HomeYou may have heard the word popcorn tea or seen pictures of tea leaves mixed with popcorn. And I’m sure you have a lot of questions. No, this is not a teammate out of pieces of popcorn, but it is Genmacha, a delicious green tea that is loved by many around the world.
Let’s get started. What is Genmacha? Genmacha is the most popular type of blended tea in Japan. As you may all know, all teas have to come from the tea plant Camellia sinensis, otherwise they are not considered a true tea. Teas are made by combining tea leaves with other ingredients and they still can be considered teas. Genachcha is made by combining green tea leaves with toasted rice and it has a very unique flavor to it that a lot of people like Genmacha has more of these warm cereal flavors, a hint of nuttiness, warm toast, and even a bit of popcorn. This flavor is not actually why Gachcha is called popcorn tea. The real reason has to do with the appearance. When you look at certain types of Genmacha green tea, you may notice little white pieces that look like popcorn. This is a genachcha green tea with roasted rice that is popped in the same way that corn kernels pop. When you prepare again micha green tea with roasted rice that has popped, it doesn’t change the flavor a whole lot, but you still get this subtle popcorn flavor from the Gmacha tea. This unique flavor comes from the starches and the sugars in the genoa or toasted rice as they are released into the water. Let’s discuss how these grains of roasted rice are produced and how they are integrated into the Genmacha tea.
How is Gen. Macha made? First there are the tea leaves and then there is the genoa or toasted rice. Let’s first talk about how the toasted rice is made.
To make Genmai, only white rice is used. This is the same type of rice they use to make mochi or rice dough. The reason white rice is used is because brown rice is encased in a protective hole that seals in the starches inside to produce white rice. This hole is removed and the starch inside can be roasted much more easily. Apparently, when you have a again mitra green tea with roasted rice that is brown, there is much less flavor in fragrance. To prepare the rice for roasting, it is first soaked and then later steamed. Next the rice has to be dried and the main way to do this is to blow hot air underneath it. Finally the rice is ready to be roasted and depending on the heat, some of these grains of rice can pop just like popcorn. The rice is then cooled and added to the tea leaves. The tea leaves are made from the older leaves and stems of the tea plant. These are the least expensive tea leaves use for tea like Banca and Hojiccha, but there are plenty of benefits to them. Actually. First off they are higher in minerals and they are thought to help with digestion. This is why a lot of people drink bonnch of tea after a meal. Also, these more mature leaves tend to be lower in caffeine. Caffeineness produces a defense mechanism to protect against insects and because these older leaves are tougher, the tea plant doesn’t need to produce as much in order to protect them. This makes teas like Genmacha great for the afternoon or evening. Finally, the flavor of older tea leaves tends to pair well with the toasted rice. These more earthy or wooden notes work well with the nutty flavors that come from the rice. The leaves and rice work together to produce the wonderful tea known as Genoa as we mentioned before. Most Gen. Macha tea is made from bannchcha leaves, but there are a few different types that we can talk about. The different types of again Macha are determined by what is used in addition to the toasted rice. Normal Gen. Macha. Normal G macha tea is made out of the older leaves and stems of the tea plant. While the flavors of the fresh young leaves tend to be sweeter and more vegetable, the older leaves have slightly more of these earthy notes and more mineral. These leaves tend to complement the nutty and cereal flavors of the roasted rice, so the combination works great. Senna again Macha sen. Again Macha tea is made with toasted rice and senna leaves. These younger leaves tend to clash a bit with the flavors of the toasted rice, but it is still a great tea. If you’re a fan of steno, this tea will be slightly more expensive because it uses the younger leaves and it will be higher in caffeine than a normal gen macha tear. Enchaurrogencha is made by combining Gilurro leaves with toasted rice. These leaves are not only made from the youngest sprouts of the tea plant, but they are also shaded for three weeks before the harvest to maximize their content of threonine. This tea will be much sweeter, much more expensive, and much higher caffeine than a regular Ge macha tea. Holdigen Macha hooligan Macha, as you can probably tell from the name, is made out of roasted tea leaves and toasted rice. The flavors of the roasted tea leaves and the toasted rice tend to complement one another, but it definitely takes the tea into a darker direction. This tea will be very low in caffeine and as we learn from the farmers at Zen Kan, this tea is actually using hospitals and for children because it’s so low in caffeine. Matchcha Irigen Macha. This is the Matchgan Macha made by combining toasted rice, green tea leaves and green tea powder. This matchagan MAA produces an incredibly green infusion as the match powder fills the water. This can be a more flavorful tea overall, but the downside is that it takes away from the flavor of the toasted rice because the match powder is so strong. How was Genmacha first invented? There are a few different stories about how Genmaiccha was first invented and no one really knows for sure. One legend starts with one man from Kyoto dropping pieces of his rice cake and rather than throwing it away, he tried it in his tea and liked the flavor. However, again Macha was invented. It doesn’t change the fact that it is an important tea in Japan. It has sometimes been used during times of economic hardship as a way to make tea last longer, as rice tends to be more inexpensive. It is also used for certain types of fasting as the flavor of the tea can simulate a warm bowl of rice.
