Cherry Cheesecake Genmaicha

Another wonderful Genmaicha blend from 52teas. The natural cherry flavoring is rather delicate but is not overwhelmed by the roasted nutty goodness of the genmaicha base. At first sip, you don’t get a very strong cherry taste but it really comes through at the end for a well rounded blend. I did find that the flavors really blossomed as the tea cooled to just above room temperature and was best enjoyed at that point.

Thank you to Anne for sending me this sample :)

The tea leaves smell very sweet and enticing. I can definitely smell the cherry sweet aspect of it. This stuff smells amazing!

First steep : 2 minutes, 170 degrees – Not a very strong smell from the tea itself. Very light tasting. I didn’t get much cherry in the first steep, but I really did enjoy the flavor overall. It definitely has a smooth buttery taste to it.

Second steep : 3 minutes, 170 degrees – I enjoyed this steep much more! Will continue to steep for 3 minutes in the future. The full flavor of the tea really came out! I love that this tea is sweet in a way but not overpoweringly sweet and still has a light aspect to it. I’m really enjoying this one. I’ll be sad when this sample is gone.

Taken from the EU TTB – Round 3 return.

Since my Japanese Spirit blend went down a treat this morning I thought I would carry on with the Japanese theme for the time being, that is when I remembered seeing this sample.

I like the idea of flavoured genmaicha, I recently tried 52Teas Peanut Butter Genmaicha blend and adored it without really expecting to. With this being a cheesecake tea I’m not sure what to expect, usually I cannot taste cheesecake in the range that I have tried from 52Teas. Perhaps all I can hope for is the cherry part mixed with genmaicha, that sounds delightful.

In raw form this smells very sweet and fruity, while it does smell like cherry I’m also getting some kind of berry too, like loganberry or strawberry, it’s sweet but also sour. Also seems perfumed, not fresh as much as dry and perfumed. No genmaicha as such, ie no toast or green tea coming through.

Once steeped the tea liquid is burnt yellow in colour and bares a toasted rice scent with a some subtle fruit behind it. Couldn’t declare it as cherry without knowing, hard to do so even knowing what it is. I’m sticking to berry like fruit.

Flavour is interesting, for a second it tastes toasty like a normal genmaicha but then suddenly a sweet cherry (yes, truly definable at last as cherry) essence grabs a hold and grows in my mouth. Like a light cherry mist that spreads itself as far as it can to spritz it’s flavour. In the after taste the cherry is still present but it becomes creamy and less sweet, slightly perfumed though nothing like it’s raw scent.

I’m sorry to say that again I can’t taste cheesecake, there is something creamy/buttery but not enough to say it reminds me of cheesecake. Though I do like that it still keeps enough of it’s qualities to taste like a genmaicha.

So put simply:
Cherry? Yes
Cheesecake? No
Genmaicha? Yes

As the song says “Two out of three aint bad”. I still prefer the Peanut Butter blend over this one but this was pleasant enough.

I find it hard to believe I haven’t reviewed this one yet. I’ve certainly been drinking it for a little while! I’m sure I did write a note, but maybe steepster ate it. Or maybe I’m just mad.

I used 1 tsp of leaf, and added it to water of about 175 degrees for 2.5 minutes. I was a little taken aback by the colour of the liquor; it was quite a dark yellow-green shade, a shade I usually associate with bitterness or astringency.

Fortunately, it has none of these qualities. Instead, the sweet cherry flavor comes through first. It’s quite mild, but there, and it’s reasonably true-to-life. Not overwhelmingly candy-like, or reminiscent of cough medicine. The toasty rice is the second flavour, and, again it’s pretty perfect as far as my tastes for genmaicha go. It’s toasted without tasting burnt, or bitter, and it’s not too overpowering. I had feared that it would disguise the cherry flavour altogether, but it doesn’t. The final flavour is the mild, sweet, vegetal taste of the green tea. It’s very smooth, and the “green”, almost slightly grassy, flavour augments the fruitiness of the cherry perfectly. I catch just a hint of creamy cheesecake flavour right at the end of the sip, but nothing more than that. It’s enough, though, and it really helps to round this one off perfectly. All elements present and accounted for!

While it’s not my favourite of the cheesecake genmaichas, this makes for a very pleasant cup. Banana Cheesecake Genmaicha will probably always hold that crown for me, and I’d want the cherry here to be a fair bit more prominent if it were seriously going to challenge that. Even so, it’s one of the better balanced genmaicha blends I’ve tried, and they can be hit and miss for me sometimes. Good work, Frank!

Thank you Marzipan for this lovely tea. I really haven’t had genmaicha before. I think I taste the brown rice. Not tasting much cherry which is a bit disappointing. I am tasting some cheesecake but not a lot. A pleasurable cup of tea. I’ve never had a cheesecake tea except the cheesecake matcha latte(Red Leaf) that I am so in love with. The matcha has a much better taste since it is made with a milk substitute. It isn’t fair to compare them. Still enjoyable. Thanks Marzipan!

First sample from my swap with Dustin! I’d only tried one 52teas blend prior to this one—Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish with the black base—and didn’t care for it at all, mostly because I thought the base tea was just gross. I’m pleased to say I like this one quite a bit better.

I love genmaicha in general and find it relatively hard to mess up, so that’s a point in this tea’s favor going in. Dry and while steeping, the aroma’s all genmaicha—I love that combination of toasty rice and faintly seaweedy sencha, so we’re off to a good start. The initial flavor’s all genmaicha too, but the cherry comes through in the aftertaste. It’s candy cherry—it makes me think of cherry popsicles, actually—but it’s done well; not cough-syrupy at all. The cherry’s on the faint side, and I find I have to really focus on each sip to detect it. I used 1 tsp./8 oz. of water here, so I think I’ll try going a little heavier with the rest of my sample to see if that makes a difference to the strength. It’s by no means bad as is, though. I’m not getting cheesecake (or creaminess), but I think there’s enough going on here as it is.

Cherry and genmaicha doesn’t strike me as a natural combination, but it works pretty well. I still think I prefer straight genmaicha, but I’m glad to have had the chance to try this blend and certainly wouldn’t object to trying it again.