popcorn green tea

I am a black tea sort of girl. Black just seems to work best with the flavorings I tend to reach for so typically when I am shopping, I hang out in the black tea section of shops. This has always been the case and though I have grown to enjoy other types of tea, I do still tend to gravitate towards black. However, since starting my tea journey, there has been one exception and that is genmaicha teas. Something about genmaichas just called to me and I made it my mission to try them all. This is one I have not tried so when I saw the familiar roasty rice and popcorn pieces peeking out of the traveling teabox I had, I immediately got the kettle brewing.

After just two quick minutes in 175 degree water, I had what my sister described as a canary yellow. Then she told me its like the color of a canary singing it’s melodic song that hints at its mellow nature. This is why I continue to ask her how she would describe the colors of my tea. I would have probably just said “yellow”.

As far as genmaichas go, this is a nice one. The first thing I noticed is that this has a strong roasty rice flavor. There is a touch of umami but mostly it is a rich, roasted note. The base is buttery and smooth and a tiny bit vegetal which provides the perfect counterbalance to the popped rice flavoring. Harmony tea seems to be a fitting name for this Mellow Monk blend since the flavors blend harmoniously (see what I did there?!).

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Green

Where to Buy: Mellow Monk

Description

Harmoney Tea™ is a genmaicha — green tea mixed with roasted brown rice. The rice imparts a nutty, toasty flavor that makes genmaicha one of the most popular types of green tea in America. Unlike some tea growers, this artisan roasts his own rice, which he buys from local farmers. (During roasting, some of the rice grains pop like popcorn. This popped rice is also included in the mixture to enhance the flavor.)

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in Green Tea, Mellow Monk