Blooming teas are the most beautiful to make, visually. Here I have Japan Greentea Co Sweet Sakura Tea.
The sakura blossoms come in a sealed foil sachet. They’ve been preserved in salt, with a few salt crystals still visible, and take on a sort of bruise colour.
Pouring freshly boiled water over the blossoms bring them to life and the petals quickly unfurl to resemble the cherry blossoms they once were. The petals lose their bruise colour and become more of a translucent pink. It’s a very feminine tea.
Infusing 2 g of sakura petals in 100 mL of just boiled water, the translucent pink of the petals came through as the slightest hint of pink in the clear infusion. Served hot, the infusion has a salty and sour taste from the head right through to the aftertaste that reminds one of apricots and almonds preserved in brine. These floral notes of sakura I enjoy, but the briny, marine flavour from the salt used to preserve the sakura is bold – too bold – and prevents me from enjoying it. I used to believe that the taste of preserved sakura blossoms could be acquired, but I’m convinced that it’s just not for me. That said, it is one of the prettiest teas.
This Japan Greentea Co Sweet Sakura Tea contained 6 tea bags. It was packed in Japan and was purchased in Ōsaka, Japan in 2014.