Genmaicha Extra Green

I’ve had a very stressful week traveling for work. No sleep. Working with annoying people. Argh!

I took a bunch of tea with me to try. While I didn’t have ideal brewing conditions, I was still able to make a few awesome cups. This one was great! I produced a lovely murky green. And it tasted so rich and toasty. And smooth and green. Genmaicha has always been a homey comforting flavor so it’s hard to go wrong with it. This one however, is comforting and delicious. I usually prefer mine without matcha, but it works in this one.

Story time:
a colleague I had been traveling with had been eying my teas with distrust for days. I’ve been drinking super bright Japanese and korean greens. Finally, he commented that my tea was really green. I offered to let him try some but he declined saying that all teas were the same. " I’m having some right now." he show me the no name green tea bag provided by the hotel. I had tried it and it was truly terrible. How can you say all teas are the same when you yourself stated how different they looked? I am baffled!

I also room temp brewed a bunch while traveling. Easier than getting hot water all the time. My colleagues were so amazed. “are you just soaking your tea leaves?! The water is not hot.” they looked super skeptical when I explained about cold brewing. No one wanted to try any. Sad.

I got one colleague to try a coconut rooibos by adding cram and sugar. She liked it! Finally, a success story.

I’d read about certain green teas having a post-apocalyptic, glowing green color — the sort of color that makes me think of some of those post-apocalyptic games I played (can’t now remember, was it Fallout? Half-Life? Doom? All of them?) but I’d never actually seen a tea that color. Until tonight. Whoa. Amazing green!

This is the last tea in my sampler, and the fine, very green dusting of the matcha over the leaves and rice is pretty cool looking. It looks like bright, lime-green powdered sugar over long pointy/twisty leaves. It smells juicily vegetal.

I steeped according to the pamphlet instructions: 30 seconds/boiling. The liquor color is a glowing green, not as lime-like as the dry leaves. More tending toward avocado.

The aroma is classic toasty rice, a smell which to me is somewhat similar to the way the old maids in the popcorn bag taste if you chew on them as I’m prone to do. It’s the primary taste as well, with a fresh green tea underlay.

I like the flavor of genmaichas whenever I drink them. I don’t often sit around thinking that they’re just the thing that would hit the spot, though. This is a good, solid genmaicha and I can see ordering it again, but I think the others in the Den’s sample were more suited to frequent drinking as far as my tastes go so I ranked this one a bit lower than the others.

Another one from the Den’s Tea sampler – this is the pyramid teabag which I wouldn’t buy myself (I’d get the loose leaf).

I thought this might be like my standard Ito En genmaicha with matcha, but it’s better. The matcha here definitely makes it a lot greener than some of the others I have tried. The nuttiness from the rice is light and the tea itself is hearty, sweet and broth like. If this base is Den’s bancha I will definitely need to get some to try on its’ own! Although the matcha could very likely be playing a part in the sweetness here. I’m not really a fan of sencha genmaichas because they can be a little too astringent/bitter for me, so I appreciated the mellowness of this. The only drawback is that I did notice a bit of matcha dust in the bottom of my cup, which apparently a teabag cannot even encapsulate…

Overall, this is very yummy, I think I might have preferred a little more toasted rice in this blend but I am quite enjoying this cup. Soon I might be a Den’s Tea convert!

This is GOOD, it is one from my sampler and we’ll chalk this up to another good green! I get a nice toasted flavor to this tea from the toasted rice. But I think its the matcha bringing the hint of sweet the cup. There isn’t much veggie to this tea for me and I am liking that. I did get the pouch variety with the sample, but if/when I order I would get loose. Really who knew I could actually learn to like green tea?

This review is for the bagged version that I received in my sampler, not the loose leaf version.

After all these flavoured teas tonight, I felt like I needed something straight and reliably delicious. I was going to go upstairs and grab something from my Verdant stuff, but as it happened, my Den’s sampler was downstairs (I was weighing potential mailable cardboard boxes), so I was lazy and selected two teas from it! Not regretting that decision at all!

