Xuanmicha (Genmaicha)
Organic Green Tea 2021
The Chinese version of the popular Japanese style deep green sencha tea blended with toasted brown rice. The toasted rice complements the grassy green flavor of the steamed sencha with a strong toasty fragrance, sweet taste, and long-lasting aroma.
- Tea Origin
- Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province
- Tea Bush
- Jiu Keng, Longjing #43, Ao Lü
- Tea Maker
- Shi Yurong
- Harvest Time
- April-May
- Plucking Standard
- One bud, three leaves
The Chinese version of the popular Japanese style deep green sencha tea blended with toasted brown rice. The toasted rice complements the grassy green flavor of the steamed sencha with a strong toasty fragrance, sweet taste, and long-lasting aroma. No matter how you brew this organic tea, the bright yellow-green infusion remains light and free of bitterness.
Production
The key to good genmaicha is the toasting of the brown rice. If under-fried, its aroma is poor and underdeveloped, while over-frying results in an unpleasant charred taste. The rice is soaked for an hour and then steamed before being fried until golden brown and fragrant. After it has cooled, the now-dry rice will be blended with the sencha green tea. Most companies will blend them at a ratio of 1:2.5 rice to green tea, but this particular grade uses an even ratio of 1:1 for a stronger rice character.
History
Steamed green teas like sencha are highly popular in both Japan and Korea. This style of steaming green tea is an old technique that was popular in China back in the Tang Dynasty 1200 years ago. This method took root in Japan around that time and has remained popular there ever since. As styles have changed, Chinese tea makers now overwhelmingly prefer to wok-fry their teas for a less grassy flavor, so steamed Chinese teas are uncommon now.
It’s popular in Korea to cold-brew genmaicha. For a liter of cold-brewed genmaicha, brew about 4 tablespoons (10g) of tea in 200mL boiling water for about 1 minute, then add 800mL more cold or room temperature water. Leave it in the fridge for an hour and then enjoy.