★★★★★
Love this tea. Light, but with a slightly roasted kind of flavor. A favorite of mine for fall when it starts to cool off outside and the slightly nutty flavor blends well with the other flavors of the season.
Classic Japanese green tea, blended with toasted, popped rice. Warm, nutty with a lovely savory and hearty quality.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Genmai Cha, including flavor, aroma, preparation preferences, strength, and how the tea fits into daily routines. Browse the full review history page by page to compare tasting notes, steeping tips, and favorite ways to enjoy this tea.
Love this tea. Light, but with a slightly roasted kind of flavor. A favorite of mine for fall when it starts to cool off outside and the slightly nutty flavor blends well with the other flavors of the season.
This is one of my favorite teas. The toasted rice adds a really unique flavor.
I love the smell of this tea. It smells like warm toasted rice with hints of toasted seaweed, enough to make my mouth water.
When steeped, it's hearty and toasty, and a bit salty. It goes great with sushi.
This is a favorite among the green teas I've tried from Adagio. The Genmai Cha has a roasted flavor due to the brown rice. The tea is well-rounded and comforting. I highly recommend Genmai Cha if you're looking for a morning tea
Undoctored, this blend was very savory. The toasted rice gave a malty flavor, and the green tea had an almost unpleasant seaweed flavor. When milk and sugar were added and the tea cooled, it was very reminiscent of golden puffs cereal milk.
I'm giving this five stars, even though my review is more like 4.5 stars. I enjoyed this experience a lot, but I don't think I would purchase this tea to drink it regularly. If I were in a restaurant or at a friend's house and they offered it to me, I would definitely drink it again.
This tastes more like toasted rice than tea, but I didn't find that to be a totally bad thing. The experience actually reminded me just slightly of drinking beer, except without the horrible bitter, astringent taste of alcohol (thought beer is like drinking wheat and this is rice). I did find it to be faintly sweet, and as it cooled, I began to taste the green tea beneath the rice.
Overall, a fun experience, but not my favorite way to have tea. I brewed at 175F for 2.5 minutes.
I think this tea is super neat, but I think I like these flavors separate. I definitely want to try it again because I really want to like it, it was just weird.
Today's CommuniTea packet was genmaicha, a Japanese blend of green tea and puffed rice, originally created to extend the tea, much like chicory was added to extend coffee. The rice adds a pleasant toasty flavor and scent to the tea, and is fun to look at. 8 ounces of 180 degree water for three minutes.
Such an interesting flavor! I threw in a little bit of buckwheat honey to enhance the toasty rice flavor and a little sugar as well since I like it sweet, and that really brought out the breakfast cereal flavor. I put a good amount of the puffed rice directly into the teacup. I'm not a fan of green tea but I am glad I tried this since it was really interesting.
Tried as a CommuniTEA sample. I don't normally like strong green tea. This one is fairly strong and tastes like spinach to me. However, the puffed rice gives it a pleasant toasty/nutty flavor. It tones down the spinach flavor and makes it drinkable for me
This is a very high quality green tea that tastes like a spinach salad with toasted nuts tossed in with it, earthy and bitter and a little bit smokey.
I can understand that not everyone may enjoy this tea. It is very distinct in its flavor
I found this tea delightful. The puffed rice adds a wonderful flavor. It isn’t much like other green teas, with an almost nutty flavor.
When I first smelled this tea, I didn't know how I would feel about it. It has a very strong, smoky smell... and I usually like smoky teas. It has an acquired taste that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I felt that it kind of grew on me each time I took a sip. I wish the smell wasn't so strong; for whatever reason, it kept this from being a tea I'd be likely to pick up again. 3 stars for an interesting tea. I'm glad I experienced it, but it's not quite my cup of tea.
First of all, this tea is just fun to look at with the bits of popped rice that look like tiny pieces of popcorn scattered among the green leaves. The tea itself is delicious; the nuttiness from the toasted rice adds a nice depth to the freshness of the green tea, which, fortunately, isn't overly grassy. While one sips, there's the aromatic experience: the tea smells like popcorn. It's a brew that's wonderful on it's own, but also takes a touch of honey well. Drinking this tea is an experience at once fun and comforting. (2+ minutes @ 175F)
This tasted like a rice cake. I like rice cakes, but, in the same way I like nori, and am not a fan of seaweed leaning teas. I prefer to eat it rather than drink it. Kudos to this being a unique tea, and I can see why many love it, but it’s not for me.
