Ujinotsuyu

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Recent Tasting Notes

89
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
103 tasting notes

Mmmm a very nice tasting and affordable genmaicha! I have been drinking this for years. Everyone tells me genmaicha is the Japanese “poor man’s tea” but who cares it tastes great and I love the roasted rice flavour!

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46
drank Sencha by Ujinotsuyu
87 tasting notes

A good enough basic green tea, but nothing exceptional.

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7
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
189 tasting notes

Loose
Appearance: small leaf, lots of sorghum seed, some popped rice
Aroma when Dry: buttery, nutty
After water is first poured: buttery, creamy, nutty, grassy, faint earthiness
At end of steep: harsh grass
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: grassy, clear
Staple? Type yes, would not use brand again
Preferred time of day: any
Taste:
At first: harsh grassiness, slight rice and butter notes hinted at
As it cools ? Harshness lessens, creamy notes surface
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No

Lingers? Yes, harsh at first, slight buttery grass notes close

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Louis from Montréal

Yes, at the 3 minute mark of steeping this tea will definitely be harsh. Recommended steeping time for this tea, which is printed on the bag, is 30 seconds with freshly boiled water. This preparation makes a world of difference. I recommend rinsing this genmaicha to improve the flavor. I rinse it with cold water.

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76
drank Sencha by Ujinotsuyu
46 tasting notes

This is my almost-daily morning sencha. It’s not artisan sencha by any means, but I like how it’s easily available from the Asian aisle in my supermarket, and it’s cheap enough to buy regularly. The taste is decent, though a little strong on the seaweed, but I like the calm buzz it gives me in the morning.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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88
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
6768 tasting notes

Thanks Alphakitty

It’s looks like your typical Genmaicha but it has a less intense aroma, I think. Plus, I think the flavor is a bit more vegetal-juicy and a tad less popped rice and popcorn flavor than others I have tried but REGARDLESS this is darned tasty! Maybe because it seems a bit more buttery than some of the others or a combo of all the less is more type flavors – not sure – but it’s very YUMMY!

Alphakitty

This is definitely a buttery tea, so good, especially given the price!

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91
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
470 tasting notes

Hello everyone! I have returned from the dead! Actually I’ve been very much alive, but the past few months have been hectic to say the least (warning: this is not so much a tasting note as a life update note, so if you’re expecting tea stop now! I’ve commented a whole lot on this bad boy before so I thought it’d be a safe one to pick. Plus, it actually does tie in at the end. I promise!)

My boyfriend was diagnosed with ulcerative collitis two years ago, when he was 20. Usually when you’re young it’s an easy disease to control but he has been in a constant flare since then—if you know anything about uc, you’ll understand how totally hellish that was for both of us. None of his medications worked, the constant steroids they had to use to control the ulcers caused crazy mood changes, and he even had some very rare traits of the disease that his doctors had never seen (like ulcers on his appendix… and skin).

This summer we finally hit our limit. The disease had overwhelmed us. Surgery is a pretty extreme solution, because it involves cutting out his colon. Yup, the whole thing… at 22. And then rebuilding it 2 surgeries down the line, but it’s kind of insane to have to do something like that at this point in our lives (though we have been together for 5 years).

His family is not exactly… traditional, you could say (okay I’m being polite here they’re kind of extremely hard to deal with) and he had to have the surgery down in Philly since his doctor is there (which was worth it, since his doctor is AMAZING), but this necessitated me staying in the hospital with him. The entire time. Thankfully they do let non “family” members (at this point I consider myself family, and so does he!) stay over so I slept curled up in a chair, living off Lipton (Lipton!) for 6 days before he got the all-clear to go home. It was horrible, hellish, yet somehow a wonderful bonding experience that brought us together closer than ever, and perhaps I’ll write more about it later. But not now!

I said this tea came into play and indeed it did, because I brought it with me! His past room at UPenn had fridge, and this is his absolute favorite tea so I brought it to cold brew for him. Alas, surgery recovery rooms don’t include fridges because they want to carefully monitor the patients’ food & drink intake so neither of us had any good tea that week. So no tea for us, because Lipton brewed in coffee-tasting water is possibly the worst beverage on the entire planet.

There is no way I can ever hope to catch up on past notes since I’ve been binge drinking tea (kind of like chain smoking, except without all the bad stuff since unsweetened tea really has no negative sides!), but I’ll try to pop by more often and catch up on all the notes I’ve missed from you wonderful people! I’d also like to thank Kittenna for reminding me that I’d suddenly vanished—forgive me, but my social media obligations have been the last thing on my mind!

mrmopar

Welcome back and prayers for a speedy recovery!

