DIY Genmaicha: How to Make Your Own Japanese Brown Rice Tea

Legend has it that during the 1400's an important samurai warlord...was having tea in the morning discussing a battle strategy with his patrol leaders. A servant by the name of Genamai was serving hot tea to the group. Leaning over to give tea to the warlord, rice that he had surreptitiously taken for a morning snack fell out of his pocket into the steaming hot tea.

Some popped upon hitting the hot tea. The warlord was incensed, jumped up brandishing his samurai sword he promptly cut of Genamai's head in one fell swoop. He then sat down to continue the meeting. Despite the fact that the tea had been tarnished he drank it anyway. The flavor was very unique and he enjoyed it tremendously. In honor of poor Genamai he pronounced that this rice and tea be served every morning and be called Genmaicha (cha being the name of tea in Japanese. )-From tealaden.com

The first time I ever had genmaicha, it was a fabulous pan-sensory experience for sure; it was at a hip coffeehouse, where the tea bags were held open in the cup, dangling into the water over the rim by a teeny wooden dowel. The tea leaves were exposed, and in the extreme fragrant, emerald green moss of leaves, I could see small little pieces of popcorn poking around; and upon tasting the golden liquid, I was absolutely wowed. It was like absolutely nothing I have ever tasted before-profound, with a perfect balance of earth, air, and sea. Wait a minute, "sea?" Yes, somehow to me, genmaicha has a vaguely distant and kind oceanic taste. You're just going to have to try it for yourself to see what I mean.

Luckily, you don't have to seek out a hipster joint to do it. You probably already have the fixins' for genmaicha, or brown rice tea, in your kitchen cupboard. Follow the easy instructions below to make your own.

Items needed

Green tea, either loose or tea bags
Brown rice, hulled
Water
French press coffee pot, saucepan, or tea strainer
Non-stick skillet

Instructions for roasting the brown rice