Fun facts about genmaicha tea:
– It’s tea cut with rice, including popped rice (“popcorn tea”).
– It’s consumed all over the world.
– It used to be associated with the lower class, because they couldn’t afford straight tea.
– It might be an appetite suppressant. People with less money would drink it when they couldn’t afford food.
– It’s DELICIOUS.
If you’re like “I want to get on board with green tea, but I can’t even begin to deal with all that GREEN flavor,” give this a try. It’s a workaround. It tastes like toast/popcorn/rice. It has a robust, grainy/nutty kind of flavor. The “green”ness is cut down significantly.
Plus, I mean, you’re getting down with the proletariat. You’re supporting the REGULAR FOLK on PRINCIPLE.
I don’t have a lot of experience drinking this new favorite type of tea. If you’re a connoisseur, I can’t tell you whether Allegheny Coffee & Tea Exchange’s “Tea of Inquiry” is a stellar example of the genre. But I think it’s delicious. I recommend trying it or another gemaicha today! It might be for you.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Allegheny Coffee & Tea Exchange
Description
A special Japanese blend of fine green tea and toasted rice.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Strawberry Cheesecake from Allegheny Coffee & Tea . . . .A Sweet Treat
While wandering around Pittsburgh’s Strip District the drizzly day after Christmas, my in-laws and I noticed a tea and coffee shop, Allegheny Coffee & Tea Exchange.
“Oh no,” whispered my husband, jokingly.
“Too late,” whispered my father-in-law, a little less jokingly.
“We have to go in there,” I said.
“Coffee,” my mother-in-law drooled.
“We’re going to keep walking down the street,” my husband’s brother said. “We’re going to keep walking down the street,” my husband’s brother said.
My mother-in-law and I rushed into the store, which had big barrels of coffee and lovely sniffers of tea. We split into our separate caffeinated zones. Me to the tea, her to the coffee. My husband gamely followed me and played with the infusers while I sniffed everything.
I got out of there in under $20. The employees were friendly, tolerant of my enthusiasm, and very polite.
I first got around to trying this particular tea, Strawberry Cheesecake, while I was at a cabin with a few friends.
One was pregnant, and couldn’t have much caffeine, but she sipped some of this. “That hits my ‘I miss coffee’ spot,” she said happily. “That’s actually really good.”
This tea is a very rich berry cream flavor. I don’t think I’d call it “cheesecake,” though. I’d go with “cream,” or perhaps “yogurt.” But not the full cheesecake. That said, I have no idea how one would go about making anything taste like cheesecake. It seems like an impossible task. But this flavor does hint at dairy, which I find impressive. It’s sweet and girly.
If you want to scratch a caffeine itch or a dessert itch, give this one a whirl.
Thanks, spontaneous Pittsburgh find!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Flavored tea
Where to Buy: Allegheny Coffee & Tea
Description
Ceylon tea with natural and artificial flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!