Opened the CommuniTea pack and inhaled the scent of toasted grain. I will admit to snacking on one of the popped rice while my water heated. The tea itself brews to a light green and tastes toasty and grain-like. May seem like an odd flavor to drink but sooooo delicious. Second steep was a touch lighter but still good.
Wonderful blend with a hint of nuttiness. I loved having this green tea after dinner. It was a savory treat to please the soul and stomach!
The tea today taste like puffed rice Cereal, it was not one of favorite. ( 180 @ 2 min). Don’t like the smell.
A toasty popcorn flavor that I couldn’t quite get accustomed to. Steeped at 180 for 3 minutes. Unfortunately not a favorite.
This gentle tea certainly tastes like brown rice - not a flavor I enjoy in my tea. However, it was a nice cuppa for the afternoon. I added a 1/2 tsp of honey and that helped!!
this one isn't really my cup of tea, so to speak. it's savory, and the predominant flavor is the toasted rice. reminds me of eating rice cakes, which i like, but not my preferred flavors for tea.
I am personally a fan of genmaicha. I love the toasted taste of the rice with the leafy green tea. I steeped this tea for two minutes at 180F. I personally wouldn't recommend more than that.
I love genmaicha and keep it on hand at all times. The puffed rice reminds me of popcorn and feels so comforting
What an interesting tea! I’m not greatly fond of green tea, so they’re always a bit of a gamble. The toasty flavor blends well with the light green tea. I could see this working well with a meal.
Update 9/27/21: Tried again with CommuniTea. It's still too savory for my taste.
12/13/20: I've noticed this tea before in stores, but today's CommuniTea is my first time trying it. I'm guessing the strong scent is the puffed rice, because it doesn't smell like green tea. It was more savory than I expected, even after adding sugar.
It was interesting to try, but I don't think I'll be buying more.
Very toasty tea. It was very flavorful! I actually liked it and was glad to get a chance to try it. It wasn't something I thought I'd like based on the smell.
Toasted rice and nutty aromas from the dry tea. When hot, nutty sesame seed like flavors are prominent. No grassy green flavors. Moderate astringency. This one tasted just too much like sesame seeds for me which I am not a huge fan of.
The toasted rice adds a new depth to green tea. It is a fun sip. Will be adding this to my wishlist.
Genmai cha is my favorite type of green tea. This one is nutty, creamy, and a little dry with accents of toasted and puffed rice. This is an excellent it's snowing outside winter tea.
Dec. 13, 2020 - This must be the most unusual tea I've had the pleasure to sample. I mean...there's toasted and popped rice mixed in! Appearance aside, it is tasty. Toasty, savory and green in flavor. No sweetener needed/wanted. Would be a nice green tea to enjoy with a meal. UPDATE - It is so good with food! I added a star
This tea is similar to the tea you get in a Japanese restaurant. The one we had while dining on sushi was a bit thicker, but the same flavors. Brings back wonderful memories of a restaurant that has since closed. I have yet to have this tea at other Japanese restaurants, so will have this when we make sushi at home. It is a very nice mild green tea. Love it.
Dry tea smells like green tea. When brewing, the toasty scent of the roasted and popped rice wafts up, with the brewed cup a medium golden green with the roasted rice and green tea scent. When hot, the roasted and toasted rice flavor mixes nicely with the slight bitterness and vegetal leaning green tea. The tea does not change too much as it cools, and remains a cozy but light drink. It is quite a departure from the usual tea flavors, and has a bit of a rice krispie type flavor note to it that I like, but can be something that others are not a fan of. The toasted rice note lingers into the finish. Good for 2-3 infusions. Brewed at 185 for 3 minutes.
