Green tea - Genmaïcha 玄米茶

Green tea Genmaïcha: the tea of all surprises

As a tea lover, you have certainly tasted many varieties of green teas with various flavors.

What I am offering you today is totally unique and incomparable with the flavors you already know. Genmaicha green tea is a traditional Japanese tea full of surprises. It is composed of green bancha tea and roasted and puffed rice grains.

Bancha is simply the second most drunk tea in Japan after sencha. Its low content in theine (or caffeine since it is the same molecule) makes it a tea that can be enjoyed at any time of the day, even in the evening for the most sensitive. It will not prevent you from sleeping and will offer you a moment full of charm after the meal.

What are the flavors of Genmaicha green tea?

The flavors of Genmaicha green tea are surprising, to say the least, and evolve with the tasting. The sweetness of the bancha tea is counterbalanced by notes of caramel and hazelnut and the presence of those puffed rice grains. We feel at times slightly spicy notes. This green tea genmaicha is totally inimitable, we would recognize it between thousand.

This tea has a very greedy aspect, round in mouth, we have almost the impression to drink and to eat at the same time.

Green tea Genmaïcha: from the plantation to the cup

Bancha tea is made from leaves harvested from the same tea tree as sencha. How is this possible? Quite simply it is a late harvest, as is the case with some harvests. The harvest of green tea bancha occurs in the fall.

This tea is made of large old leaves that are first steamed according to the Japanese method for 30 seconds at 100 °. This stops the oxidation process, only black tea is an oxidized tea. When the leaves have gained flexibility, they are rolled to obtain this fine and long shape. As green bancha tea is a late tea, the rolling must be done immediately after roasting to facilitate this operation. Older tea leaves contain less water and are therefore less malleable.

When the tea leaves are rolled, they are dried. This step is quick and lasts only a few minutes. The leaves are placed on racks in a dryer where hot air circulates. They lose almost all their moisture, the desired rate is around 5 to 6%.

Food and tea: David Vanille's pairings

The taste of toasted rice is retained throughout the tasting, which simply makes you want to eat it in the morning with a bowl of cereal for a delicious return to childhood.

For an ode to Japan, Genmaïcha green tea can be consumed during a sushi meal, its roasted and vegetal notes perfectly match with fish, nori seaweed and, of course, rice.

Advice for preparing and tasting your Genmaïcha green tea

100g = 50 cups of this exceptional tea

Composition: Bancha tea from Japan, roasted or puffed rice.
Infusion time: 3 minutes to 3 minutes 45.
Infusion temperature: 90°c