How to Brew:Genmaicha has been a popular green tea beloved by tea drinkers in Japan for centuries. Made from blending puffed brown rice grains, Sencha tea leaves and Matcha, Genmaicha Matcha-iri offers a delightfully mellow and delicious taste while being less expensive than premium Mencha green teas.
Combining Matcha, puffed brown rice and Sencha, our Genmaicha Matcha-iri tea provides an exquisitely delicious and smooth cup of tea that’s full of flavour. After just one sip you’ll notice how the Matcha and Sencha combine to create a fresh and calming aroma with a mellow taste to match. If you’ve never experienced Japanese tea before, Genmaicha Matcha-iri tea’s calming, mellow taste makes it a great introduction.
THE WATER TEMPERATURE
The golden rule about water temperature is never use boiling water on the tea, whatever kind of tea you are making.
Green or white Teas require water at 70°C and black teas require water at 85-90°C.
These days you can get kettles which enable you to choose your water temperature.
THE AMOUNT OF TEA
Custom dictates that 4 grams are sufficient for one cup. But the amount is partly a matter of preference. In the case of Assam tea, which is naturally very robust, you might want to reduce the strength and brew 3 grams instead of 4.
THE BREWING TIME
This is a very important step in the art of tea-making. In fact, the brewing time varies depending on the type of tea. An over-brewed black tea will develop a bitter taste whilst an under-brewed white tea will be flat and insipid.
Black teas are normally brewed for 2-3 minutes, green teas for 3 – 4 minutes. It is a good idea to check the brewing time before making the tea, because some teas need to be infused for very specific times: for example, Jade Pearl is left to infuse for 7 – 20 minutes, whilst Oolong tea will need 5 – 7 minutes for its bouquet to develop fully. Brewing is normally done with a lid on, so that the tea retains all its aromas.