Sakura Co.
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After months of being curious I decided to try out Sakura Co – which is a monthly subscription snack box service with different Japanese sweets. This month was all cherry blossom themed, and it’s been super cool tasting through the box.
This tea was included, and I was excited to try it out. Much to my surprise when I opened the packaging, it wasn’t dry but was instead soaked in some type of liquid. I wrongly assumed sugar syrup of some kind when, in fact, I think it was a saline solution to preserve the flowers. They were, after all, just pure cherry blossoms – and just so beautiful when steeped. One of the most stunning flower teas I’ve ever seen. Subtle pale pink, ethereal, and just breath taking.
The tea tasted like trash, though. Not literally – but it just wasn’t good. Very, very salty and perfume-y to near gag worthy level. Even when a tea is bad I usually try to finish it to not be wasteful and for education’s sake – but I couldn’t make it through this one.
Yikes! What a shame. All flash, no substance.
I love sakura, but hate the salt/saline notes that many sakura teas have from being salt-preserved. I have to find ones that don’t use the salt preserve or use sugar instead. I have made very good sakura-flavored white rice using the “salty” sakura blossoms, though.
How weird, since it’s called “sweet sakura tea” I would assume they were coated in sugar.
FYI, the company that makes this tea also has a Sweet Sakura Black Tea which is so much better – very enjoyable. I found it at Mitsuwa market, so maybe if there is a Japanese grocery near you, you may be able to find it. Just the Sakura flower “tea” is usually too subtle/floral/weird tasting for me as well.