Veronica

Oh my word, that sounds awful. I’m so sorry that both of you have to go through that! The next time you’re in Philly let me know. I’ll bring you tea, and I’d be happy to sit with you while you’re boyfriend is in surgery. I’ve been there, and I remember feeling completely stircrazy a few hours in. If nothing else let me being you tea!

gmathis

Lipton in coffee water. Been there. Blech! Hope there’s some deep-to-the-core rest ahead for both of you.

tigress_al

Oh wow! You are such a great support for him. Now you deserve some good tea!

Ysaurella

nice to see you back Alphakitty – all the very best for you and your boyfriend

Nicole

Goodness. So sorry to hear – that’s quite something to go through. I hope things improve for both of you after the surgeries.

Terri HarpLady

Wow! I hope he heals quickly, and gets through those other surgeries easily as well. What a terrible thing to have to go through, especially at such a young age. He is so lucky to have you at his side, Alpha. Best wishes to both of you.

Sil

oh man hun. Glad to have you back but i wish you both all the love and luck in the world to get through these times.

Hesper June

Wow! So glad to have you back! But, sorry you and your fella had to go through all that.
I hope he feels better quick!

Indigobloom

I think you deserve the biggest tea hug ever. So glad you have made it back, and that the hellish times are over (for now? hopefully the next two surgeries will be loads better xxo)

Alphakitty

Thank you so much for the comments everyone <3 What an awesome thing to wake up to!

Bonnie

Oh dear! Poor thing! I really am sympathetic! My allergies have the same responses as colitis…yuck!
Sounds like the best decision considering the severity and that you tried everything else. Poor dear! Must be congenital since he’s so young.
My dad married my mom knowing she would be sick all her life and he dedicated his life to her. Your boyfriend is blessed to have you by his side. When I got sick, my husband divorced me.
I’m proud of you, and pray that the future will be filled with healing and joy for both of you! Selfless love is rare.

TassieTeaGirl

As someone who has a chronic condition, I can guarantee that your boyfriend appreciates your support and love more than he can ever say. Welcome back to the land of tea reviewing!

Lynxiebrat

Many Blessings to both of you!

Serenity

Best wishes for healing, I’m so sorry about your boyfriend’s illness!

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91
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
470 tasting notes

I think if I logged this tea every time I actually drank it I’d have something like 30 entries by now haha. Enjoying a nice cup of iced genmaicha since it’s nearing the end of cold tea season!

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91
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
470 tasting notes

I’ve been drinking this almost every day, and while it’s no less delicious I wanted to try something new. Almost everything I have in my fridge that could potentially be added to tea is fruity, and somehow I don’t think peach genmaicha would be good (though who knows, I’ll probably try it out now!). That’s how I ended up with half of a cucumber (peeled & sliced) in my pitcher of genmaicha: it stayed in there for the whole cold brew, roughly 14 hours. I was honestly a bit suspicious when I sniffed the end result (no cucumber) but oh dear lord is this delicious. It’s even MORE refreshing than usual, with that soft hint of cucumber lifting it to new heights. It tastes like a day at the spa!

Lucy

Wow great idea! I didn’t think to try adding things to it for some reason.. Thank you for the inspiration!

Alphakitty

I am always doing weird experiments with my tea, this one came out particularly well I think! Definitely give it at try if you have some cucumber.

ScottTeaMan

Today I was actually thinking about adding fresh cucumber when cold brewing green teas.

ScottTeaMan

Or real fresh fruit to certain teas as well.

Alphakitty

I’ve tried a few different fruits in teas—cantaloupe and peach seem to work really well, also fresh mint and cucumber. Cucumber has been a real winner, it’s great with white and green cold brews.

ScottTeaMan

thanks Kitty. :))

Hesper June

Mmm, Yummy! How refreshing and summery:)

gmathis

I’ve been trying to come up with creative ways to sneak more veggies into my diet … I’m thinking this might work well!

Alphakitty

Secret veggies! I tend to eat a lot of fruit salsa in the summertime which gets a lot of veggies in—cucumber, tomato and roasted corn, depending on which fruit/s I am going with. I tend to eat a LOT of veggies in summer actually, since produce is so cheap.

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91
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
470 tasting notes

I drink a lot of iced tea every day even in colder months, and my consumption pretty much doubles in the summer. I really can’t afford to ice all the teas I’d like to since the bf and I go through about half of a very large pitcher a day—even some of the cheaper blends I like cold like Bangkok would cost an arm and a leg over the course of a hot NYC summer. So, I need a cost-effective tea to make, preferably one that I take no sugar in so I’m not ingesting a truckload of extra calories. I’ll be honest, I like most of my iced tea sweet, even blends that I wouldn’t sugar hot. To me, nothing screams refreshing like genmaicha, so when I saw a 400g packet of this in one of the asian groceries for $4 I absolutely had to get it. Ends up costing about 7 cents a day (15g per a pitcher cold-brewed), not bad at all! Plus no sugar… I can’t even imagine sugar in a straight genmaicha (though I did put it in the strawberry cheesecake one).

