Ten Ren Tea Organic Genmaicha Tea Review

Ten Ren Tea's Organic Genmaicha tea is a fantastic tea. The genmaicha tea combines green sencha tea with roasted brown rice. The tea brews to a pale yellow color, and has a prominent roasted rice aroma. The tea leaves are slender and mostly broken in some way, with a few stems included. The flavor is very smooth with no bitterness at all. The flavor is prominent with roasted rice, with a light green tea flavor in the background. The tea is excellent by itself or with food, particularly East Asian food (I prefer to drink the tea while eating). The tea was good for two steepings. Some people may not appreciate the roasted rice flavor being more prominent than the green tea flavor, but I love it. Keep in mind that this is not a fancy and expensive tea with a host of complex flavors, but it's more akin to simple Asian comfort food.

Rating: **** ½

Here's an excerpt from Ten Ren's website.

Ten Ren's Organic Genmaicha tea is comprised of organic sencha green tea blended with organic roasted brown rice. A third party European agency has certified that this tea has been grown with organic farming methods with no chemical pesticides used in cultivation. The steeped tea has a light yellow hue with a roasted rice aroma and fresh undertones. The taste is pleasantly smooth with a hint of roasted rice and a mild aftertaste. This tea is often consumed in Japan and Japanese restaurants with green tea powder added. Genmaicha may be enjoyed hot or chilled, with or without green tea powder added.

The water used to steep this tea should be about 160-180°F or 70-80°C. Use about 1.5 teaspoons (3 grams) of tea leaves for about every 5 ounces (150 ml) of water. A steeping time of about 3-5 minutes is recommended with more or less time depending on the desired concentration. As a rough guide, the higher the temperature of the water or the greater the amount of leaves used, the shorter the steeping time should be. The use of a covered glass or ceramic cup is recommended for steeping in order to appreciate the tea leaves.