What are the benefits of Gunmacha? Although Gmacha is considered to be a cheaper Japanese green tea, there are many benefits to it.
As we just mentioned. Genmaa tea can be great when you’re fasting because the flavor can be very satiating without having any calories.
Another benefit to get Micha is that it has very little caffeine in it. The older tea leaves and stems are low in caffeine to begin with, but the caffeine content is brought down even further by the addition of the toasted rice.
Finally Gen Micha tends to be a tea that is very forgiving to both the producer as well as the person preparing it.
It is difficult to prepare a bad genoa Micha tea, so when you find it at a cafe or coffee shop, it can sometimes be the safest bed. Even some cheaper G. Myotis still have a pleasant rice flavor to them. The tea can also stand up to hotter temperatures, so it is more forgiving if you use water that is too hot. This can be useful when you’re ordering the tea at a cafe as they will more than likely bring it out with water that is close to boiling. How do you prepare G. Macha tea? When it comes to preparing G. Macha tea, it can be quite simple. The tea is less sensitive to temperature and brewing time, and it can produce a lot of flavor. Even if you don’t get the brewing right, we recommend taking five grams of Genmecha green tea and putting it into a teapot. The flavor of Genmea can have a strong influence on the seasoning of the teapot itself, so you may want to have a designated Genmecha teapot or at the very least use a glazed teapot. If you use an unglazed teapot, it will be difficult to get the flavor of the Gemacha tea out when it comes to brewing other types of teas. Next, you can add the water in. There are two different brewing methods for Gemachcha. The first is a brew just like you would, a normal Boncha or Hojiccha with 100 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit or 80 degrees Celsius water and a brewing time of one minute. The other method of brewing. Gen. Maishha tea, is more of a flash brew with near boiling water and a steeping time of 20 seconds. Either way, you should use approximately 100 and 50 miters of water or a little more than half a cup for the brewing. After the time is up, you can pour your Gen Micha tea into tea cups. If you’re preparing tea for multiple people, make sure you use the alternate pouring method. The last tea being poured out is usually the most flavorful, so you should divide amongst you and your guests. One bonus of Again Macha is that the flavor can last from many different steepings even after the tea leaves have released all their flavor. The toasted rice will continue to provide flavor and brewing after brewing so you can really brew Genmacha five times or more before it runs out of flavor. Where can you buy Macha? If you’re interested in trying some Ge Macha tea, you can try some of our favorite, the Hairiccha Macha. After traveling around Japan, we have met with dozens of different farmers and tried many different kinds of Genmacha tea.
Favorite is this one produced by Hagiriccha, a collection of tea farmers in Shizuoka that do some really great work. If you’d like to support what we do and all the farmers in Japan that make it possible, it would really mean a lot to us if you could try out this tea and let us know what you think. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave us an email comment or message and we’ll respond to you as soon as we can as we said before. It would really mean a lot to us if you could subscribe to the channel and stay tuned for our future.
Until then we’ll see you next blog