This is SO GOOD. Cool, refreshing, crisp and light from the green tea, earthy and nutty from the rice. I think cold brewing it brings out the green base a lot more, as hot this particular blend ends up being all nutty toastiness (which is nice and all, but I like it better with a bit more balance). Yup, definitely going to be drinking this alllll summer. It’s already 95, not really a great sign of things to come, but with the AC blasting and a glass of this in hand I just might survive.

EDIT: Seems like we actually went through an entire pitcher in a day since I just drank the last glass… seems like our cost will be raised to a whopping 15 cents a day!

CHAroma

That is the least expensive tea I’ve ever seen! $4 for 400g?! Wow!

Alphakitty

It’s so cheap you’d think it would be terrible, but it’s very nice!

Fjellrev

Seriously, if anyone sees this tea, grab it. You won’t regret it.

Lucy

I gots it I gots it!! YAY! So happy. There are at least two stores here that have it so I will be set for life. I just snuck a little taste from the warm-soon-to-be-cold-steep and it was sweet and delicious!

Bonnie

ok I have no idea how to figure the grams…I’m a gram’ma…anyway I did find it online 14oz $6.58 and whatever shipping..Marukai e-store. CHEAP-O

Alphakitty

400 grams is roughly 14 ounces, so you get a LOT. I definitely recommend getting some—I mean, at that price it’s not something you’ll regret!

Bonnie

Lots of places online were sold out.

Lucy

Honestly you should get some! I thought a huge pickle jar could house all the tea from one bag, but boy was I wrong! There is so much tasty tea there for such a good price!

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98
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
1792 tasting notes

It is freaking freezing out there. Only -20°C but -25°C with wind chill, yet it felt even colder. Maybe I’m not used to it? A friend and I met up at a cafe both new to us which required a bus route that had me stand outside a bit, but the real kicker was when I thought I’d walk a few blocks down to a nearby makeup store afterwards seeing that I was in the area, only to discover that it closed early due to weird post-New Year semi-holiday-for-them-still hours. Damnit! That is literally the third time I tried going to an establishment in that area only to discover that something closed early or wasn’t open that day at all.

So, why am I yapping about this? This meant having to be outside even longer trying to walk back to catch a bus, and despite wearing thermal gloves, my fingers were freezing and starting to hurt. Once I got on the bus, the pain got even worse as they were thawing out. Geez. What would happen in -40°C weather? Which I experienced much more often as a kid in the countryside? Once I got home, I felt like a steaming hot cup of tea, something soothing, so I opted for this. It totally hit the spot with that toasty rice and broth-like mouthfeel. Thank you for scaring off the frostbite, genmaicha!

Indigobloom

Ick. I hate the cold. Ever use those handwarmer things that activate when you break the seal? We bought them for skiing and the experience became much more tolerable! Sounds like you really needed this cuppa goodness :)

Fjellrev

I haven’t tried them yet! I can see how they would be a lifesaver when you’re skiing.

Indigobloom

They really are. I won’t go skiing on cold days without them :)

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98
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
1792 tasting notes

Lately I haven’t felt like dessert teas, and I haven’t really had the time to drink all sorts of tea throughout the day. After finishing my whey protein smoothie with DAVIDsTEA’s Ceremonial matcha and some Banana Split added to it, I felt like something hot, so I busted this out after going through all my flavoured teas and not finding anything that caught my fancy.

So roasty toasty and delicious. I appreciate how the base isn’t too vegetal. At $6/400g bag, you can’t go wrong. My Nordic mug is already empty so I guess it’s time to hit the gym again. I burned over 1700 calories on the elliptical yesterday (in two sessions, mind you), so maybe I should dial it back a bit. But let’s see if this pre-workout matcha in the smoothie and genmaicha will affect the workout.

Evol Ving Ness

Way to go! Very impressive.

And yes, sometimes there is just nothing like a genmaicha.

Fjellrev

Thanks! Genmaicha is such a cozy staple.

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98
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
1792 tasting notes

Veronica mentioned popcorn in tea and now I want this. :) Frankly, I actually just want to chug two litres of water, but I’ll have some of this too.

I was bad and bought a copy of Rolling Stone’s special edition Paul McCartney issue. And a whole bunch of chocolate. And went out for a veggie burger at the Scottish pub. I was a bit extravagant today.

So this tea will bring me down to earth. Cheap but oh so fine.

Veronica

Ha! Glad I could help. ;-)

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98
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
1792 tasting notes

After being out of the province for nearly a week, I need some detox. After all that restaurant food, I’m feeling gross. So what better than genmaicha!

