Jade Mountain

Adventaggedon Day 17: Tea 2/8

The name of this tea feels wildly out of place for what it actually tastes like. I mean it sounds like it should just be a straight green tea or, at the very least, a green tea with a more natural vibe. Instead, this is a very sweet and nutty genmaicha variant blend. With that said, I really enjoyed the medium bodied hazelnut creme/praline and toasty roasted rice flavours of this tea! It wasn’t too sweet, which was good because so many of my teas today were very rich – but the flavours were clear and delicious despite such a strange and ill fitting name.

i do believe this is the oldest tea in my current cupboard, and I finally opened it today. The T2 retail shop I bought it from is long gone, sadly, and I remember getting it on impulse. You know how it goes, they always have a couple of teas brewing for tasting when you’re in the store and somehow you end up buying. Sneaky devils!
I admit I had below low expectations. Although unopened and still sealed, this tea’s been languishing in the back of my tea shelf (technically two shelves at this point) for years. Essentially, it’s a genmaicha with chocolate flavor. Sounds rather disgusting at first glance, but it works – I really like it. The genmaicha is very faded at this point, so I’m not getting a ton of nuttiness, but the chocolate is very cocoa-y and really pleasant. Imagine if I had opened this up years ago – probably would have been excellent. So weird, but really good.

Advent day 1

I’m drinking this on day two because yesterday was such an unexpected long day away from my kettle that I couldn’t caffeine by the time I got home. I’m super excited for a flavored genmaicha! It seems like it is a tea that is often overlooked in the world of flavoring tea. The cocoa/brittle part makes me think of Nina’s Japon, but this has a lighter flavor and nutty finish that makes me think peanut until I read that it’s supposed to be hazelnut. I can see that now. It’s not bursting with flavor, which is how I prefer my teas, but it has enough to be interesting.

Slightly disappointing… I had high expectations after reading the reviews on the T2 website.
People describe it as life-changing, Ferrero rocher (say what? definitely not) creamy goodness. Well, I’m not a massive fan.
Usually love green teas, love Genmaicha but this one is an odd egg in the basket. I don’t like the cocoa flavour in it and the smokiness, somehow it just tastes artificial.
Won’t be going back to this flavour, regular Genmaicha is definitely more my cup of tea!

Another Sampler Sipdown

This one was surprisingly very good amidst all the meh teas that came as a part of the sampler. The dry leaves smell like a pancake breakfast. The tea itself is very nutty and the taste like toffee or candied pecans. It was delicious and sweet. It would make a great dessert tea. I was surprised by how much the sweetness did not overpower the tea.

A lovely popcorny genmaicha, the chocolate/cocoa is very subtle and almost unnoticeable. If you like T2 Singapore Breakfast you’ll probably like this too.

This one definitely needs to be brewed at a lower temperature, or it’s just nasty. Brewed correctly, it only has a mild genmaicha taste that is well balanced with the green tea and the sweeter nutty flavors. I didn’t realize it was a genmaicha tea when I bought it, or I probably wouldn’t have done so as I don’t tend to care for them. However, I like it now that I have it. It does have a strong genmaicha scent, which I don’t personally care for.

Luckily this was free. Hated it because it was bitter and only tasted and smelt like 100% green tea. I ain’t tasting no ferrero or chocolate or anything remotely hazelnut. A bit of a let down when I saw many reviews about how chocolatey this is.

Still hate green tea with every bit of my soul.

The tea mostly has a popcorn scent, which is due to the use of Genmaicha as its base. I would prefer a stronger hazelnut chocolate flavor which was, unfortunately, masked by the popcorn scent. Maybe normal green tea as its base would do the trick. Then again, its just my preference.

One of my favourite green teas. Deliciously sweet and satisfying. I would recommend to brew for the full 3 minutes at 80C.