Rice in your tea?
Meet genmaicha.

The field notes

Green tea. Roasted rice.
A little toasted twist.

The golden grains in a genmaicha blend are part of the tea. They are rice that has already been roasted before meeting the green leaves. That combination gives this Japanese tea its familiar toasted character.

1. Look at the dry blend

   Green tea + roasted rice

   Find the tea leaves and the golden grains. Their shapes and proportions vary from blend to blend. Our film separates the ingredients briefly so it is easier to see what joins the pot.

2. Let the blend steep

   Hot water meets both ingredients

   Add the loose blend to a teapot or infuser, then pour in hot water and allow it to steep. Use the instructions supplied with your tea for the amount, temperature and time.

3. Pour a clear cup

   The leaves and rice stay behind

   A filter separates the brewed liquid from the loose ingredients as you pour. In our illustrated cutaway, both the leaves and rice remain inside the pot while the tea flows into the cup.

Next time you see genmaicha, look at its ingredients first. Which part of the blend explains that toasted aroma?

Read the narration Full video transcript

Rice in your tea? Meet genmaicha.

This Japanese tea brings green tea and roasted rice into the same pot.

Look closely: the slim green pieces are tea leaves.

The golden grains are rice, roasted before they're blended in.

Sencha or bancha often forms the tea base. The rice adds a toasty aroma.

To make a cup, the blend steeps in hot water.

Then the leaves and grains stay behind as you pour.

Follow your tea's brewing directions for the amount, temperature, and time.

That toasted twist starts with the rice.

Green tea, roasted rice. Two ingredients, one cup. Genmaicha.

Follow the blend · Sources

1. Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries · Uji teaGenmaicha ingredients and tea bases in the production-method section; teapot infusion.
2. Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms · GenmaichaGreen tea blended with roasted rice, roasted-rice aroma and variation in tea base and proportions.
3. Ippodo Tea · GenmaichaThe producer’s green-tea-and-roasted-rice blend, ingredient images and roasted-rice aroma.
4. Ippodo Tea · Standard Genmaicha BrewA producer’s example of measuring the blend, adding hot water, steeping and serving. Its numerical recipe is not universalized here.

A representative illustrated blend, with a schematic brewing cutaway. No measured ingredient ratio, universal recipe or origin story is implied. Sources checked October 28, 2026.