The dry leaf smells like a thousand tons of strawberry candy. It’s a little bit like Lupicia’s strawberry flavouring, if memory serves me correctly. They were quite generous with the rice, and this also smells quite roasty, so I’m anticipating a super roasty genmaicha.
I’m not entirely sure why, despite letting the water cool substantially, the liquor is quite a dark, nearly mossy green, and as a result, it’s on the bitter side. Must be the base. I didn’t overleaf either considering I used the sample packet for a gigantic two-cup mug. I also only steeped it for under two minutes. Huh.
The strawberry flavouring is lovely but is buried by the bitter green base. The roastiness doesn’t translate as well in the flavouring, either. I wouldn’t buy more but hats off to them for offering a flavoured genmaicha. Those are always fun to try!
Bitter green base—-boo!