Day 5 - Attempt to Make Green Tea

I've made green tea before. Not in the strict way, with a kitchen scale to weigh the proper amount of tea leaves or a thermometer ensuring that the water isn't above the 180 degrees that would burn the tea. I've put the tea in a teapot with a strainer and poured boiling water into it and it was fine.


This morning, I thought I'd make some tea. In the cabinet, I saw that Koko had bought two packages of green tea. Hm. I didn't remember him buying two. One was a regular green tea. The other was was dried green leaves with toasted brown things and sesame seeds.


Ah, genmaicha,* I thought. (If you recall from my previous post, genmaicha is green tea with toasted brown rice and popcorn.) It's a little unusual because of the toasted white sesame seeds instead of toasted brown rice, but you know. I'm sure there's brown rice in there somewhere, and popcorn. 


I put some in the tea ball infuser, poured some hot water into it, and looked at it.

It was somehow darker and clearer than I remembered this tea to be. I took a sip. What...is...this?? It tastes weird! And smells...like the sea! And...it's salty?! This is definitely not green tea. But what is it?

Then I remembered that Koko had previously bought and used some "strange-tasting" furikake (rice seasoning, usually with dried seaweed, salt, sugar, sometimes dehydrated egg, sesame seeds, bonito fish flakes, etc) and realized this must be it. I went to the cabinet and took out the package again to examine it. Yup, there were definitely flecks of seaweed in there. I decided to drink the rest of it, like a soup, only in a mug with a tea ball strainer at the bottom of it.

But now, six hours later, I still have that seaweed taste in my mouth. >_<  I love seaweed, but this was not have been the best way to have it.

On the upside, next time I make a seafood soup, I know just what to add.