So opening up the lovely foil-wrapped package, I’m greeting by green powder everywhere and a lovely toasty rice/green tea aroma. Mmmmmmm. I was a bit sad that the matcha had come out of the bag, until I realized that had it not come out, that would indicate that the teabag was entirely non-porous and therefore useless for brewing tea. So I guess it’s inevitable. Haha.

I wasn’t really sure what parameters to use for the teabag, so went with boiling water for a minute, resulting in tea of a cloudy yellowish colour. The aroma is typical of genmaicha: toasty rice.

Taste-wise I’m finding this to be a very smooth genmaicha. I can’t really say that the matcha is at all apparent. The tea is slightly sweetish, with a lovely toasty rice cake flavour.

Not bad, but I prefer my unbranded years-old genmaicha, probably because it has more flavour. I have higher hopes for the loose leaf version of this tea, which I’ll try another day. I think this entry was really meant for the loose leaf version, so I’m reserving a rating until then. This tea bag version would probably rate about a 72 on my scale.

In all honesty, it’s difficult to find a Genmaicha with Matcha I don’t like. I love the toasty smell and taste, the sweetness of the matcha, the cloudy green color. This one is slightly better than Holy Mountain’s and Upton Tea’s but only slightly. In fact, I’m not even sure it isn’t exactly the same. Clearly I need to do a Genmaicha taste test and comparison. But that will have to wait until after NaNoWriMo. Meanwhile, I’ll just say “Mmmmm! Genmaicha with matcha!”

Well, hmmm. So far I’ve tried 4 genmaichas: Numi’s bagged, loose tea from The Path of Tea, Genmaicha from David’s Tea, and this one.

I instantly loved Numi’s and continued to do so despite the bags. I instantly loved the first cup I made from The Path of Tea, but subsequent cups not so much. I did not instantly love either David’s Tea Genmaicha or Den’s Genmaicha Extra Green with Matcha.

I feel these extremely inconsistent results are mostly my fault. I haven’t achieved the correct temperature and steep time for any of the loose teas yet, and haven’t been able to reproduce the good experience I had with my first loose genmaicha. So I am not going to rate Den’s yet.

The instructions say to use boiling water, 1 tsp leaves, steep for 30 seconds. This is quite different from what David’s Tea recommends for their Genmaicha (165F and steep 2-3 minutes.)

I was interrupted by my boss so the water was probably more like 175-180, but I was careful re: the quantity and steep time. What I ended up with is not bitter, but it is a bit insipid and lacking in sweetness or toastiness. I’ll try for boiling water and a 15-second steep on my second cup, as recommended by Den’s.

Second steep: I also used less water. We may be getting there.

I was most excited to try this from my Den’s Tea sampler. This one was really pretty as it steeped.

I like this – it’s nutty and kind of sweet in addition to the obvious cooked vegetable taste. I’m really liking the sampler so far. I’d order this again! I’m also thinking that this would be good iced with some sweetener. Has anyone tried it iced? I need to start thinking about what tea would be good iced, because it’s really starting to get hot out. My days of drinking hot tea are numbered, I fear.

I got off to an exceedingly late start on my tea today, first by sleeping in by over an hour, and then I was delayed by some friends and several games of Settler from Cattan. Regardless, I finally arrived home and decided to try out one of the smaples that I recently got from Den’s Tea. Using 180 degree water, I let this tea steep for a minute for the first infusion. The result is a cloudy green tea, as you would expect due to the matcha. Unfortunately my recent head cold is not completely gone, and the lingering stuffiness prevents me from enjoying the aroma. Anyway, the flavor profile is exceptionally sweet, dominating the foretaste and most of the middle. After letting the tea sit in my mouth for a fe seconds, the nutty flavor begins to shine through, and it is also the major flavor of the aftertaste, lingering pleasantly on the roof of my mouth. All in all, it’s a very plesant tea, and I can’t wait to see how the flavor develops.

