Genmaicha: Japanese Green Tea with Roasted Rice

Genmaicha (玄米茶, "brown rice tea") is Japanese green tea, usually bancha or sencha, mixed roughly half and half with roasted rice. Some grains pop during roasting and look like tiny popcorn, which is why it's nicknamed "popcorn tea." It tastes toasty, nutty and mild, with a light green-tea freshness underneath and very little bitterness. A version dusted with matcha (matcha-iri genmaicha) is greener and richer. Brew it at 80–95 °C for 30–60 seconds.

Genmaicha is often written off as "sushi restaurant tea," but a good one brewed at home fills the kitchen with a toasty rice smell, like fresh bread. It's not a connoisseur's tea. That's exactly its charm.

Rice, tea and a few popped grains#

Despite the nickname, the popped grains are mostly decoration. The roasted rice carries the flavour.

The name says "genmai" (brown rice), though the rice used is often roasted white or mochi rice. Plenty of stories explain its origin as a way to stretch expensive tea with rice. Treat them as stories.

Toasted rice on top, green tea underneath#

People often mix it up with hojicha, the other toasty Japanese tea. The difference is what gets roasted. In genmaicha it's the rice, so the green tea stays fresh; in hojicha it's the tea itself, which turns brown and caramel-sweet.

Brewing it for the rice#

Hotter water brings out more rice aroma, but also more bitterness from the tea.

Expect one big infusion. The rice gives most of its flavour the first time, so re-steeps are lighter.

Picking a good bag#

Smell it first. It should be fresh and toasty, not stale or dusty, with evenly roasted rice and nothing burnt. The tea matters more than you'd think: sencha-based mixes taste better than cheap bancha, and matcha-iri is the one to pick if you want more green and more body.

Buy small packs, because the roasted aroma fades quickly. At home keep it airtight, dark and cool, and away from moisture, which makes the rice go soft and stale. Drink it within a month or two of opening (how to store tea has the general rules).

It isn't caffeine-free, by the way. There's green tea in it, so there's caffeine; the rice just dilutes it.

Good genmaicha, especially the sencha-based kind, is a pleasure in its own right, not just something poured free with lunch. It's comfort in a cup, inexpensive to make well and hard to dislike. Keep a pack for grey days and for anyone who says they "don't like green tea." The rest of the family is in the Japanese tea guide.