By the way, the night before I flew back, my family and I went out to a Japanese restaurant we’ve gone to many times before. When I asked for genmaicha, the waitress had no idea what it even was. :/

We ended up having genmaicha anyway, since that is what she brought out when I asked for “green tea” after the mass confusion. One huge anthroLOLogy moment.

And now I’m enjoying more! You can’t go wrong with this brand. Sooooo cheap and oh so toasty and delicious. Two thumbs up, as always.

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98
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
1792 tasting notes

Now this is my ultimate staple in my household. I’m on my second 400g bag and will keep on going. I originally fell in love with Genmaicha when I’d go out for sushi with friends and family. The wonderfully roasted aroma and taste of the tea was always an added bonus to the meal. Just had to get some for home and found this for dirt cheap.

And hey, despite it being so cheap, it’s freaking good. There is a perfect balance between the rice and tea. I’ve steeped this for several different lengths of time, in different temperatures, etc. Hot, iced, it’s fantabulous. I’m always up for trying samples of Genmaicha from other companies, but ultimately, I will always be satisfied with this one. I’d also say that out of all the Genmaichas that I have tried, this one has delivered the toastiest flavour.

Azzrian

Is it better than Den’s Tea Genmaicha?

Fjellrev

From memory, it’s very close. I just went back and reread my review and apparently Den’s smelled more roasted. I also think Den’s tasted fresher, but granted, the sample must have been much fresher than the first bag of this that I had. Also, if I remember correctly, Den’s tasted slightly greener. Both are nice. It all depends on your preference, just how picky you are, how important über freshness is for you, and how much money you have to spare too!

Azzrian

Hey as long as I have some Genmaicha on hand Im happy :) Thanks for the reply!

Lucy

Where did you get this?! I would love to get a huge bag of Genmaicha like this but I don’t want to order it off the internet. Asian specialty store?

Fjellrev

I got it at a place called T&T Supermarket in Edmonton. Too bad the closest T&T location for you is in Vancouver. But I’m sure you can find it in Chinatown in Victoria? If not, I could always pick up a bag for you before I move next month.

Fjellrev

And apparently, there’s a sushi bar called Sakura that is attached to a Japanese grocery store. I’m sure they’d carry it too.

Lucy

Oh perfect! I will have to look for that when I go to Victoria next! =) There is a store I know that may have it there for sure. I just was unsure how common it was. You’re moving next month?! WHAHOOOOO!

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86
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
92 tasting notes

My family received a 400g bag of this tea (along with a gigantic bottle of honey and a big box of ramen) from our pastor when he decided to retire and leave the God-forsaken town of Nome, Alaska.

Anyway, I’ve had trouble keeping this tea in the bag. The bag itself is really not that sturdy, so I definitely suggest putting the contents into another tin or jar for storage.

The tea itself is really nice — when brewed accordingly to directions, it’s nice and balanced, with a light popcorn/popped rice taste over a warm green tea base. I’ve had Takaokaya’s genmaicha before, and I like this one more. It’s toasty and warm, but there’s no powdery taste. I’m having it with rasmalai and oatmeal, and it sounds weird to pair it with those, but it works.

I like to pull this tea out when it’s cold and snowing and icy and windy, which is the normal Nome weather. It’s like I associate this tea with Nome. …I wish I didn’t do this. Nome is horrible, really. If you can take one thing away from this review, it’s that you should never go to Nome.

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96

This is one of my comfort teas I drink daily. You can equally taste the green tea and the roasted rice. It’s very vegetal, grassy, nutty with hints of roasted seaweed flavor.

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97
drank Genmaicha by Ujinotsuyu
4 tasting notes

Genmaicha is my favorite tea thanks to Collette and Liz introducing me to it 8 years ago. My stepmom brought me back a bag of it. Soothing!

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95

One of my favourite teas.
It have a special body, texture, a strong ricey taste and it’s so diggestive.

It tastes great with brown sugar.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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89

i love this tea! Found it in Japan and haven’t seen in my area except in chilled bottles / cans. As someone noted, it’s pretty grassy.

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98

This tasty tea came all the way from Japan for me. I’m such a sucker for any well-blended matcha and genmaicha tea like the ryokucha from Samovar. This tea is still very fresh, so the genmai is still very “crispy”. <3

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63

Smooth and rich but the taste is flat sadly.
Thank you for the sample Mel!

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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81
drank Sencha by Ujinotsuyu
36 tasting notes

What a wonderful thing to drink while cleaning and listening to Jens Lekman! The bottomless pot.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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81
drank Sencha by Ujinotsuyu
36 tasting notes

I got this tea as a “hand-me-down” from a friend who recently moved to California (I’m in France). I am so happy she gave me it!

This is a really tasty, smooth green tea that lasts forever. I make my little pot and refill and refill and refill… never ending. Perfect for a lazy day.

I really need to go hunting for another bag (no idea where she bought it, maybe in Chinatown…) because I’m almost out!

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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