Since it seems to be the thing to do, and since I haven’t posted in forever, I am going to talk about food, or, more specifically, tea.

Copyright Benalene

I love tea. You wouldn’t think that, seeing as how I normally drink more coffee than tea. But, I think that I actually prefer tea to coffee. There are so many different flavors and ways to prepare it. I will have to devote an entire post to tea in general, I think. But today, Genmaicha, or Popcorn Tea.

First, What is it? Genmaicha is the Japanese name for a low grade green tea combined with roasted brown rice. (link) It typically employs a lower grade of green tea and was originally drunk by poor Japanese, as the rice served as a filler and reduced the price of the tea. It is now widely enjoyed by all levels of society in Japan.

Now, I have had a can of Genmaicha tea sitting in my cupboard for over a year. I had opened it maybe six months ago, thinking that it was straight green tea. My mother had a friend who is Japanese, and on a trip back to Japan, got my mom two cans of Japanese loose leaf green tea. My mom took one can and gave me the other. Hers was plain green tea, which is why I was expecting mine to be the same. When I opened it, I was mystified as to what was in my tea. There were these little brown kernels and what looked liked popcorn along with the tea leave. Did somebody accidentally knock over a bag of popcorn into the tea as they were filling the containers. I took one sniff of it and immediately closed the can back up. It was too weird. That was six months ago.

Today. It is the end of October. It is almost freezing outside. I am craving something warm to drink. I don’t really want hot chocolate. Too rich. Tea is lighter. I am tired of Earl Grey and English Breakfast Tea. I want green tea. But the only green tea I have is in bags. I really hate bagged tea now that I have tried loose leaf. Then I remember the can of the strange green tea sitting in the back of my cupboard. I hesitantly pull it out. I gingerly open it up and take a whiff. It doesn’t smell as bad as I remember. I decide to brew some. As the water is heating, I google “green tea popcorn.” The first link is this. It doesn’t make me feel too confident. But it is too late. The water is almost boiling, and I have to pour it before it gets too hot (you are not supposed to boil water for green tea). I anxiously wait 4 minutes. I have a jar of honey, just in case. I pour the tea and smell. It smells like slightly burnt popcorn. I take a drink.

It is not that bad. It has a slight toasted flavor from the rice. The grassy flavor is not overpowering like some green teas. I try and add a little bit of honey, and it helps to mellow out the flavor a bit, but is not necessary. The tea is very mild anyway. It may be a little strange to some, but overall, I think that it is has a very pleasant taste. I have no idea where to get this tea in the United States. Maybe at some International grocery stores, or online. If you are adventurous and like tea, I would highly recommend trying this tea.