Sakura Sencha

A note on Den’s Tea: they really need to get their brewing suggestions in order:

On new package (which expires 11/2010): 6oz/180°F/1 tsp/45 sec steep
On website: 3oz/180°F/1rounded tsp/60 sec steep
Me: 12oz/180°F/3 level tsp/45 sec steep

First time trying this tea so I ended up compromising on the details – and as most compromises end up, the end product is compromised. Yesterday, with laptop down, I would’ve gone straight for the package serving directions. Today, with laptop functioning beautifully, I looked up the tea on their website. So as a composite compromise, I did the above.

Having laid out all the parameters above, on to the tea! This tea smelled wonderful in the bag – the slightest scent of cherries apparently in the midst of all that green-ness. Delightfully delicate. Most becoming in a tea. Nothing artificial offending the nose.

After a carefully timed brew of 45 seconds, the resultant tea is a light yellow-green colored tea – quite beautiful, lacking in that radioactive nuclear-waste tea color evident in some senchas (which deter me not one bit in enjoyment, must be noted, of said toxic colored brew). Also has the very teeniest tiniest scent of cherry – only evident upon knowing that the name of the tea includes sakura (cherry); Smelled again, not really – must’ve been the power of suggestion in the name itself. Tasted not one bit of cherries. It’s green tea all the way. The most buttery-ist green tea ever I’ve tasted. It leaves a film of buttery-ness in/around your mouth for minutes after the swallow. Hence the dilemma – it’s a beautiful tasty green sencha but does not include even the tiniest molecule of cherry taste. And I am the first to admit, the brewing suggestions are varied – package, website, me – so what to do, what to do in terms of rating? The only fair thing, I suppose, is to try the other two suggested brewing parameters (though the one on the tea package would yield a tea way less likely to hold cherries in the flavor). Which leaves the website suggestions – which I will try next. So this tea remains rate-less. Though if you are in the market for the buttery-ist sencha ever, this one is it! I, for one, have to admit, though, that such blatant, surround your mouth buttery-ness is a bit unexpected, a tad overwhelming.

I decided to have this again today and play around with the water temp. I must have gotten into the lower temp range because it is mainly tasting of buttery sencha (and I mean REALLY buttery) with a slight florally sweet aftertaste. I don’t know which prep I enjoy more: lower temp (more sencha) or higher temp (more floral)…but I suspect that I will decide on my preferences based on my mood for the day. This stuff is really good.

Another tea that has a bunch of positive reviews here on steepster and another tea from LiberTEAs…I’m very grateful! :)

This has a very delicate smell and had I not known that it was cherry blossom I would probably still be trying to find the words to explain what exactly it was that I am smelling. But it’s Green Tea and Cherry Blossom indeed!

I really love the pretty little pearls laying perfectly on top of the green tea leaves in this loose leaf mixture. They glitter and dance thanks to the intense fluorescent bulbs above my desk cubicle. The after-infusion liquid is the perfect green tea color. Perfection…what ever other green tea should strive to be color-wise. Okay…I might be over selling it a bit but not by much. I really think the color is perfect tho.

The taste is thirst-quenching and tasty…slightly floral and sweet. It’s a true delight!

First of all, a huge thank you to LiberTeas for giving me some of her stash of this currently-unavailable tea.

The tea is fascinating to look at – dark green, shiny, needle-like leaves of sencha and tiny little dried sakura blossoms still bright pink in colour. The tea has that fresh, grassy sencha smell, but I can also smell a delicate floral, slightly cherry-ish, scent.

The cherry blossom flavour could stand to be a bit more prominent, although I like that the tea isn’t tasting like fake cherry cough-syrup. It’s just a very natural, delicate, floral/fruity hint at the start of each sip. It’s actually easier to taste it in the second steep when it isn’t competing with the slightly unami flavour of the sencha.

Enjoying the last I have of this tea. It will be missed, but, having it gone gives me something to look forward to next spring when Den’s releases their 2011 batch. In the meantime, I’ve plenty of tea to keep me occupied!

This is my favorite cherry flavored Sencha because the Sencha takes the leading role. This doesn’t taste like cherry flavoring with tea, it tastes like tea flavored with cherry. I love the buttery flavor of the Sencha and how well it marries with the cherry – which is a lighter, tarter cherry (more like a cherry you might use to make cherry pie, rather than a sweet cherry like bing or rainier).

Lovely!

Ok, I admit it. This tea terrifies me. I love cherries (bing to be exact), but I hate almost anything else cherry flavored. But… I also love things that are seasonal and since Japan is known for their cherry blossoms, I knew I had to at least give it a try.

