Cherry Blossom

Thanks to Kittenna for this sample!

Another day, another cold brew. Doing a different tea a night is actually a pretty handy way to go through my huge sample box, and also a nice way to keep drinking tea when it’s so hot outside! I picked this one last night because I am on a cherry blossom kick after trying Den’s Sakura Sencha. Theirs is blended only with sakura blossoms it seems, and I have another blend with sakura, rose petals, and cherries. This one is different, because… well, there’s no sakura! Kind of weird since the name is Cherry Blossom, and there’s no cherry blossom in the ingredients list. There is a host of other stuff though, like coconut (?), dried cherries, rosebuds, and 4 or 5 different base teas blended together.

This tea is a little tart and a little sweet, with a nice cherry flavor. Not cherry blossom, but actual cherry. It’s not fresh cherry (which is a flavor I’ve never found properly replicated in tea) but it has a tart, juicy edge that’s pretty close to the real thing. I thought the rose would be more prominent, but I’m only getting a hint of it towards the end of the sip. The coconut is there too, in a mild way, adding some sweetness and another fruity dimension. If someone gave me this without me knowing what was in it I don’t think I’d ever guess “coconut” but there is definitely another fruit layer going on.

The disappointment comes with the base: you’d think with 4-5+ different kinds blended together, you’d get a ton of complexity. However, I’ve found that the more kinds of tea are in it, the less complex it is. Two is fine, especially if they are similar (white peony and a light Chinese green, for example), but add more than that and they are just competing for attention. There’s no fruity taste, no floral notes or grassiness, not even a hint of vegetal goodness. It’s just a basic “tea” taste, which is a shame because it seems like there are some interesting types in here: I think this would be better on a white peony or sencha base, to be honest. It’s not bad by any means and in fact I am really enjoying it, but you have to think of it as “cherry tea” rather than “complex floral cherry blossom tea.”

Thank you TeaFairy for this sweet sample!

I’ve been waiting for my granddaughter Schey to come over for some tea tasting! I have 5 different types of tea for her to try…but she’s late. It’s for a good reason though. Mom and dad are picking up a little foster boy who may be my next grandson! He’s had visits already and the other children have been in agreement on this little one. Me too,child #7!

Also, last night very late, my daughter Annalisa cut off all of Schey’s hair. She’s bald. Her Godmother has pancreatic cancer which is inoperable. I am so proud of the mother my daughter is this Mother’s Day! She’s raising great children!

While I waited, this Cherry Blossom Tea seemed a light enough choice.
I steeped the tea 3.5 minutes and drank in the sweet smelling cherry scent. Ummmm! Very fragrant indeed! The first large sip reminded me of Ludens Cherry Cough Drops in a wonderful way. I liked it when my dad slipped one to me in Church as a little girl. They were intense Cherry and warm going down my throat. Then I wondered if I could make the tea taste like the creamy Swirl Cherry Life Savers? (I’ve gone off my rocker!)
I added sweetening and some cream (no soy or other gunk…Cream). Yup, it tasted like the Swirl Cherry Life Savers! Hey! (Did a little dance here)
This is tasty and the bai mudan that usually makes my mouth feel like a furry cat is crouching in the back of my throat was ok because of the mix of green tea! (So a cat in the grass is alright (stupid I know!)).
In all, a nice and flavorful very Cherry tea!

I NEED some tea. You don’t even know. I’ve had the worst past couple days of my life. The only thing that could have made it worse was if someone close to me died. Emphasis on the close to me part because someone did die, my dad’s best friend’s father. My finances are in tatters, I didn’t get a promotion that I was really counting on, my fiancé and I have been fighting nonstop, and my eye doctor sent my glasses out for new lenses and UPS lost them!

And did I mention that I can’t wear contacts because my eyes are allergic? I don’t have back up glasses, and my brother’s wedding is in 3 days, for which I’m leaving tomorrow. GREAT! Now I get to be blind for my brother’s wedding!! The eye doctor refuses to pay for the glasses, so I just went to Lenscrafters and spent about $450 to buy new glasses, which I can’t even see out of because they don’t carry the anti-reflective lenses in the store. They’re special order only. I need to see NOW, not in 10-14 days!

These glasses literally suck. I’m seeing at about 60-80%. I’m so upset and frustrated. It’s just problem on top of problem on top of catastrophe. My face is completely broken out, my eyes are super irritated from trying to wear contacts anyway, and I’m having a huge allergic flare-up from my cat. Yes, I’m allergic to my cat. Don’t ask me why I bought him in the first place. I love animals, and he wriggled his way into my heart. I just want to scream. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, now that I got that off my chest…I’ll try and concentrate on this tasting note. Sadly, I think my rant has tainted the tea. It just tastes mediocre, like barely flavored water. I think this is another sample that I let sit for too long before trying it. Oh poop. I’m giving up on this one. I’m gonna’ go brew something else. Thanks to Kittenna for providing the sample, and my apologies for ranting my problems to all of you and high jacking this tasting note with negative crap.