The second cup was prepared with near-boiling water, and steeped for 15 seconds. The result is much like a traditional genmaicha, with the nutty flavor dominating and a touch of sweetness. The other thing that I’ve started to notice is that that first cup had a lot of caffiene. I am a bit wired right now. That matcha powder really made a bit difference in the caffiene content of the tea, but that is definitely a plus.

WEll, the bad news is that I got a bit distracted by a bunch of friends coming over, including some that I haven’t seen in months, so I had several more cups of tea without logging them. To summarize the experience, the tea is still delightfully nutty, and the warmer water temperatures that I’ve been susing (somewhere between 160 and 200 degrees) has lead to the development of a bit of astringency, but it’s not overpowering. Teh result is a very pleasant cup of tea, and I’m very pleased with how it tured out. I’m seriously considering getting a larger bag of this in the near future.

This is a murky, mysterious green cup of tea! I feel like I’m looking into a swampy portion of the ocean. I smell seaweed, popcorn, barley and a little bit of toast and fish. First sip: I’m extremely surprised at just how salty it is! There is definitely a heavy seaweed note paired with burnt or toasted popcorn. The finish is pure sea water. I feel like I’ve just gulped in the sea – plants, barnacles, fish & all! It’s a little too strong for me to truly appreciate, but I am impressed that such strength comes through in a teabag.

I’m trying this blend in its teabag form, although I did get some of the tea loose-leaf aswell as part of the Green Tea Beginners sampler-thingy. The tea bag was just covered it matcha and the tea turned the water a bright green shade that looked very much like watered down matcha tea. The taste is an interesting mix of the matcha’s grassiness and the genmaicha’s roasted, malty flavours. I think the matcha has the edge in this tea, especially as you get down near the bottom when some of the powder has settled.

This seems to be a similar idea to Samovar’s Ryokucha, but I think the Samovar version is superior simply because it has more complexity and depth of flavour and because the malty genmaicha is the dominent flavour note.

Yummy. Can definitely taste the sweet matcha, though not terribly specifically, but more as a muted sweetness that makes the popcorn taste not so strong. Interested in trying this in a teapot, not a bag like I had to use for work.

So, I thought I would do a side-by-side comparison of this tea and the Ujinotsuyu Genmaicha I reviewed the other day. As a side note, Ujinotsuyu’s Genmaicha is a cheaper Genmaicha you can find in Asian supermarkets. I get it at around $5.50 for a 400g bag. I know it’s not exactly a viable comparison since this contains matcha, but whatever, a Den’s vs grocery store tea death match shall happen.

I steeped both for thirty seconds and in the same type of glass. Right away I noticed the difference in the colours of the liquors. I normally drink my tea in a solid-coloured mug. Through the clear glasses, Ujinotsuyu’s is a clear, muted brownish-yellow colour, while Den’s is more translucent and greener. It kind of reminds me of Gatorade but not as electric.

As expected, Den’s smells grassier. Still toasted, but that matcha boosts the scent of the tea above the roasted rice. Ujinotsuyu’s, on the other hand, is basically mostly toasty with a hint of green tea.

Den’s even tastes grassier upon the first sip or two. The rice is in the background, however, the taste of the matcha and Bancha are not as vegetal as the scent. Yet, the more I sip this, and the more this cools off, the more the roasted rice pops. It slowly catches up to the tea flavours and that slightly vegetal bite fades. This definitely has more flavour than Ujinotsuyu’s, but because the matcha makes the green tea flavours more vivid, whereas Ujinotsuyu’s is more delicate on the overall, but in a way, more well-rounded if you’re specifically looking for that toastiness.

Both teas have their merits. Den’s has a fresher taste due to the pop of matcha and reminds me of spring, while the other tea reminds me of a warm, crackling fire in the winter.

