Genmaicha, the Japanese green tea with toasted rice
What is genmaicha tea | History of genmaicha tea | Making Genmaicha Tea | Where to Buy Genmaicha Tea
Genmaicha tea adds a twist to classic Japanese green teas with a fresh grassy flavor. This tea made from toasted rice has a nutty flavor, creating a unique experience you won't find with other green teas . Learn more about this unique tea in this post:
What is genmaicha tea?
Genmaicha tea is a Japanese green tea made from toasted rice , with some of the rice grains puffing up and popping like popcorn. For this reason, this tea is also known as popcorn tea , although it's actually rice.
Genmaicha tea is also called "people's tea" because roasted rice was used as a filler to lower the cost of tea and thus make it more affordable for the general public.
The word genmaicha means "brown rice tea," although genmaicha tea doesn't have to be made solely from rice. It sometimes contains other ingredients, such as matcha tea or black soybeans.
Flavor
Another aspect that differentiates genmaicha from other Japanese teas is that it's made by roasting (the same method as Chinese green teas) instead of steaming. This makes it a fuller-bodied tea with toasted notes reminiscent of nuts. Genmaicha tea is less bitter than other green teas, as the toasted rice balances the flavor.
Genmaicha tea can be served either hot or cold, and always leaves a refreshing aftertaste when drinking it.
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History of Genmaicha Tea
As with most Japanese teas, the history of genmaicha tea is full of legends.
One of the legends is a bit macabre. It tells of a 15th-century servant named Genmai who was preparing tea for a samurai when he accidentally spilled rice in the cup. The samurai, outraged, cut off the servant's head with his sword. After a few minutes, the samurai sat down and drank the tea. Discovering that the rice had improved the tea's flavor, he named the mixture Genmai cha to honor the servant.
Another, milder legend links genmaicha to poverty at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, tea was prohibitively expensive for Japan's poorest population. To continue enjoying their favorite beverage, villagers began adding roasted rice (much cheaper) to the green tea leaves.
We don't know exactly how genmaicha tea came to be, but today it is one of the most well-known and appreciated Japanese teas in the rest of the world.
Making genmaicha tea
Like all other teas— white tea , black tea ,blue tea (oolong tea), and red tea (pu-erh tea)—genmaicha is produced from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Most genmaicha is made from bancha and sencha green tea leaves, blended with Japanese uruchimai rice.
Sencha tea leaves are typically harvested in early summer. They are gently plucked from the plant by hand and left to dry directly in the sun to remove moisture. When dry, they are mixed with rice in a large wok and toasted .
The rice is first soaked in water and steamed, then dried with hot air.
The wok infuses the leaves and rice with the typical toasted flavor of genmaicha, while preventing the tea leaves from oxidizing.
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Where to buy genmaicha tea
You can find genmaicha green tea at specialty tea shops. At Replantea , you can buy 100% organic Miyazaki genmaicha tea . It is named after the region where it is produced, on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan.
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