Maeda-en

But watch your steeping times; if I don’t frantically empty the teapot at 50 seconds this kukicha goes bitter instantly. I truly need to get a French press…

Deep green; a little bitter in flavor (in a good way, almost); rich flavor, like spinach.

Like many others, this is my everyday tea I drink at work. It is convenient when I want a nice cuppa but I don’t have time to spend time on prep and cleanup. If you are looking for a convenient and affordable cup of green tea, this is great value that is hard to beat. If time and money are not factors, then you will want to look elsewhere (loose leaf exotic teas). I would rate this 80/100 for quality and 98/100 for value. As with all green teas, proper water temperature is a key to success.

After such luxurious tea yesterday I went back to basics: BBC news and sencha. I made a second cup and threw in some lavender and spearmint for economical variety and I still crave lavender. Not bad, the crispness of the spearmint laced them together since this isn’t a very buttery sencha that loves lavender.

I know absolutely nothing about green teas and rarely drink them, so they all kind of taste the same to me. This was better than most. The dry leaf had a bit of a mint smell, but nothing that I could taste after steeping. The tea had more of a fresh taste than what I am used to with most greens. There was a bit of earthiness as well. It thankfully lacked the veggie-type taste and smell that I think many greens have (some remind me too much of spinach). If I was going to drink unflavored green tea on a regular basis, this would probably be my top pick. Prepared with stevia.

Having a quick cup before I leave the office for the year!!! I really love this tea although it’s not the most holiday minded. It is very pleasing to the stomach and I love the super roasted taste. It also shares a coffee-like quality in the bitterness. I also think it tastes like a puffed wheat cereal as some other reviews noted. I’m interested in trying this iced, but I think I’ll wait for a little warmer weather before I do so.

I hope everyone has a lovely, joy-filled holiday! Take care and see you on Steepster in the new year! :)

So easy to drink in any season or climate. Earthy taste without mustiness. Feels clean and refreshing, so much better than plain water!

How can I buy this tea in bulk??

The Maeda-en Traditional Genmai-cha is a typical looseleaf genmai-cha.
Pricing is around $4.50/150g looseleaf bag, or around $30/kg.
The ‘Golden’ label simply states a higher ratio of roasted rice to tea, making for a flavor that somewhat reminds of barley tea.
The sencha itself is of somewhat lower quality, although due to the nature of genmai-cha the flavor is not affected and the rural-tasting essence is preserved.
The flavor is very rustic and full-bodied.
It is recommended, Maeda-en has not dissappointed.

Yup! Spinach. Savory. See my other notes…

Another one I could have sworn that I already sampled and logged…weird…
anyways…here goes (again)…

This one is buttery and vegetable-esque. Sweet and a little bitter. Good and Solid Green Tea.

Thanks LiberTEAS!

In water it looked like matcha – plain and simple…
The dry leaves were silky soft.

Vegetal aroma and taste. Yet fairly sweet considering.
Pretty good!

My second infusion: Just as lovely as the first! sigh

I bought this when it was a Steepster Select item – way… way… back when. I haven’t opened it until now, because, well, the box was just so pretty, and so was the tin. That’s my only excuse.

And I really NEED an excuse because I am pretty upset with myself for NOT having tried this sooner… it’s delightful! Smooth, rich, creamy, buttery, vegetative. Delicious. I like this a lot.

Delicate and fresh but a bit too simple on the palate. There is an interesting honey type note on the nose in addition to the fresh grass.

I like it and I am happy that I tried it, but I don’t feel the need to revisit it in the near future.

I bought this on a whim at my local Japanese store. I prefer Den’s genmai-cha to this greatly. It was ok, too much rice for me I think. It came out a green murky liquor. It tasted thick. It was good iced. I don’t think I would buy again.

Having a cup of this after dinner. Lovely! Here’s my full-length review: http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=13568

I received this as a sample with one of my shipments from Maeda-en.

The smell is unmistakably Genmaicha. I love that toasted rice aroma.

Delicious roasted, nutty flavor of Genmaicha. Sweet tasting! The matcha adds a little bit of sweet to it as well.

Perfect everyday tea. I like to have this when I get to work after breakfast. The puffed rice gives a nice toasty depth to Maeda-en’s great sencha.

I absolutely am addicted to mugicha; it’s hard to find the good stuff outside of Japan but Maeda-en makes my favorite so far. It’s got a great balance of toasty and light, although I tend to brew it a long time because I really like a strong mugi flavor to come out. It’s definitely best straight from the fridge! Nothing better on a hot day without an air conditioner.

This is my favorite everyday tea; it’s got a great toasted flavor, a cross between a good houjicha and the typical sencha. Also, comes in fabulous hundred-bag sacks! Although I generally like to use loose, this is my go-to teabag.

Soooo, yeah. I must like this a whole lot, because I’m having it again today. This means I am out of the sample that Auggy sent, which means I really do like it, which means I’ll be entering a state of beverage emergency until I can restock it. I wanted something cozy, something tasty, something that would feel like a snuggle in my stomach after another day of having too much caffeine for my own good. Something to help me get in the right mindset for going to sleep (no small feat, with me. There are Rx chemicals that have balked at such a task in the past — I’m looking at you, ambien!).

So. Good.

And I love that it can take me through several 16oz. steeps — I can be sure that I’ll get my fill. (So will the buckwheat berries, as it happens; they suck up a lot of the water in my cup, so it does require a little bit of topping off).

Now, if only it weren’t so infernally hot outside, it’d be the perfect end to my day!