Genmacashew

I’m really late writing a tasting note for this one, as it is one of Frank’s blends and over two years old… but I really enjoyed this one when it was fresh (and now — though the flavor isn’t quite the same!) This seems less like a genmaicha and more like a green sencha tea with plenty of nutty flavor. I love that cashews and macadamias are represented here. I’ll enjoy what remains of this blend… hopefully not too far away in the future.

I love confusing and interesting teas. This one certainly fits the bill. The taste is like salty bar nuts, and I really like it! Even I would do a double take at that sentence but trust me, there’s something about the salty nut mouthfeel in a warm drink that is super comforting. The aftertaste has a floral note which gives it some lightness. The combo really works and gives it some complexity that genmaicha doesn’t always have.

Backlog:

I enjoyed this both hot and cold. The green tea is lightly grassy and sweet, and I like the way the nutty flavors meld with the toasty rice flavor. I don’t necessarily get ‘cashew’ or ‘macadamia nut’ but I get a medley of nut flavors, as if I grabbed a handful of mixed nuts and ate them all mixed together. It is a harmonious, nutty flavor.

It’s good. Not my favorite from 52Teas but not bad either, and one that I’m glad I tried.

Underwhelmed :( The aroma from the bag had that weirdness that all 52teas’ genmaichas have had since the reblends started tasting/smelling off – a chemically, almost chloriney sort of flavour that I am convinced is coming from the toasted rice. It’s possible to almost get past that while drinking the tea, but sadly, the remaining flavour is, IMO, far from cashew. It’s actually pretty floral (rose??), which strikes me as quite odd, and there’s maybe some nuttiness beneath that, but the floral is fairly powerful. On the plus side, it doesn’t taste like I’m drinking perfume, but it’s not at all what I was hoping for. Another miss in terms of it tasting like one would expect from a “genmacashew” tea, although if you’re fond of florals and don’t pick up that weird note I get, you might actually find this rather pleasant.

Huh this is quite different than I was expecting. There’s a fairly typical genmaicha base, but the other flavours remind me more of a sweet rose than cashew. I’m enjoying it, but my expectations are getting in the way a little bit.

Thank you to my Secret Pumpkin TraceyC for letting me try this!

Yum, a tea for nut lovers and I love macadamia nuts in tea blends! We need more macadamia nut teas!

This one is pretty sweet, kind of like nut brittle with maca nuts. The nutty flavors go well with the toasty rice of the genmaicha, with this tea having a savory finish. I get some cashew aftertaste, but is pretty light. Genmacashew resteeps pretty well, but the green gets a little bitter so don’t over do it.

Since this tea is pretty heavy with the nuts, there’s only a couple servings in the 0.5oz package.

Full review on my blog The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/genmacashew-genmaicha/