Over the past year I have had some really mediocre genmaicha's, so I was pleasantly surprised when I recently tried Adagio Teas version of this Japanese classic. The initial sweet and nutty aroma of the dry tea transforms to a roasted rice and popcorn aroma as the tea steeps.

The translucent infusion has a nice light green color. I tend to stay at about a 1.5 minute steep at 185 degrees F. This keeps it light and balanced. The second steep (at about 1 minute) is usually my favorite, with less aroma, and more grassy green tea flavor. Adagio must use a better grade of green than Maeda-en or Yamamotoyama. It tastes like a nice Sencha in the blend rather than the Bancha that is most common.

If you dare to try a third steep, you might find that bitterness starts to creep in, which I find unpleasant, but others kind of like. A very good and reasonable genmaicha that is good on it's own, or pairs well with many foods.

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Comments:

Alex Zorach wrote: on July 20th, 2011

I also found that in Maeda-en's and Yamamotayama's genmaicha, the green tea flavor does not come out as much as I'd like. Both Maeda-en and Yamamotoyama however have several different grades of genmaicha and I have not tried the top grades of either brand, so this may also explain it. Sometimes I wonder if some tea companies market genmaicha as a mild tea to market to people who don't like the flavor of green tea.

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