Japan Genmaicha

Genmaicha (玄米茶) is a Japanese green tea mixed with roasted brown rice, which gives it a wonderfully warm, nutty and full-bodied aroma. In old Japan, tea was a precious commodity reserved for the rich and powerful. To make it more affordable, ordinary people mixed their tea with roasted rice – this made it cheaper and gave it a very special taste. Today, tea is affordable for nearly everyone, but genmaicha has kept its place as a specialty in the hearts of tea drinkers.

Taste

The taste of Japan Genmaicha is distinctive and exciting. The juicy sencha forms a fresh, bright tea base. The roasted rice gives the tea a nutty, toasty aroma and a slightly sweet taste that faintly recalls puffed rice. This tea isn't for everyone – but if you're looking for a special green tea specialty, you've come to the right place.

Origin

Japan Genmaicha comes from a tea garden in the Kagoshima region on the Japanese island of Kyushu. Besides this genmaicha, our sencha and matcha are also made there.

• Origin: Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japan
• Cultivar: special blend of different cultivars
• Steaming: Asamushi (あさむし), 20–30 seconds
• Shading: 10 days
• Caffeine: low

Preparation

For Japan Genmaicha, it's best to steep 6 g of tea in 500 ml of water at 70 °C for 2 minutes.

You can also easily prepare genmaicha in a kyusu, an original Japanese side-handle teapot. For this, steep 4 g of tea in 100 ml of water at 60 °C for 2 minutes. Multiple infusions are explicitly encouraged.

Discover more

How Japanese green tea is made is explained in our blog article Green tea: production in Japan (in German). Love roasty aromas? Then also try our Japan Hojicha or the mild Japan Bancha.