do. The brewing tea smelled more like your garden-variety genmiacha. Flavour-wise the malted, toasted rice character of the genmaicha dominates though I don’t think the green tea base is actually a sencha. Maybe I’m just spoiled by Den’s Tea. ;)

The cocoa adds an interesting twist to things, though the end result is a bit too bitter for my tastes. It’s a cool experiment, but I’m not sure this one panned out. I’ll play around with the steeping parameters to see if that makes a difference.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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76
1629 tasting notes

I received this from the Traveling Tea Box Pass B that momo wonderfully set up! I finally got to a sample today as I got out of work early today. This smells like a Krackel or Nestle Crunch bar. Yum! I could smell the roasted rice and popcorn as well as the chocolate cacao nibs. So delicious!

I must be out of my mind to be drinking this hot, but I wanted to try it out so badly. I love genmaicha teas, especially the stronger tasting ones. This one has a nice base to it. The dark chocolate runs in and out of the picture and lingers gently. This is a good tea to drink on a cooler day (like autumn, winter, or early spring). This is a delicious blend by 52teas. It goes down smoothly with a bit of astringency at the very end of the cup.

I wonder when I am going to deliver! :) Anxious and excited. I am going to buy some red raspberry leaf tea today.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 15 sec

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6
343 tasting notes

Thanks to RogersCK for this sample!

I love Firefly (and Serenity for that matter) so when I saw this on RogersCK’s swaplist, I knew I had to at least try it. The steeping leaves smelled a little weird. The taste is also a bit weird. I totally get the previous reviews on this mentioning chlorine. Maybe chlorine plus burnt toast? I don’t really taste the chocolate. I’ve been writing this tasting note for longer than I tend to, and I can’t take more than a sip of my mug without making the yuck face. Not a fan. Glad I only got that sample!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Tealizzy

Ya, this one still eludes me. So sad, since I have a bunch of it.

RogersCK

Interestingly enough, I enjoyed this tea the first time I tried it (haven’t had another cup since though). I like the toasted, slightly burnt taste of rice so maybe I’m weird like that, lol. My husband on the other hand couldn’t stand it. I will have to try this one again and maybe pay closer attention since I did not get the ‘chlorine’ taste.

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