Tea drinking is pretty firmly established after 5,000 years, but I’ve declared 2007 to be my year of tea consumption. I’ve never been a huge tea drinker so there’s lots to learn, but I do have a favorite in genmaicha, a popular but unusual Japanese green tea (”cha”) to which toasted brown rice (”genmai”) grains are added. It’s said to have originated with Japanese peasants who used the rice as filler to stretch their precious tea. Today it’s usually made from sencha, the most common commercial Japanese green tea, that is soothing, fresh and sometimes served with sushi. As the tea steeps it goes from a pale green to a golden color. The rice grains give the tea a nutty aroma and toasty flavor that is sweet, subtle and even better when it’s not too hot. Sometimes popcorn is added during the tea drying process, so it is known as the “popcorn tea.” I’ve taken to having genmaicha in the evenings, but it would be just as nice at lunch or in the afternoon with some cookies.

I bought some genmaicha in bulk at Leaf & Bean in Park Slope. This was my first visit to Leaf & Bean, but they started selling coffees, teas and other specialty items from around the world over 30 years ago, back when coffee almost always came in cans and tea just came in bags. They are extremely knowledgeable and not the least bit fussy or pretentious about their tea. They sell about five pounds of the genmaicha tea each week to the long-living locals who enjoy it.

Leaf & Bean
83 Seventh Avenue

Originally published on Until Monday: Brooklyn.