I have never had genmaicha before. Not very adventurous here, which is why a sampler like the 12 Days of Christmas is good for me. It gives me a chance to try something I normally wouldn’t in a small quantity.
My sense of smell is slowly growing, so I got a nice whiff of banana when I opened the pouch, along with a sweet scent which must be the marshmallow. My sense of smell died shortly thereafter so I can’t tell you what the brewed tea smells like. I prepared it exactly as instructed to. After two minutes I hesitated because the tea was so pale. But since I was new to genmaicha I followed the brewing instructions to the letter. Surprisingly, it darkened as it cooled.
The flavor is tricky for me since I lost the smell before I could drink it. I think I can kinda get the banana at the start of the sip. The sip ends for me with a slightly bitter after taste. I don’t know if that is just me or not. So I’m not rating this tea yet. I’m going to try another cup later this week and see if it works better for me then.