Sipdown!

Another sample from raritea She’s single handedly trying to expose me to as many david’s teas as she can i think :) This one isn’t too bad. there’s a bit of a floral background to this, but it’s not so strong as to turn me off. I wish the cherry was a little less artificial tasting and a bit stronger, but over all it’s not too shabby. Not my favourite, but something I could drink and enjoy occasionally! thanks Raritea

Yumm-O!
I was searching around for a tea and was sniffing about and smelled something deliciously sweet. After a few bag sniffs.. I discovered it was this! So I decided now was the perfect time to try it =)
The taste is really nice. Delicate white tea base with hints of vegetal green.. then a lovely, real cherry flavour. I was nervous about trying this tea as I picked up a sencha kyoto cherry rose tea from a shop in Barkerville and it was horrific. I mean bad. I’ve tried brewing it hot and hot-to-cold and it just tastes like cherry cough syrup. Maybe I should just do a straight up cold steep. Who knows….
Either way, for that reason I was really nervous about the cherry flavour of this tea but its really lovely and gentle. I do enjoy this tea quite a bit.

Hmm. Sweet, not unpleasant, but doesn’t rock my boat. I tasted plain, added Sugar in the Raw and tasted again, added half-and-half and tasted again.

Not as delicate as I expected, not as distinctly cherry-flavored, no discernible tea flavor. I will withhold a numerical rating for now — maybe the cherry bits settled in the packet and that’s not why I’m tasting them in this first cup. The packet was very full.

I poked around in the wet leaves left in my infuser and didn’t spot anything except tea leaves and coconut pieces. That tends to bear out my theory that I didn’t get any cherry bits, rose petals, or bits of rosebud in the basket — probably just the aroma absorbed by the leaves.

The dry scent was fruity-floral. That’s sort of what I’m tasting, too. I can tell it isn’t jasmine, but I would be hard-pressed to identify it as rose in the background.

I’ll try this one again and post an update in a day or two.

The dry tea smells sweet and floral, with a hint of cherries. And holy cow there are a lot of dried cherries in my bag! Or at least there were at the top. And cute little rosebuds!

Steeped, this one smells a lot like Cherry Potion to me. A cherry-like tartness, but there’s a bit of a floral aroma as well.

Ok… not what I expected. It’s very light, and there’s a bit of a cherry flavour, but it’s not tart as I expected. Instead, it’s more floral, with a floral aftertaste. I’m getting a strong cherry aftertaste in the back of the mouth, which is pleasant. I don’t taste a great deal of tea, but I’m sure it’s there in the background.

Another tea I’m glad to have tried, but not special enough to keep in stock, especially given the price! It’s also a touch too floral for me, although I appreciate the cherry flavour without the tartness.

I think I’ll try steeping it longer next time and see what I end up with; it seems that DT’s white teas taste better with shorter steep times than they recommend, so I started low this time!

ETA: Second steep, for ~6 minutes, is alright, but I’m getting a tannin-y taste, probably from the long infusion. Still not bad though, with a hint of the cherry tartness at the end of the sip. Might have been more had I not scooped out a rehydrated cherry and eaten it between infusions 1 and 2 :D

WOW! This tea is amazing! I got my David’s order today (sans Gold Rush, regrettably), but was delighted with this gem. It’s scent took over the room with a potent cherry/floral combination. It smelled more like green tea at the start, followed by a punch of cherries. The flavor is complex, and follows suit with the scent. David’s has proved to me what a nice complement coconut is. I’m bewildered by the number of blends they add it into, and how different the flavor palette of each is from each other, and yet, it manages to work so nicely without overpowering the delicate blends. Even though this is predominately white with green tea, it has a robust flavor that is just divine! Usually teas with fruit flavor this big I think of as an iced tea (pom power), but this one has such a delicate balance that I can only picture it as a warm, delicious treat.

I used 1 and 1/2 scoop of dry leaf for my Aquaovo tumbler.

The main flavour that I am getting in the first sip is that of plum-apricot; very sweet and candy-like with no unpleasant sugary after-taste. The taste of the white tea is lost in the background. I was hoping for more of a coconut flavour. Hint of bitterness on the finish but not enough to make it an unpleasant experience.

As it is cools, I am getting a fuller cherry flavour which blooms into the plum-apricot taste. The white tea taste is better able to peek out near the end of the sip. There is a consistent sweetness throughout. Flavour is delicate, maybe bordering on what I would consider to be thin.

