If you’ve eaten at Jipan and tried their house tea, you might have noticed that it is a bit different from house teas in other Chinese and Japanese restaurants. It is pale gold and has this distinct nutty flavor. Speedy and I would scour supermarkets and oriental stores for something similar and after experimenting with several boxes of tea, we finally discovered what it was — genmaicha or brown rice tea. But that photo below was not taken at Jipan. That was yesterday’s breakfast — cold soba noodles which I enjoyed with brown rice tea.
But what exactly is brown rice tea? Can its meaning be derived literally from its name? Well, yes and no. Brown rice tea is made from roasted brown rice but, traditionally, genmaicha means a combination of green tea and brown rice. Its history is interesting as it reminds me of the way Filipinos in rural areas have taken to drinking “corn coffee.”
From Wikipedia:
This type of tea was originally drunk by poor Japanese, as the rice served as a filler and reduced the price of the tea; today it is consumed by all segments of society.
Filipinos are not traditional tea drinkers except for salabat (ginger brew) and I am not really sure if salabat can be classified as a tea. Filipinos are more of coffee drinkers. But since coffee beans are not inexpensive, in some areas where people could not afford coffee but where corn grew abundantly, rural folks discovered that by roasting corn, a coffee-like drink could be made with it.
So, that’s what I mean when I say that, in a way, genmaicha reminds me of corn coffee drinking Filipinos. Just like corn coffee, genmaicha started out as a way to make more tea out of a small amount of tea leaves. Genmaicha has since crossed socio-economic boundaries and I wonder if, some day, the same thing can happen with corn coffee.
For the cold soba noodles recipe, click here.
For a martini recipe using brown rice tea and ginger, click here.
For home-made genmaicha, click here.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Miguk 09.26.08 at 10:52 am
At least you didn’t have rice. I have never and will never eat rice for breakfast — yuck
Connie Veneracion 09.26.08 at 11:06 am
LOL I’m not a rice eater in the morning either. But there are times when I crave for garlic fried rice, eggs and longganisa.
Miguk 09.26.08 at 2:31 pm
The eggs and sausage part sounds good
rolly 09.26.08 at 8:29 pm
Akala ko may kasamang gatas galing china yung tea. hehe
Connie Veneracion 09.26.08 at 8:44 pm
Miguk, you oughta try them with garlic fried rice. Not necessarily for breakfast LOL
Tito Rolly, naku I have something to say — again — about the China connection. Mamaya hehehe
melisa 09.27.08 at 6:32 am
Hello po… I can’t help but remember ‘yung ginagawa noon ng nanay ko, kpag wala n kaminng kape. [I don't if this is the right term :)] sinasangag nya ‘yung bigas (w/o oil) tapos kapag nag-darken na yung bigas saka nya pakukuluan sa water at ang result ay tinatawag nilang “Blend Forty-Rice”.. hehe
Connie Veneracion 09.27.08 at 9:23 am
Melisa, yes, that was the term I heard used in Aurora (I was there to interview witnesses years ago) where I first had my taste of rice coffee. “Sinasangang”.