Looking for best tasting Genmaicha

[Jade Flower]

Hi everyone,

I desperately need your advice on where to find the best tasting Genmaicha.
I ordered some at Teavana recently (I usually buy the majority of flavoured greens there and they are just perfect to my taste) but unfortunately it isn't what I was looking for... I expected rich nutty flavor, very instense and Teavana's Genmaicha is pretty mild and more grassy than I would like...
Any suggestion where I can order my perfect cup of Genmaicha?


P.S. Sorry, I didn't introduce myself in "Introduction to TeaChat", I just don't know what to say...

[Chip]

Tevana's might be made with green ban cha giving it a more grassy taste. One made with houji cha will taste more toasty and nutty. This is one from Den's that is made this way.

Den's Houji Genmaicha

Welcome to the forum, and hope you stick around and have many cups of tea with us.

[Mary R]

Heh, don't feel too bad about not posting in the welcome forum first. Heck, I never know how to reply to those threads without sounding like a broken record, so I certainly don't begrudge you that!

In addition to a more toasted tea base, I've found that genmaichas made with more rice are more nutty and toasty tasting. Freshness also seems to count with this one too...the more fresh the tea, the more vegetal the taste. Maybe that's why some people make their own genmaicha with the greens they've let go stale.

[Jade Flower]

Thanks, Chip, I'll give it a try, sounds like the right tea for me.

In addition to a more toasted tea base, I've found that genmaichas made with more rice are more nutty and toasty tasting. Freshness also seems to count with this one too...the more fresh the tea, the more vegetal the taste. Maybe that's why some people make their own genmaicha with the greens they've let go stale.

Really?
Didn't know that...
Maybe that's the reason I didn't like Teavana's Genmaicha, it looks and tastes extremely fresh despite the large amount of rice in it.

[Wesli]

Welcome to the forums, Jade Flower!

[karia]

have you tried the genmai cha old here?

it is one of my favorite teas.

[Jade Flower]

OK, I'm back to this tread with some results
I can be very persistent if I need something badly so I ordered Genmaicha samples from five tea companies to find out which one is the best to my taste.
Once again, I was looking for very intense roasted flavor and aroma without grassy taste.

1st place goes to Den's Genmaicha Satsuki, definetely the winner, just exactly what I was looking for. Highly aromatic tea with rich taste and slightly sweet aftertaste, just perfect.

2nd place - Upton's Genmaicha Kamakura (organic), less aromatic but very good overall. Looks like I will order it as well for a change of pace.

3d place - SpecialTea's Genmaicha, it contains both Bancha ans Sencha, is extremely fragrant but lacks the roast intensity. Very interesting tea.

4th place - Upton's Genmaicha, similar to Genmaicha Kamakura but rice was overroasted, almost burned. Mayby it was just a bad sample.

5th place - Teavana's Genmaicha, very good quality tea but too grassy to my liking.

6th place - Adagio's Genmaicha (sorry, Adagio) didn't have any roasted flavor whatever, tasted more like plain Kukicha.

I hope this short report will be useful to other Genmaicha lovers, please feel free to comment.

P.S. I also discovered the secret of steeping, Genmaicha tastes better if water temperature is about 190-195F, I use 1 heaping measuring spoon of tea for 10-12 oz of water and steep for 2 minutes.

[Sam.]

Great review! I'll probably be making my first Den's order sometime soon and definitely wanted to get one of their genmaichas. Do you think the Extra Green would be a good choice as well. I think it's the same as the Satsuki, just with some added matcha.

[Mary R]

Oh excellent! Comparative reviews are among my favorites, and this one just takes the cake!

Den's is certainly receiving a lot of praise on the boards these days...I might just have to check 'em out.

I'm also going to agree with the 190º temp. I noticed that genmaicha was one of the few greens that actually tasted good when brewed in the Zarafina machine. In fact, I often thought it tasted a little better than when I brewed it myself. I recently bothered to see what temps the Zarafina steeps at, and 190º is just about what their strong green setting is.

[Jade Flower]

Great review! I'll probably be making my first Den's order sometime soon and definitely wanted to get one of their genmaichas. Do you think the Extra Green would be a good choice as well. I think it's the same as the Satsuki, just with some added matcha.

I think so too but to be honest I haven't tried matcha yet so I've no idea what this mix might taste like
Please let us know if you like it or not, maybe I'll buy some too with my next order of Genmaicha.

[Chip]

Good work Jade Flower.

As far as matcha blended in with your genmaicha, while I prefer it, you may not since you say you want more nutty and less veggie or grassy.

But I even blend matcha with lower end senchas and kukicha for a fresher greener taste.

[Salsero]

Kudos, Jade Flower! Great, succinct reviews. Thanks for taking the time to share.

[rainbow]

I'm a big Genmaicha fan. I've recently gone through my sample from Upton (the one that came up #4 for you) and mine was good. I didn't find it overly roasted, but I like a strong roasted flavor, so that may just be down to personal taste. I've recently purchased some from our local tea store. ( meant to post the URL but totally screwed it up) I'll have to try brewing this one up soon.

I'm intending to try Upton's Genmaicha Kamakura with my next order, and I'm definitely marking down Den's as a must-try.