After the end of my cup I got a really amazing lingering after taste. It is definitely more cherry-like than the flavour of the actual tea with the mild tartness that I associate with cherries. I am getting way more of the white tea taste too.

This is a lovely tea. Thank you David’s for including this free sample with my order. Visually the tea is very lovely. Take a look at the photograph and imagine the colours looking more vivid. The taste is just sensational—delicate but strong enough that the Cherry taste really does come through. This would make a great offering for guests and a real treat for any occasion. I didn’t slurp it down but drank it delicately.

I was also much more careful than usual about heating and cooling the water, which undoubtedly pays off.

I’ve never tried cherry tea so I don’t have anything to compare it to. However I do like this and I can taste the cherries. I accidently boiled the water first… and it still tastes good :D

This is my favourite cherry blossom tea I’ve tried. It’s a delicate and sweet, but not overpowering. It also doesn’t taste like soap, which is what I find other cherry blossom teas to taste like. I emailed Davids Tea asking about when this tea would return and they told me that they won’t be continuing it. I’m really upset about it and I would love to see this tea return.

Oh this is good! Man I was nervous to try this one but now I have nothing to worry about because I think this will be a perminant tea on my shelf. Its so sweet (but not sugary) and so fruity. When I first sniffed the dry leaves it smelled strongly of cherry cough medicine. Once its brewed it has such a nice subtle cherry scent. Tastes real, not like artificial cherries! And ohhhh how it is blended with coconut (my absolute most favourite flavour in the whole entire universe) creates a balance like no other. I want to try this one iced and I hope it will have good results. ThAnK yOu DaViDsTeA! You made my life.

I’ve heard of Cherry Blossom season in East Asia and about the beautiful festivals. I believe it’s around this time of year so i thought it would be perfect to snag one of these and try it out. As all the other reviews say, GREAT balance. With two or more distinct flavors I think it’s key to get a good balance between them and this tea does so in a great way. Sweet and tarty mixed with a great floral scent, for a split second, you feel like you’re experiencing the Cherry Blossom festival first hand. Loving the balance of flavors and would recommend this tea to everyone to at least try and judge for yourself, especially if you’re a fan of cherry blossom tea. The best one I’ve tried so far.

This is a nice balance of the sweet/tartness of cherries and the floral taste from the roses. It is delicate and calming.
I am really glad it came “back from the dead” so that I could try it.
2nd steep: just as good as the first one!

Why has no one said “tastes like sour Cherry Blasters” yet?

This tea is very pleasant! The cherry blossoms are definitely the main flavour here, very cherry-y without being artificial. There are so many kinds of tea in this tea! I completely guessed at the temperature and time (175, 2 minutes) and I think next time I’m gonna go for 165, and still 2 minutes. Because it had a bit of the same taste that Mom’s Apple Pie always had for me before I realized that I was burning the leaves…
Even though it definitely tastes like cherry, it doesn’t really make me think of cherry blossoms or Japan. I don’t think it’s quite delicate/light enough. It’s like a 6.5 on the delicateness scale (10=most delicate). Yes, that’s a thing. I can’t taste the coconut at all but I have a feeling it’s there to add some richness or something? This is another tea that doesn’t get weird as it cools, which is something I appreciate! Also something about this reminds me of apple juice?

Hahaha, can you tell this tea confused me?!

oh yes! a cherry tea without hibiscus! too bad it is limited online, but i got a good 50g before it sold out.
so tasty, very light and fresh. mildly floral with a true cherry taste and that coconut sweetness as an undertone.
very nice! will definitely try a re-steep to make this bag last longer! :)

I haven’t been here for a while which I deeply regret.I’m starting off with Cherry Blossom because it seems appropriate since the lovely things are blooming like crazy around my beautiful but rainy home province.

plus : FLORAL, FLORAL FLORAL!! ( I’m a BIG fan of floral..in fact I’m the only person I know who actually likes All The Raj!)

In the pouch it smells very cherry, a little sweet and lightly dusted with coconut..every time I shake the pouch or smell it again it changes in lovely ways and makes my taste buds ache with antici…..pation.Oh and it smells expensive like you shouldn’t be able to afford it.

First taste: Gently sweet and I can tell this would be much better iced.It is also a little bitter and I didn’t take into account the green tea in it so I recommend putting it for less then the recommended time for sure!

Reminds me of: Spring and picnics under a beautifully blue sky.

Perfect for: A good Icing.Sitting on the patio with good friends and people that can get the timing juuuust right.

Final Verdict: Nice,but ultimately uninteresting.I will try it iced next time but really I prefer the smell from the pouch and wish I could bathe in it( perhaps I could make it into potpourri?? is that even possible with tea?? SERIOUSLY let me know it smells that good.)Not floral or fruity enough either.The sweetness was nice though.

Boring.