Oh where have you been my love?
Words can not express my devotion to you.
From the first time I saw you – I knew you were something very special.
I want you in my stash … always!

So okay now that I got that out of my system lol ….

The only possible down side was upon brewing it had a strange smell of burning plastic and I actually thought I had done something screwy and burnt up my tea kettle but alas after another moment or two I got the buttered popcorn smell!

This tea is nutty, ever so slightly sweet, complex, buttery, creamy, smooth, and I love it!
Its so earthy yet it gives me that need for a little sweetness as well. Its perfection!
I really do not get the vegetal flavor but thats okay.

This is the second tea of my permanent stash!

I love that I am starting to discover those that are THE teas I cherish!

Thank you to Den’s Teas for this sample – I didn’t even realize I had ordered this sample pack and ordered another last night! My mind IS going going gone! Regardless, I will be ordering a big stash of this as soon as income allows!

And with a 15 to 30 second brew time LOL wow what a quick fix!

My Den’s Tea green tea sampler arrived yesterday!! This is the first tea I’ve tried. I chose it to start because I love genmaicha.

It’s pretty good. Not as toasty as I was hoping and definitely more green tea flavor than the other 2 genmaichas I’ve tried. I’m going to brew another pot and see how it goes. I think I would prefer the regular genmaicha without the matcha. Overall, this is a good tea, but not my fav.

Loose
Appearance: dusty matcha green, rice looks unpopped, good sizer med bancha leaf
Aroma when Dry: roasty matcha, sweet (eastern)
After water is first poured: roasty genmai notes jump out, followed by the sweetness (eastern) of matcha
At end of first steep: nutty, roasty matcha
Tea liquor:
At beginning of first steep: dusty green
At end of first steep: murky matcha green
Staple? No
Time of day preferred: Any
Taste:
At first: warm nutty, roasty matcha, more distinct genmai notes close
As it cools? notes all open up, start to compete, tea gets “busy”
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, with definite matcha sweetness (eastern) and roasty notes matcha leaves a bit of a fuzzy, drying note

Second steep (5 min)
Tea liquor: pale green
Aroma: nutty, roasty gen mai
Taste: weak genmai nutty, roastyness

I love Genmaicha. Therefore I love this tea. It is the perfect tea this morning to lift me out of morning nausea. ( i find that if i have to get up before I’m ready to be awake I feel sick. ) My insides feel all warm and ‘snuggled’ now.

I finally got my sampler in today! If anyone hasn’t gotten around to getting one of these yet, I highly recommend it. It is so excellently packaged, and just made me feel like opening a Christmas present!

This was the first tea of the sampler I tried, and I must say I enjoy it….I think. It’s one of those teas that doesn’t exactly hit the “I want to drink every ounce of this tea that I can” spot, but it is of such good quality and left such a good mouthfeel with me….gotta give props.

The tase almost reminds me of Rice Krispies mixed with an amazing green. It is really neat, and I bet this would be even better with some sushi drool

Opening up the sample packet, I’m struck by the bright green color the matcha lends to the ensemble. Amazing that tea can be so, so green. Fantastic aroma of roasted grains and vegetables. The first steep (boiling, 30 seconds) was also bright green, and sweet. The toasty and vegetal flavors are holding hands in the middle of the room, making googly eyes at each other. No bitterness at all, and just the tiniest hint of astringency.

2nd steep: boiling, 15 seconds. Losing some of the nuttiness in the aroma this time around. Still a really bright green liquor though. All the flavors are still there, but now they’ve mellowed with the passing of time and are content to simply be present in their own subtle way.

I think I like this one a bit more than Den’s bagged Genmaicha, if for no other reason than to enjoy the sight of the leaves as they transform under the influence of the water.

I already knew I love genmaicha but this is my first experience with an “extra green” version with added matcha. This along with everything else in my sample pack from Den’s was very good and I would totally buy again!