- Latin name
- Camellia sinensis + Oryza sativa
- Origin
- Japan; in perfume an accord
- Parts used
- green tea with roasted rice
- Raw materials
- tea, rice and roasted notes
- Extraction
- synthesis
- Olfactory group
- green, gourmand (tea)
- Position in the pyramid
- heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- pyrazines, Hedione, tea bases
Genmaicha is a Japanese green tea mixed with roasted rice. Poorer families once drank it, adding rice to stretch the expensive tea; today it is loved for its warm, nutty flavour.
How it smells: green, warm and cosy: fresh green tea, roasted rice, a light nutty and bready shade, a faintly salty popcorn-like nuance. Genmaicha sounds calm, homely and very unusual.
Genmaicha's warm roasted note comes from pyrazines — molecules that appear during roasting and smell of bread crust, nuts and coffee. Combined with cool green tea, they give this accord its unique balance.
What it pairs with: with green and white tea — Japanese tea compositions, with rice and milk — soft milky fragrances, with yuzu — a fresh Asian touch, with sandalwood — warm creamy wood, with musk — a cosy skin-like base.
Good to know: some of the rice grains in genmaicha pop like popcorn during roasting — which is why in Japan this tea is sometimes jokingly called “popcorn tea”.
