This tea was not for me at all. I have tried several Genmaicha blends from various brands, and this was the only one that tasted overly vegetal and bitter to me. Every sip had a bitter aftertaste, even though I brewed it cooler than instructed by 5 degrees, and stayed within the steeping time recommended range.
I tried it both when it was hot and as it cooled near room temperature to see if I would like it then, but it had a bitter taste to every one of my sips.
I got a sample to try because I was looking forward to the toasty-grain flavor that rice has in these blends. I don’t care for most green teas, so I thought this would be a way to dramatically change so flavor notes to my liking. This one had an almost seaweed-like umami flavor moreso than the roasted/toasted flavor of the rice. If you like strong vegetal green teas, maybe this will be for you.
It’s not for me at all. Tastes almost like plain green teas I’ve had before (bitter and vegetal), even though this was whole leaf and organic and had the toasted rice ingredient.
The quality seems good and the customer service and shipping are always good from this company. This was the only tea I’ve disliked so strongly, but I like or love the others I’ve tried. If you’re nervous about green tea taste like me, try their Medicine Ball blend instead: the green tea taste is smooth and subtle, with no astringency or bitterness.
