I have had one other flavored genmaicha blend from A Quarter to Tea and I was not a fan. Now that I think about it, my dislike was probably due to improper steeping on my end but nonetheless, the memory had me wary of buying another flavored genmaicha offering. However, when I see flavored genmaichas I feel compelled to buy them anyways, plus the honey in the title was just calling to me. Consequently I bought a mere sample size and now I am kicking myself for not getting more because this is ah.may.zing!

I should mention I have never actually had mead so I can’t speak to whether this tastes reminiscent of its namesake or not but I can say there is a whole lot of honey here and I am loving it. It is sweet and flavorful without being cloying or over-the-top. A lot of that is probably due to the roastiness of the rice toning down the sweetness of the flavoring. Add to that an almost citrusy brightness that is coming from what I imagine is supposed to be the mead element that creates yet another layer of flavor in the mix. I also like that the base is present enough to be detected but neither grassy nor vegetal. It is more like a mellow hay note that meshes seamlessly with the other components.

There’s a lot to keep me interested but nothing that is so powerful that I could grow tired of it after a few cups. So ultimately I was expecting the worst and was instead pleasantly surprised by a tea I could see myself enjoying again and again without getting bored. And that to me is the sign of a pretty great tea!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green Tea

Where to Buy:  A Quarter To Tea

Description

Sencha and toasted rice make a toasty and sweet base for apple, buttered rum and honey flavors (which are accented further with honeysuckle). Comforting and revitalizing.

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 A Quarter To Tea, Green Tea