The secret to its delicious flavor! The surprising story behind the birth of Genmaicha and its relaxing effects
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What is Genmaicha?
Another tea with a fragrant aroma similar to hojicha is genmaicha.
Genmaicha is made by mixing roasted brown rice with tea leaves such as sencha or bancha. It is characterized by a perfect balance of the fragrant brown rice and the umami of the tea leaves.
In fact, it does not contain brown rice!
The "brown rice" used here is slightly different from the brown rice we normally eat.
In the past, brown rice was used, but roasted brown rice has too strong a flavor, so nowadays it is more common to use roasted white rice.
Genmaicha is made from steamed, dried, and roasted rice at high temperatures to bring out its fragrant flavor. Genmaicha is made by mixing about 50% of this rice with Sencha or Bancha.
The secret story behind the birth of Genmaicha
There are various theories about its origin, but one says that it began in the early Showa period when a tea merchant in Kyoto thought it would be a waste to throw away the pieces of mochi (rice cake) that were produced during the kagami-biraki ceremony, so he roasted them and mixed them with tea leaves.
There is also a theory that, like hojicha, it was invented in the Kansai region to bring out the aroma of lower-grade tea. In any case, it was discovered that mixing in fragrant roasted rice improved the flavor of cheaper tea leaves, and people in various regions began to experiment with different ways to make it.
The relaxing effects of brown rice tea
Because it uses small or broken rice with low raw material costs, genmaicha has long been popular as an inexpensive tea for the common people. However, in recent years, with people becoming more health conscious and seeking new flavors, views of genmaicha are changing.
The fragrant aroma unique to brown rice tea comes from pyrazine, an aromatic component of roasted rice.
Pyrazine is said to promote blood flow and relax the brain, and is known to have many beneficial effects, such as relieving coldness and stiff shoulders, and preventing lifestyle-related diseases.
Various variations have appeared, such as high-quality Genmaicha, which is a blend of high-quality Sencha or Gyokuro tea with fragrant brown rice, and Genmaicha with Matcha flavoring, and are gaining popularity among the younger generation.
