Funny that this is the Gen Mai Cha that “started it all” for me. A box of this was in the break room at work instead of the regular CS green tea. Now I taste it and wonder what I was so turned on by the last time I had it. I am coming back to it after tasting some other Gen Mai Chas.
I tasted this steeped 3 min at 165F. The color is a like the smily face in the rating bar below, a nice yellow green. The aroma is nutty, and toastier than other bagged Gen Mai Chas I have tasted recently. The nuttiness carried through to the flavor. I would like the tea and toasted rice flavors to both be stronger. No astringency. Smooth (but muted, in my opinion) flavors. Very mild bitterness.
This is one I should probably just leave in the mug instead of steeping only 3 minutes. I’m mild about this tea.