Genmaicha

First time trying H&S Genmaicha (rice with bancha in this one). It’s better than my first impression of it. The first time I tried it, I had sampled it with the Matcha Iri Genmaicha, Duck Rick Genmaicha, and their Golden Genmaicha.

I prepped it a few ways, I think the recommended preparation was the best, I steeped it longer, for 3 minutes as directed. Nice toasted rice flavor, slightly vegetal, light-bodied. It is slightly too astringent for my taste, dry tongue from it, which is probably why I preferred the Duck Rice Genmaicha more. The Golden Genmaicha was nice because it had a toasted nut flavor, and not as brisk as well.

Having said that, it’s a decent Genmaicha at a decent price. I’ve read some of the reviews on the net and a lot of people like it a lot and don’t like the others so much, so there’s that. Taste is subjective. ^^

What can I say, it’s a genmaicha and its a very good price for the amount. Sometimes I will get some from my local asian markets but I do enjoy the tin that Harney sends. This has all the hallmarks of a well done genmaicha, the flavor is warm and nutty and there are cute little popcorn pieces in the tea leaves. The leaf condition may not be superb, it does have a fair amount of brokenness, but for the price and for a daily drinker, this is very good.

I love this tea . Toasted rice with green tea. Yum. This tea looks like green tea with little bits of popcorn in it. The toasted rice gives it a nice roasted flavor that compliments the tea well. When brewed it smells almost like roasted corn or some sort of roasted vegetables. The liquor is a light yellow color when brewed.

I have been making a concerted effort to drink more green tea for the past couple of days. I have been so wrapped up in black teas and oolongs lately that I have been seriously neglecting all of the green teas I have acquired over the last several months. After reviewing the Sencha from Touch Organic last night, I was having trouble sleeping (too much caffeine earlier in the day), and after resigning myself to not getting much sleep, decided to stay up and read. Oddly, I started craving genmaicha and realized I still had some of this left, so I had some. This morning I then discovered that I had never previously reviewed this tea. Now I’m taking care of that.

I prepared this tea using a three step Western infusion process. I started off by steeping 1 teaspoon of the loose tea and rice mix in approximately 8 ounces of 160 F water for 1 minute 30 seconds. The recommended water temperature seemed a bit low to me, but I decided to roll with it anyway. I followed this initial infusion up with a 45 second and a 1 minute 30 second infusion.

Prior to infusion, I picked up lovely aromas of toasted rice, grass, hay, and nuts. Even with my sinuses draining, these aromas came through loud and clear. After infusion, the aromas described above intensified and were joined by a slight seaweed scent. In the mouth, mild, smooth notes of butter, soybean, spinach, hay, straw, grass, and seaweed balanced much more pronounced notes of chestnut and toasted rice. The second infusion was nuttier and grainier on the nose and in the mouth. It also offered a touch of minerals on the back of the throat. The final infusion was subtly grassy, vegetal, and briny, offering a mild toasted rice note under lingering aromas and flavors of grass, hay, spinach, minerals, and seaweed.

I don’t really get the lowish rating for this tea here on Steepster. This genmaicha offered a lovely toasted rice character that was authentic and adequately balanced by the lighter, grassier bancha. While I do not drink a ton of genmaicha, I have encountered far worse. For the money, I found this one to be very good. I would recommend that anyone looking to get into this type of tea or looking for a daily drinker start here.

I saw this at the store and wanted to buy some Japanese green tea to hold me over until I buy more gyokuro. The instructions call for a 3 minute steep, but I was a little skeptical, since I usually find that 1.5-2 minutes is sufficient for green teas. However, my first steep of 1.5 minutes was definitely on the weak side. I hit the target on the second steep…2.5 minutes, just like you guys recommend…never doubt Steepster. :P
The popcorn/roasted brown rice flavor dominates, but there’s a good grassy flavor that isn’t masked too much by the roasted brown rice. This is my fourth genmaicha, and it probably ranks as the best in the group.

Oh by the way, the 2nd steep is more chicken soupy than the first. In case you were interested. :)

Definitely had a very interesting experience with this tea. I could taste the nutty popcorn taste but mostly had a really strong seaweed taste. It just felt like I was eating something rather than drinking.

Yesterday, my Japanese party was canceled on account of the snow. (Not that much, but more than we were expecting.) When I got home, I had this with miso soup and roasted seaweed snacks. It smells nicely green, with some scent of rice cakes/ popcorn. There is a light toasty flavour, with a hint of seaweed. Thanks to cookies for the sample.

This is like 30% toasty rice and 70% grass. I blame the broken pieces of leaf that comprised most of the cup. Honestly, at this point, I think I have gotten passed my need to try all the genmaichas because for the most part, they are all similar enough that there is nothing surprisingly new with any given cup. Still, its a flavor I enjoy so I am grateful to Roswell Strange for the share. 181.

Genmaicha equals comfort. And this was a very, very fine cup o’ comfort last night. Nice and toasty, with no bitterness. Fabulous.