Genmai Cha

The unique flavor of roasted rice makes this tea so terrific. Have you ever had it? Do you like popcorn? The rice, which puffs and sometimes pops as it is being roasted, has a toasty, savory-sweet flavor a bit like popcorn. Do you think dogs’ paws have a popcorn-y fragrance? I do. There is something wonderfully comforting about the jiffy-pop, dog paw aroma of this tea and as it may be obvious, it is a favorite of mine, and has been for so long.

I like Genmaicha a lot. To be honest, it is my favorite Japanese tea so far. I enjoy a few cups of sencha occasionally when I’m in the mood for it but Genmaicha really makes me happy, especially in winter.

So… I was craving it the other day and it turned out I had ran out of my all-time favorite Den’s Genmaicha and didn’t have another brand on hand either. I went to my local Teavana store to get some to tide me over while Den’s order gets here only to be told that Teavana doesn’t carry it anymore… Apparently Teavana did some changes to their tea line-up recently and now it consists 90% of fruit-flavored stuff. Well, too bad for Teavana.

Then I remembered that there was a Peet’s store close by and I saw some loose-leaf teas there before. The smallest size they sell is 4 oz so I have a lot of Genmaicha now. Unfortunately it is no good… I mean it’s drinkable but much inferior to Den’s. Aroma is weak, roast rice taste is wishy-washy and the worst of all it is astringent. THIS I can’t stand in my Genmaicha, it is supposed to be sweet and creamy.

I guess I’ll keep this as a back-up for now, at least the tin it came in is nice.

picked up a tin at the nearby Peet’s. took it home, heated water to 185 & steeped 90 seconds. results scored a high decent. it’s made with middle-grade sencha, the bummer properties of which were masked by nutty riceyness. i prefer genmai cha from our local tea dealer (Halcyon Tea’s has less rice, better leaves), but Peet’s still hit the spot.

*btw – wasn’t sure whether it’s OK to talk up Businesses that sell tea. sorry if i broke any rules.

Peet’s is my only experience with Genmai Cha. I love it. It’s toasty, smooth and not bitter at all. I can’t rate it perfect as I have nothing to compare it too, but for now, I thinks it’s a great addition to my tea stash.

This is a quite serviceable genmaicha; however, it’s the same price as Peet’s sencha, so I prefer the latter.

It’s like liquid cereal. :) I love the nuttiness of Genmai Cha, and Peet’s does it well, with plenty of flavour.