Tea type
Green Tea
Ingredients
Green Tea, Popped Rice
Flavors
Grass, Popcorn, Rice, Vegetables, Toasted Rice, Vegetal, Butter, Green, Nutty, Roasted, Toasty, Chestnut, Hay, Mineral, Seaweed, Soybean, Spinach, Straw, Chicken Soup, Nuts, Salt, Sweet, Autumn Leaf Pile
Sold in
Bulk, Loose Leaf, Sachet
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Harney & Sons The Store
Average preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec 10 oz / 310 ml

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34 Tasting Notes View all

From Harney & Sons

A different sort of Japanese tea that many find intriguing. While the green leaves are being dried, rice kernels are added. The kernels get crispy and some burst open. The genmaicha has a unique appearance and a pleasant roasted flavor. GenMaiCha is a creative use of Bancha tea and an eloquent unification of the two crops central to Japanese culture: tea and rice. The light-bodied roasted tea is a blend of genmai, or unpolished brown rice, and cha, or Bancha tea. For centuries, the two commodities have been staples of the Japanese diet. In the 1920s, a clever Kyoto tea merchant combined the two to make this blend. Once considered a cheap peasant beverage, Genmaicha has recently come into vogue among Japanese urban elite and in the United States as a health drink.

The tea comes in many grades and styles, but always consists of Bancha and roasted rice. The roasted flavors of the two components complement each other: the lemony Bancha helps sweeten the rice, and the nutty rice helps mellow out the often grassy tea.

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About Harney & Sons View company

Since 1983 Harney & Sons has been the source for fine teas. We travel the globe to find the best teas and accept only the exceptional. We put our years of experience to work to bring you the best Single-Estate teas, and blends beyond compare.

34 Tasting Notes

82
40 tasting notes

I really enjoy this tea however I agree with some of the other postings about how the additives (popcorn/rice) almost overpowers the green leafs. I would purchase this at a cafe hands down but if I was going to purchase bulk I would probably look for another brand that has a stronger green tea flavor.

Flavors: Popcorn, Toasted Rice

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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74
15695 tasting notes

Sipdown (130)!

Thank you Cameron B. for sending me a pretty generous sample of this one! Another Genmaicha crossed off in the quest to try them all, and I have enough left to send some to VariaTEA – it appears she hasn’t had this one before (or at least hasn’t reviewed it, if she has)!

I thought this was a little more green than toasty – and the first few sips had a faint bitter edge to them, but on the whole this was definitely enjoyable and a nice way to kick start the day (it may be afternoon technically, but I just woke up about an hour ago).

Does anyone here watch Big Brother AUS? I’m guessing not. Their season just started though, and I think I’m going to watch it. I’ve never seen an Australian season of the show, though I’ve watched every American and Canadian season, and a couple UK ones. It looks like it’ll be interesting though.

Also, last night/this morning at about 3AM the perfect URL for my teablog on Tumblr just magically popped into my mind. I haven’t updated in ages, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have a URL I really, really love. So goodbye “Looseleafy”; my new URL is “Kissmyassam” which is just so much better and indicative of my personality.

TeaBrat

I like the new name!

Shadowfall

Love the name. I’ll have to follow you, though it’ll be on my main name and not on my tea/food name….or at least I don’t think I can follow you just with my tea blog….I’ll have to check. XD

Tealizzy

LOL! Great name!

OMGsrsly

That is an AWESOME name!

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75
737 tasting notes

This I might have oversteeped this by a few minutes, because it tasted a little like burnt popcorn. :P But it was still good!
I have decided that the best genmaicha I have tried so far is Verdant’s. Since it’s back in stock again, I ordered a few ounces of that one since I’m nearly out.
And I’ve decided I probably should sip down all these other genmaichas that I have still. Think I’ll just keep Verdant’s Genmaichasince it’s creamy and just amazing.
And will probably keep the one from DavidsTea, since it taste a lot more like popcorn than anything else!
Those two are kinda opposite to each other.
So Now must sip down the others!

Flavors: Green, Popcorn, Sweet

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73
3986 tasting notes

I’ve been neglecting my H&S samples a little bit because I keep getting more and more teas in the mail. :P But I was in the mood for a genmaicha so I thought I’d give this one a try! Dry leaf is a mixture of broken-up leaves and a decent amount of toasted rice. There aren’t any popped kernels in my sample. Smells like grass with a little bit of sweetness.

Mmm I love the smell of genmaicha – it promises so much toasty rice flavor! However, this one didn’t deliver well on that. The tea is quite grassy and tastes like dried leaves. I would describe it as rough-tasting. The toasted rice is more of a background note and an aftertaste, which makes me sad because that’s my favorite part! Okay, but not something I would purchase.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Grass, Toasted Rice

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Tamarindel

I was wondering about that one. So glad H&S sells those little samples.

Cameron B.

Definitely. I bought a bunch of samples when they had their free shipping promotion. :)

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77
124 tasting notes

This is an excellent tea! I’ve recently discovered that I like toasted rice tea, although the only other genmaicha I’ve tried is Teavana’s. At this point I can’t really tell a difference between Teavana’s and this one by Harney & Sons. They’re both excellent. I was also able to get three steeps out of these leaves, and all three tasted excellent. I’m very happy with this tea.

(Tea from silentrequiem. Thanks!)

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1 tasting notes

Quite yummy and a great complement to sushi/sashimi.

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8
54 tasting notes

Another green I wasn’t fond of. SHOCKER. The popcorn was a weird surprise, though!

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68
6 tasting notes

Overall, a nice Genmaicha.

This blend provides a good balance of vegetaliness from the bancha and toastiness from the roasted brown rice.

A nice daily drinker, the flavors are present, however, they are as deep or as exciting as they are with other Genmaicha variations, particularly those that use Sencha.

Pairs well with sushi!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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95
54 tasting notes

I am a big fan of this brand, but I must say even though this is a very delicious tea, it is not as fresh tasting as Den’s Tea and I just received it today and opened it today; it could be from the nitrogen that the vaccuum sealed, resealable pouch it comes in. It is a good tea.

See my review on Den’s Tea, I am basically reiterating the same review here.

The freshness issue may be reconcilable, don’t really let it keep you from purchasing because it is a good value, 50ct. gourmet sachets for 20 bucks. The freshness is the only reason why I didn’t rate this tea a 100% score.

This is a must buy tea and comes highly recommended for trying something tasty and venturing into something new.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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75
168 tasting notes

Nice and roasty, that’s how we like it.

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