Prepared as suggested. 2g/3oz water. The aroma of the dry leaf isn’t as strong as I was expecting and smells of cherry sweet tarts, not of cough syrup as I feared. When steeped the liquor is a gorgeous yellowish green. Surprisingly the sent of the cherry is gone leaving only that of the sencha.

Hmmm… I’ve only had one other flavored sencha from Den’s (their apple) and the flavor of this one just doesn’t compare. The cherry is very light and is more of the blossom rather than the fruit. I’m not sure I’d like it if it was stronger, but I have a feeling that a person looking for a cherry flavored sencha will be disappointed.

I am ready for Spring and after drinking this I want Spring to be here right this moment. This has a really nice flavor. The sencha and the cherry flavor blend together in an excellent way. Neither one overpowers or sticks out above the other. The cherry flavor is not fake at all which really surprised me. I have another cherry flavor tea in my collection that is so incredibly sickly sweet and fake that I really have to be in the mood for. This one however is perfectly refreshing, green, and sweet reminding me of Spring.

Delicious! Each time I reach for this tea, it tastes different to me. It is probably because I’m not very accurate in my steeping parameters. I usually estimate. Smells excellent and tastes smooth. It has a nice, subtle cherry accent to it, especially when I let it roll around in my mouth. I know it might sound gross, but I like doing it. ^_

Yummy! On the plus side, I am finished with my surgical rotation!!! yay! I feel relaxed these days and I finally have some quality time to spend with tea.

The smell straight from the bag is incredible & pretty strong (like cherry candy) but it mellows once you put the leaf in your brewing vessel.

Steeped, the cherry tasted isn’t nearly as intense as the dry leaf aroma would suggest. The balance between cherry and sencha is quite nice. The later infusions lose the cherry taste and you get more sencha.

This is the perfect Spring and Summer tea. It’s great iced on a hot day. Since it’s only available for a limited time (maybe 2 months near the beginning of the year… in other words NOW), buy a couple pouches and store one unopened in the fridge. You’ll be glad you did when the weather changes and you have this refreshing treat to drink :)

Note, this does have cherry flavoring added.

I froze a package of this tea from the spring.
Because it is frozen in the bag – the aroma is not there.
I let it thaw out in the brewing vessel (kyusu) while the water boils.
Been steeping one rounded teaspoon in approx 3 oz of 180F water for 45 seconds on the first steep.
160F and 45 seconds for subsequent steepings (I manage to get four good steepings from the pot this way.

First cup has wonderful, delicate cherry aroma, and I agree with ~lauren, the flavor is sencha (balanced between sweet and bitter), with minimal umami tones, and a buttery finish.

The subsequent steepings are a sencha flavor, slightly less intense and just a trace of cherry aroma. The buttery quality in the finish diminishes with each steeping.

I love this tea.

Had the last of this yesterday.
I brewed it at a bit lower to get the sencha to come through; it had a subtle but tasty umami flavor, but I actually think I prefer it with a more fruity taste and the sencha coming through underneath (instead of being the dominant flavor).

I’m going to miss this until next year, but it is fun to have something to look forward to.

The first time I tried it, I must have steeped it too long. I hated the flavor, and pushed it so far back that I forgot it was there. I brewed a cup this evening, and the taste cup was subtly sweet. I usually hate flavored green teas, but this subtle cherry flavor was a delight. I am glad that this tea was found!

Bought this with my Tencha-Kuki Houjicha. I felt like I almost had to, haha. In the spirit of spring! We may not have many cherry blossom trees in New Jersey, but somehow my spring experience is incomplete without sakura something. I always found it amusing, though, how Japan has so many sakura-flavored things in the spring. I’ve had sakura-flavored Kit Kats… probably sakura-flavored Pocky, too.

Anyway, back to the tea! The leaves smell really, really nice! A liiiiittle bit like candy, but really it’s more like a light sweetness. This is definitely not what one would consider “cherry flavor,” but then again, “sakura” doesn’t mean “cherry” in the fruit sense. It means “cherry blossom” or “cherry tree.” (“Sakuranbou” is the fruit.) Definitely still smells like sencha underneath, though!

The package says to use a higher temp for a more fruity flavor, and a lower temp for more of a sencha flavor, and I used a bit of a low temp, thus resulting in mostly a sencha flavor. There’s a tiiiny bit of sweetness on the end, though. It’s yummy, but I’m looking forward to trying it with a higher temp, too. :) I want to try to recreate the scent of the leaves.

I should mention, too, that as the tea cools, a bit more of the flavoring comes forward in the aftertaste. It’s like floraly sweet.