This tea is not overly ricey (is that a word??). The sweetness of the bancha comes through as such a delicious aftertaste; it makes me want to compare this bancha to others and see if it really is a superior one (it tastes like it at least!).
I tried an experiment in the last week – I took about 2 TBS of this an put it in a dry pot, and roasted it over medium high heat for about 3 minutes. I did it a little too long, as some of it burned (it is such a difficult balance, because it goes from green to roasted to burnt VERY fast). It wasn’t too bad, though not as good as other houjichas I’ve bought.
I’d like to try it again but take it off the fire sooner. Freshly made houjicha (or in this case houji-genmaicha) sounds like it would be amazing.
Yes ricey is a word. Your only other options would be riceish and riceeque and they sound dumb lol.