If I had to sum up this tea in one word, it would be corn. There’s all sorts of corny aromas and flavors going on here.
The dry leaf smells like matcha popcorn and soybeans. Wet leaf brings out toasted nori.
After a quick first steep of 30s, I got what tasted like warm grass and creamed corn. The corn intensified in the second steep, this time with corn husk and silk notes and accompanied by toasted rice. The flavor smoothens out in the next two steeps and becomes more of a sweet corn on the cob affair.
This was a fun tea to drink. Compared to Chinese and Japanese green teas, there’s less of the vegetal and umami taste you typically encounter. I could see a resemblance to genmaicha in its toasted corn notes. I prefer grassier green teas so I won’t be seeking out this tea in the future, but it’s worth sampling to experience the unique flavor profile of Korean tea.
Flavors: Corn Husk, Popcorn, Toasted Rice
