Strawberry Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha

I added some milk to give this a strawberries and cream vibe. I’m sure it would be good plain, but I really like it this way. The strawberry is bright and candylike. I also taste the toasty genmaicha and some nice creaminess from the marshmallow root. It all just comes together so smoothly – I didn’t expect to enjoy it this much, but I’ve loved every cup.

I finally signed up for a 52Teas subscription box because why the hell not. XD This one came in the June box (which arrived in early July), and then I was on vacation, and I’m only getting around to trying it now.

So, it smells delightful. After being burned (not literally) by the horrifying, cloying nature of that one Strawberry Shortcake tea from Murchie’s, I got a little twitchy when I saw the label. Happily, the scent here is much less “strawberry car freshener someone bought at the dollar store and then ripped completely open and hung up, filling the car with noxious fumes” and more “sweet strawberry candy, but in a good way.”

Steeped, the strawberry loses some of its strength, but that’s OK. I’m still getting a light, buttery creaminess layered over a bit of strawberry, plus the nice toastiness of the rice. The green tea comes in at the end as a gentle grassiness; it’s definitely present, but not overpoweringly bitter or anything.

Overall, it’s very nice and quite fun. I’m not totally sure I’d be able to identify the flavor profile/inspiration if I’d gone in cold, but I’m enjoying it (y’know, judging by the fact that I’m drinking it on a 90˚+ day). Cold-brewing it might be good too.

I had high hopes for this one, because it smells so good, but experience tells me (at least with the old 52Teas genmaicha blends with the new rice…) that it won’t quite live up to its promise. In any case, it’s a great idea for a tea. Inspired, even.

I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in water cooled to around 175 degrees. I’m pleased to discover that there is strawberry, although it’s quite an artificial-tasting, candy-strawberry – it reminds me of Nesquik strawberry milkshake powder! There was quite a lot of marshmallow root in my cup, and its contributed a delicious creaminess. When paired with the light toastiness of the rice, it really does replicate the “marshmallow treat” flavour pretty well.

One of my main complaints with “sweet” genmaicha blends is usually that the green tea base is too prominent and grassy, which makes the whole experience rather odd. Not the case here – the green tea is very subtle, and actually quite difficult to pick out. The genmaicha isn’t too toasty or burnt-tasting, either.

I think this means that I’ve found a 52Teas genmaicha that agrees with me, which is all the more delightful because I didn’t expect to find it here. I would have liked a more natural tasting strawberry, but I’m mostly just pleased that I can taste it and it’s there. This one’s definitely a tea that lives up to its name! I’m going to enjoy this one.

Cooking TTB #6

I’ve heard so much about 52Teas on Steepster but never tried any of their tea. So I was excited to see this one in the TTB! Although I can smell the marshmallow sweetness, all I’m tasting is lots of toasted rice, a bit of grassiness from the base and just a hint of strawberry flavor. This one’s not for me, but still glad I had the chance to try it out!

From the Cooking TTB

Pretty tasty – this is a nice, toasty genmaicha with just a hint of strawberry sweetness to it. The green tea and rice are still the dominant flavour.

A sample from VariaTEA! Thank you!

I was interested in trying this, because his other marshmallow genmaicha blends always sounded so good… but then I was always let down. Just MEH. You shouldn’t really go by my ratings though, because I always seem to be let down by 52Teas blends.

No offense to them, they just don’t work out for me.
This was another.

I didn’t NOT enjoy drinking it, it was pleasant enough, but it didn’t really stand out.
Nothing super tasty.

The idea is better than the reality. IMHO.

Anyway, still happy to try it!!!

The whole Steepster world should be proud of me because I just made a point of sitting down for an hour or so to crank out a bunch of backlogged tea reviews. They’ve been hanging around forever! I keep empty packages to remind me to log the ones I drank, I’m so pleased to finally be able to throw these ones away!

(52teas (Anne) 2022: 314)

Review for 2022 Anne version.
I was disappointed with this one – the strawberry was completely overwhelmed by the strong marshmallow root and toasted rice flavours. Another possibility of brewing error, but I’ve had this before in a few teas and it’s been pretty inescapable.

I received this tea from EvaGrim in a swap. Thank you!

As far as Genmaicha goes I have only ever had the chocolate version from Verdant. I haven’t experimented too much with this type of tea so I am going to leave this one unrated. This looked really pretty in the steeper. The toasted rice, hunks of strawberry, and green tea all mixed together. When I held my nose up to the cup I got the sweet smell of strawberry, and my first sip there were hints of strawberry, but the strawberry quickly faded from the taste. The cup slowly changed to a toasty plasticy taste. I am not sure if this was the rice mixed with the green tea. It was nice, but not something I would crave. I am unsure about this one. I think I would like to try some “normal” Genmaicha" to get a feel for what I should be tasting.

This stuff is really good cold steeped! I get that super refreshing genmaicha toasted rice flavor and a hint of strawberry. I could stand a little more strawberry flavor. I added a little sweetener which works out pretty well.

This tea makes me want to try making Neapolitan marshmallow treats! I know I have seen a recipe for it before…

Another flavored tea from NayLynn! I remain curious about this one and the peanut butter version, even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the original Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha. Visually, it’s flat green tea leaves with toasted rice, pieces of marshmallow root, and freeze-dried strawberries. It smells like genmaicha and strawberry milk, yum! I steeped a heaping teaspoon for 3 minutes at 175 degrees.

Brewed aroma is mostly just toasty genmaicha with a hint of strawberry. Hmm, this one is also disappointing. The green tea that they use in these blends is too grassy and it totally goes against the whole creamy confection thing they’re going for. And the strawberry flavor here is too tart to mesh well. With agave and soymilk, this tasted basically exactly like the regular Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha.