I recently ordered the green tea sampler for novices from Den’s Tea. I really love that they offer something like this to new customers. It’s only $3 and I got two tea bag samples plus four loose samples plus a booklet. AND they give you a coupon code for $3 off your next order of $15 or more, making the sampler free if you make a purchase later. Fantastic, thanks Den’s!
I’ve been curious about genmaicha for a while now, so this had to be the first one I tried. I actually got both a sachet and a loose sample of this tea, so it’ll be interesting to compare the two. The packet didn’t have brewing instructions and their instructions for genmaicha were tuned for a very small amount of water, so I read through some notes from other people and decided on a two minute steep. The dry sachet smelled mostly of matcha and vegetal green tea and there was quite a bit of matcha dust clinging all over it.
I was amazed by how roasty the brewed tea smelled! It basically smelled like all toasted rice with some of the green tea peeking in from the background. Yum yum! I was so impatient while waiting for this to cool so I could try it! XD I must say, this tea is delicious. It’s an excellent mix of spinachy green tea and asparagus-like matcha with a strong toasted rice flavor in the background, supporting the other flavors. The aftertaste is slightly bitter, but in a pleasant way when combined with the rice. I can’t wait to try all of these other green teas.
(holding off on the rating until I try the loose version!)
Flavors: Asparagus, Bitter, Spinach, Toasted Rice, Vegetal
Preparation
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If you don’t like the bitter tones you might want to try a lower water temperature. I’m not sure if this tea was made with bancha or srncha, but bancha especially turns bitter at higher temps.85°C is about the highest temp I use with green tea, but like everything it’s what ever works for you. Glad you enjoyed your first Genmaicha experience.
I believe it is bancha (assuming it’s the same as the loose) but I actually did like that little bit of bitterness at the end. I used the high temperature because that was what was recommended for genmaicha by Den’s. I think there’s enough loose leaf for more than one cup, so I’ll try a comparison of temperatures. :)
If you don’t like the bitter tones you might want to try a lower water temperature. I’m not sure if this tea was made with bancha or srncha, but bancha especially turns bitter at higher temps.85°C is about the highest temp I use with green tea, but like everything it’s what ever works for you. Glad you enjoyed your first Genmaicha experience.
I believe it is bancha (assuming it’s the same as the loose) but I actually did like that little bit of bitterness at the end. I used the high temperature because that was what was recommended for genmaicha by Den’s. I think there’s enough loose leaf for more than one cup, so I’ll try a comparison of temperatures. :)