Watching Toradora! (とらドラ!?) Anime got me in the mood for some Japanese tea.
I open the little sample and am met with a bright green tea with a fair amount of toasted rice, it is a Genmaicha after all! What is more interesting is that the Matcha lightly coats it all which brings out the green colour more than usual. The Sencha is rather fine which also blends well. It has a sweet, creamy and grassy tone. Rather delicious!
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Once steeped it’s bright green and smells creamy and toasted with some sweetness. Softer than the raw scent though still as delicious!
Flavour is slightly astringent with some umami and grass tones, followed with a creamy and light toasted after taste. It’s thick but at a nice balance of flavours. It doesn’t taste at all like a Genmaicha other than the gentle toasted element, otherwise the Matcha is dominant and takes centre stage of this blend. Either way it works very well together.
As it cools the sweet and creamy tones come through stronger and the umami softens.
2nd Steep
This tastes a lot more like Genmaicha. The toasted rice and cream are equal but the astringency and umami have toned down considerably, also the grass tones come through more with added floral, bread and biscuit notes. Much softer and a more pleasant steep than the first, though saying that I did enjoy the first steep too.
This was an interesting blend, the Matcha was dominant in the first steep but the Genmaicha dominated thereafter, it was like getting the best of both worlds in one yunomi cup. Interesting enough for me to add it to my wishlist for more. Plus the power of both has given me a wonderful green tea head rush!
Kon’nichiwa watashinonamaeha Kayleigh to watashi wa onaji kurai watashi wa ocha o aisuru yō ni anime ga daisukidesu.
Flavors: Grass, Sweet, Toasty, Umami
