Best place to get Genmaicha tea

Is that in reference to the Genmai tea we are discussing, @dave?

Genmai just means green tea.

I meant that brand. It says made in the USA.

Ah, nevermind. Missed the link.

Whew.

@jasper, thanks! I could take 3-4 boxes of the genmai.

I'd also take four if that's easier to split.

If it is really genmaicha it should be Japanese green tea

Dave- is the same true of any tea from china? Chinese black yea is my fave (lapSang, yunnan)

@shh, yes, we can split the 12-pack of Genmai Cha between you, me, and szurka. @mem, I'm not sure if you were interested in trying a box of that or the Jasmine. Either (or both) is fine with me. The tea should arrive by next Saturday.

I think the Yamamotoyama tea is Japanese, but I did find a Yamamotoyama of America website, so they may have a US arm of the company. On the other hand, the website was updated as of 2008, and seems to be incomplete, so who knows.

I got my genmaichi and it says it's from china. Should I chuck it? It was only $12.

mem, I don't know what to advise about the tea you bought, but if you decide not to drink it and want a few boxes from the 12-pack that I ordered, I'm happy to include you in the split. If it's that popular, we can always order another 12-pack in a few months when everyone needs more.

I threw it out so count me in, thanks.

Okay, mem. Sorry about the other tea - I guess it's better not to take a chance. Hopefully this one is clearly marked as to where it originated.

Just read an article called What's in your Green Tea? in today's NYTimes. Very interesting and a little scary. Didn't think about lead etc. Also readers' comments are interesting. Not too much tea is grown in the US but Bigelow does grow it in S Carolina. Most is from China. Sorry I don't know how to transfer the article.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/whats-in-your-green-tea/?src=me&ref=general&gwh=E92BC2C4683375695D02DA1386557855

Thank you, Mantram.

Thanks, galileo and mantram. The referenced study did not review the brand of tea I ordered, so I certainly can't say how well it scores in terms of antioxidant benefits, but in terms of lead concerns, the following part of the NY Times article implies that practically speaking, it's not a concern:

Dr. Cooperman said the tea leaves containing lead probably originated in China, where studies have found that industrial pollution causes the leaves in some regions to gather substantial amounts of lead. The Teavana leaves came from Japan, where that is less of a problem, he said. The decaffeination process also helps remove lead.

Still, the study found that there was no real prospect of a health concern from the lead. The liquid portions of the teas that were brewed and tested contained very little if any of the metal, Dr. Cooperman said.

“The majority of the lead is staying with the leaf,” he said. “If you’re brewing it with a tea bag, the tea bag is very effectively filtering out most of the lead by keeping those tea leaves inside the bag. So it’s fine as long as you’re not eating the leaves.”

It will be even less of a worry if the tea leaves are sourced from Japan, which I won't be sure about until I see the box, if it makes it clear. The tea is due to arrive tomorrow, and I'll PM all interested parties then to arrange pick-up.

The tea has arrived. I am PM'ing mem, shh, and szurka. If anyone else is interested, feel free to post here or PM me.

Genmai Cha is $2.10 per box, and Jasmine is $2.20 per box.

The boxes are marked "Mfd. by YAMAMOTOYAMA of America Pomona, CA", but make no mention of where the tea was grown. I called the company just now and spoke to someone in QA, and she said that much of their green tea is grown on a plantation in Brazil, but that some of it does come from China. She seemed fairly certain that the Genmai Cha comes from Brazil, but the Jasmine tea may come from China.

Personally, I'm not worried about it, but I wanted to make what information I could find available so each person can decide for themselves.

The tea is very good, very nice to meet you Jasper, look forward to seeing you again, and thank you!

Dave-
Genmaicha means brown rice tea. Sencha means green tea

Oh, mem, I'm glad you're enjoying it, and it was lovely to meet you too. Hope we'll see you at the artists' studio tour.

We tried the Jasmine tea tonight and it was lovely. Maybe not quite so floral as the Mlesna brand that someone sent me from India, but still very good. If anyone is interested in the Jasmine tea, I have 6 boxes that I'm willing to part with, at $2.30 per box.

I've been drinking this insipid Bigelow green tea that they provide at work, and the Jasmine will be a very pleasant and aromatic improvement.

Genmaicha is green tea with rice. Also: 40% of rice from south China has been found to contain amounts of cadmium well over the acceptable level for consumption. So it's a good candidate to toss.

http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/cadmium-rice-is-chinas-latest-food-scandal/
[edit to fix amt]

CADMIUM??!! Omg...

The good stuff such as the genmaicha sold by adagio (wink to flugermongers) comes from Japan- so no need to toss due to rice

Thanks to @jasper for ordering. Love this tea! I am happy to place the next order when needed!

It was my pleasure, and I'd go in again, though at the moment, I have enough to last me for a while; don't forget, I have a LOT of jasmine tea! ; - )

shh, if you run short before everyone's ready for the next order, I can give you another box to even us out.

I just opened a box of the Yamamotoyama Genmai Cha tea, and I'm disappointed to report that I don't think it's nearly as good as the Celestial Seasonings version that I just finished. Unfortunately, Celestial Seasonings discontinued the Genmai Cha, but I still have one more box of Eden Organic Genmai Cha on hand, so I'm going to do a taste comparison with that one tomorrow night and I'll report back. If it's as good as I recall from previous boxes, then I say we try to find a bulk purchase option for it for the next time.

Wait, is that the roasted one? I love it!

How is the jasmine one?

Oh, ssh, I'm glad you're happy with it - I don't want to be a downer about it - I just think I've had better. Let's see what I find when I try the other brand again tomorrow. Maybe it's me, or the water, or who knows what.

The jasmine is actually quite nice, though not as over-the-top aromatic and heavenly as another brand I got from a friend who had a colleague in India send it over. Unfortunately, I've yet to find that particular product from that brand locally, so I figured I'd try the YMY, and it's good, but the other one is amazing.

Well, let me know, I have been enjoying this one but would certainly go in on others if you want to do another bulk thing.