Toasty nutty scents greeted my nose as I opened today's CommuniTEA packet. Numerous toasted brown rice pieces and one popped piece of rice were poured out with the flat green tea leaves into the steeping basket. A quick Oolong button press on the VelociTEA maker zipped through into a 3 minute steep at 180ºF. A golden green colored tea was produced.
Each sip was full of toasted rice flavor. Notes of roasted nuts and gently sweet popcorn kept pouring out with each cup. The green Sencha tea gives this a light base flavor thanks to the sparse green tea leaves. A very light green tea astringency was detectable in the finish.
A second steeping was still pretty tasty yet much lighter. The roasted rice flavors were still moderately present, while the green tea became even lighter.
Adagio's version of this classic blend is really good, and the toasted rice flavors were strong thanks to the large amount of rice pieces in my sample. I was hoping for a slight bit more sencha to balance them out, however I'll chalk this up to luck of the sampling draw.
Typically I prefer just about any tea to green tea, but this one made me nostalgic for the puffed rice cereal of my childhood.
I wasn't a huge fan of this. I was hoping for a more green-like tea mixed with Chai but I think i just read the description and label wrong. lol
This brews up to a very pretty green color. To me, the flavor of the Sencha tea is completely overwhelmed by the puffed rice to the point that all I could taste was the toasty flavor of the rice. This is not a tea for me. 😥
The toasty popped rice flavor was something different.
This is a tasty Genmaicha tea. It has a perfectly toasted flavor that makes the green tea shine. I get the vegetal flavor of the green tea, but it is elevated by the flavor of the roasted rice. I drank it straight but I also added stevia and monk fruit blend to make it a sweet treat. Happy sipping!
A nice, smooth, nutty, toasty green tea. It doesn't have that grassy bitterness to it.
It’s like breakfast in a tea. Puffed rice adds a hearty, cereal flavor that blends really well with the green tea notes.
This is one of my absolute favorites! The roasty, toasty, popcorny goodness of the rice matched with a classic vegetal green checks all my boxes. I love earthy, terroir driven flavors and could drink this all day! It’s light and creamy while being rich and roasty. The Adagio version has more of a sesame oil note than some others I have tried, which increases the umami in the sip. I can’t recommend it enough! Happy Sipping!
CommuniTEA Sample: Genmaicha was one of the first green teas that I ever had and it is one of my favorites. I love the toast-i-ness of the tea and the flavor of the popped rice. Nice and earthy and smoky and not a lot of astringent flavors. An excellent tea for the fall and wintertime!
My first thought was why is there popcorn in my tea? This tea is nutty and now I can smell and taste the cereal. It is a little too nutty and then too week on the tea side for me.
Delicious savory tea - definitely get the toasty puffed rice taste up front and the green tea on the end. It is hearty and then mellows out. The tea is very savory, and I think it would go very well with dinner.
A good green tea with a very strong nutty flavor when steeped.
Necessi-tea is the mother of inventions, or blending in this instance. Lots of stories as to how this tea came to be. The most probable is the tea shortages caused by the Russo-Japanese war in the early 1900s. While making a little tea stretch a cup or two more, the addition of rice levels the grassy taste of any green. When you start with an excellent quality green tea, then add toasted rice the results are a smooth drink with a nutty aroma and a crisp finish.
Puffed rice cereal
A savory rice serving
Goes well with a meal
I love this tea lots!
Enough to propose marriage
This tea says maybe...
It gets I love it
But says that I am fickle
Loving many teas
(Haiku review)
Previous review: Loved this! Nutty/toasty and savory! But, to note, I enjoy rice, puffed rice cereals, and anything rice...
I love it when CommuniTea introduces me to a tea I wouldn't normally try! I'm not usually a big fan of most green teas. I don't like tea with grassy notes...in fact some cause a strong aversion. I blame the portion of my DNA that also thinks cilantro smells horrible and tastes worse. That being said, I loved the toasty scent of this tea as i opened the packet. Brewed 180F for 3 minutes, as I prefer a stronger taste when it comes to tea. The lightly sweet yet savory taste of this green tea blends perfectly with the nutty/malty taste of the puffed rice. Lovely! Happy to find another green tea i want to add to the tea stash!!
I love green tea, but this is not for me. It kind of has a popcorn taste.