Genmai Cha

[lysithea]

I am primarily a casual tea drinker, favoring flavored black, fruit tea and chai. I just purchased a triniTEA electric pot by adagio. So, I am experimenting with more types of tea.

I have never been the biggest fan of green tea, but adagio's Genmai Cha intrigued me. There were lots of toasted rice and popcorn in the sample I received.

Using 1 spoon per 8 oz, steeped for 3 minutes yielded a pale yellow-green cup of tea. Nutty flavor is strong in aroma as well as taste. Of course there is the green tea taste as well, very reminiscent of nori seaweed to my nose.

Does anyone have any useful tips for getting the most out of this tea?
I really want to maximize taste out of this blend and any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

[Chip]

Genmaicha is truly best approached casually, IMO. Throw some in a pot, pour water over, wait a minute or two, drink up ... and enjoy.

Other greens are more fussy or require more attention to detail.

Welcome to the forum BTW!

[hpulley]

It isn't popcorn, of course it is popped rice! It is good though

I make it in the cup I'm drinking from so I can eat the rice. The tea that eats like a meal

[chamekke]

Actually, I really enjoy genmaicha, especially as a wind-me-down in the afternoons. It makes a good comfort drink! My current favourite is genmaicha with matcha ("matcha iri genmaicha") from Chado Tea House of Vancouver.

[Anelezel]

I really like this tea too.

The first time I drank it I didn't add any sweetener, and it really wasn't my favorite.

I gave it another go last night, and I added sweetener. It reminded me of a rice crispy treat, I liked it a lot better.

I think this it the tea they serve at the sushi restaurant I go to.

If you haven't sweetened it maybe try that.

[teachaite]

Not at all a fan of genmaicha. Can not stand the smell of it after it is steeped. It is a beautiful looking tea though.

[Odinsfury]

I love the smell, taste, and appearance of this tea but I guess it's not for everyone. I've had people interested in trying genmaicha smell it first and it all but knocks them off their feet.

[Katrina]

I love this tea and would definitely recommend trying it iced (unsweetened). I had it this way for the first time last summer at a tea shop in Maine. It is now one of my favorite iced teas.

[spot52]

I love this tea and would definitely recommend trying it iced (unsweetened). I had it this way for the first time last summer at a tea shop in Maine. It is now one of my favorite iced teas.

I never would have guessed that this tea would be good iced. I will have to try it that way when I get more.

[Chip]

I love this tea and would definitely recommend trying it iced (unsweetened). I had it this way for the first time last summer at a tea shop in Maine. It is now one of my favorite iced teas.

I never would have guessed that this tea would be good iced. I will have to try it that way when I get more.

I was drinking some this morning (homemade actually w/o the cha) and was thinking I really need to try this cold. It even tastes very good if it cools before I drink it.

Which genamicha did you try Teachaite?

[raveme]

my father brought me some matcha iri genmaicha from japan... but i can't say i'm too impressed. it confuses my senses with it's food-ish smell and taste. but my brother and some friends are crazy about it.

[ErikaM]

I love genmaicha. One of its best qualities is that it's pretty forgiving about brewing. I think I've tried anywhere from 1-3 minutes and rarely use a thermometer with it and it turns out fine no matter what. A fun experiment is to toss it with a little (just a little... trust me, I learned the hard way) matcha before brewing.

I had a sample recently from Sugimoto that was very delicate in flavor... more like a sencha with a hint of rice. So if you don't like genmaicha, maybe one of the lighter blends would work.

I have yet to try houji-genmaicha. Has anyone tried it, and if so, is it something you'd recommend?

[Sydney]

I've made genmai with temps ranging from around 160° F to boiling, usually for a minute or two, and it's just hard to screw up.

Genmai with matcha (I like the one I've tried from O-Cha best.) is my best suggestion for people who find they just don't quite get into normal genmai.

[Michael_C]

Yeah, whenever Yuki makes this it's just a pinch in the pot, hot water, done in a few. Nothing measured or timed, 'just add water' so to speak.

We have a little thermos we carry our genmai-cha in (it doubles for mugicha in the summer). I remember going to a Nicks game, sitting outside the stadium afterwords eating a hot dog and drinking genmai-cha. Great combination.

[kymidwife]

If you try genmai without the cha... or mugicha... or a multi-grain brew like Chip and I both home-roast... it is fabulous as a cold drink. I put some hot water over the grains to start the brew, and after it cools, I top up the carafe with cold water and refrigerate. I don't remove the grains. After it sits overnight, it's a fantastic, naturally sweet cold drink, really good over ice. And, the grain has so much staying power... each time I pour a glass, I refill the carafe to the top with fresh water. I've gotten several days of use out of one batch of grain, with no noticeable loss in strength of flavor. Everyone who likes genmaicha or roasty flavors should try some home-roast with barley/rice/etc.

Sarah