Gyokuro Genmaicha Green Tea

I used my Starbucks reward to get an ounce of this tea. Usually, I go for biggest bang for my buck (aka reward), but I have just run out of all genmaicha in my stash, which is unacceptable to me. So I went for this tea as a filler until I can order more genmaicha. Anyway, I first wanted to comment on how little tea there is in comparison to the rice. In my ounce, I feel like it’s 90% rice, 10% green tea. Perhaps it is just the way that the girl helping me was scooping it from the tin?

Because of the little tea to rice ratio, I used a heaping tablespoon in my teapot (enough for 3 mugs of tea). It did have quite a tasty rice flavor, but I wasn’t quite happy with the green tea base. Not only was there not enough of it, but the flavor itself was very murky compared to the clean flavors that I have come to expect of Japanese green teas. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a terrible tea, but I think I’ve just had so many other better genmaichas that I felt picky about it.

There are times when I just need a break from floral and fruity oolongs. Sometimes I just need something savory, and genmaicha will always be my go to. This may be the best genmaicha I have tried so far. Granted, the only other kinds I have tried were from teabags. Today I had it with a dusting of some of my matcha I got as a sample from Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company. I brewed it western style in my French press. For some reason though, after I infused the hot tea for my thermos, The gyokuro wanted me to do more. I decided to pour 12 oz of ice cold filtered water over it to let it steep while I was at work. The leaves were calling to me I guess. They sure weren’t finished with me yet. I am quite glad that I did too. The iced green tea I came home to was clear and bright, perhaps better than the hot version I drank earlier that day. But something was still nagging at me. I knew the leaves still had one last trick up its sleeve. I had some rice in my Zojirushi keeping warm that begged to be eaten. I tossed the leaves on top and ate it along with a fried egg. Delicious!
I suppose where I was going with the story is because Teavanna uses a really nice base for this tea, it made it possible for me to have a sort of a giving tree experience with it. Gyokuro is a kind, high quality force to be reckoned with. I liked spending the day with this tea, in its many forms. A fun change from all the Taiwanese oolongs I’ve been obsessed with as of late!

Gyokuro Genmaicha…
I was terrified of this tea to begin with… I not particularly big on Green Tea as a Whole, besides a few exceptions. This did catch me quite off guard. Its so… Baked Goods-ish. I really wasn’t expecting this. The brown rice add a nice “down home” feel to the flavor of this tea. I did feel like i wanted to eat it though… which is odd.

Like 100% I steeped this wrong. I boiled the water at 190 instead of 170, then steeped it for a minute and a half. It would be a good genmaicha if it weren’t for the burnt flavor in the back of my mouth when I drink this…I need to redo this I think. xD So I won’t rate it or anything xD

Not a bad Genmaicha, but it just seemed to lack a true clear flavour to make it distinctive and savoury….detected a slight metallic taste.

Finally found my way to the local Teavana store. It’s in a mall renowned for its complicated geography and massive crowds. I got lucky with a parking space, too!

Anyway – I went in with this tea as my specific goal. Like others, I thought it was odd to use a high-quality green in this mix, but oh, my this is wonderful! Definitely will be getting more. There is a pronounced salty, buttery quality to the flavor. Not even a hint of bitterness. I haven’t had good luck with second steepings of genmaicha in the past, but I’m going to try it with this one.

Lovely tea! Pleasantly sweet, very smooth. A very soft nori taste – gentle enough that I actually like it. I can taste the rice at the end of each sip, but it’s only mildly toasty. I wouldn’t say this is complex, exactly, but there’s a lot of depth. No unpleasant flavours that I can detect, even the aftertaste is very nice. My opinions on other Teavana teas have ranged from “pretty good” to “get it away from me”- this, however, is gold.

I always order this as a hot cup to-go when I am near a Teavana. I seriously dream about this tea. The smell, the taste… It’s bliss. I enjoy that there are no “popcorn” pieces and that they use gyokuro instead of sencha. That is what makes this tea magic, I think. I dislike the cost, but honestly, it’s worth it.

I tend to forget about this tea in my collection, but as soon as I open up that tin and give it a whiff I remember why I fell in love with it. It tastes creamy, nutty, and oh so scrumptious with a little sugar. However, the price is a wee bit much for something that is well, stretched. But nevertheless, this is a great tea which makes me want to buy it. Warning I’m about to go a little bit on a Teavana rant. I’m not happy with the whole minimum amount to purchase at Teavana, in having to drop 10 bucks just for 1 tea when at other local shops I can let’s say get 25 grams of a tea I know and love, then get maybe 10 of something here 10 there. Especially the whole GET A TIN routine they have why the heck would I get a 7.50 tin when I can get another tea for that price in a bag, especially when their competitors have tins for 2.50 and well let’s be serious I keep most of my tea in dollarama tins which look just as cute and keep my tea fresh perfectly.Don’t even get me started when I asked for 50 grams and I got 78 without even asking if that’s okay, ARE YOU SERIOUS. What keeps me going back, very seldomly I add, is basically this favourite which says something about how great this tea is.

I’m not always in the mood for this, and sometimes forget I have it, but it’s such a nice light tea.

Normally I’ll make a small Yixing pot of this and let it sit for a little while after it’s steeped. I am a sweet tea drinker by nature, but I will only add honey to this on occasion. The Gyokuro doesn’t quite lend to a sweet tea taste.