Sakura Sencha

It’s another rare overcast day in the desert, and more work in contrasts. Out here, the bougainvillea and oleander are a bright magenta against pale beige and grey. In my cup, the tiny buds are a delicate pink against vivid green sencha. I wish every morning was like this, threatening heavy rain over a cup of seasonal tea. But I know it won’t be. I’ll enjoy it even more with that bittersweet knowledge.

Following Den’s parameters, this is quite bright, sweet-sour and slightly sharp on a thin, dry, but smooth texture. It’s a young feeling, as the fresh flavor comes and goes very quickly without settling, while the fruit-floral aroma teases and lingers. With the help of the sakura, this sencha leans more towards a crisp, buttery spinach than a grassy or marine profile. There’s surprising restraint in the flavoring, though, making this a very delicate flavored tea. Cute, bordering on lovely.

I think this might benefit from just a bit more leaf (+0.5g/3oz), but the very short steep time is perfect. I get four good steeps, with the first being the best from its delicate complexity.

On my last cup, I suddenly heard the alarmingly high pitch of something fragile breaking. I was far away – I had no idea what it was. Upon inspection, it was the lid to my favorite gaiwan – the reliable one I use everyday, the humbly beautiful one I display at my tea table. I have no idea how that happened, and I’m devastated…

But maybe this is another lesson in tea, yet again. Nothing lasts forever; not spring, nor desert rain, nor pink flowers. Not limited-edition tea, nor long-beloved ceramic. And definitely not devastation.

Life goes on, as does tea time.

Everything about this tea is great! I’ll start with the appearance of the leaves. They are most beautiful when dry – the pink of little sakura blossoms accentuates the dark sencha. The aroma of the dry leaf consists of cherry blossoms with a hint of sencha, which stands out more when the leaves are wet. The liquor is a clear, bright green. Concerning flavor, the bitterness of the sencha hits the taste buds, but after sitting in the mouth for a couple seconds, the tea begins to taste of sakura and a full-bodied balance between the two ingredients is well-established. After swallowing, the sakura lingers for a while.

This is one of those teas I could drink all day long and not grow tired of, and, like other good senchas, it makes me happy.

Wonderful, lovely, nearly perfect tea.

I knew I’d love this from the moment I opened it up; I’ve smelled artificial cherry blossom scents before, but this reaches a whole new level of nose sensations. It’s a floral scent mixed with fruitiness — fairly strong, with a more subtle sencha underneath.

I don’t have a thermometer or a timer, but I stuck to the instructions Steepster offers as best as I could (I’ve accidentally made it with a much longer time as well; for your own sake, stick to a quick steep). This resulted in a lovely light golden liquor, much more colorful than I’m used to seeing tea get after sixty seconds.

The flavor is also surprisingly powerful, which is a great thing in my book. Of course, it’s nothing like my favored gunpowders and dessert teas, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s just a distinct but delicate floral version of the cherry flavors I’m used to, sweet and (another surprise) salty. The sencha base takes a back seat here, but what I can taste is a nice little nutty/grassy green — not interesting enough to drink all on its own, but perfect as a base for flavoring.

Basically, I love this. And if you like floral teas, green teas, and/or cherries, you will too.

Tea courtesy of swapping with Kaybee!

2oz water, 1.3g tea, 60sec, 170F

This is my first try at sencha and am going off the Den’s instructions on how to brew it, with the exception of the temperature. With that I went down to 170F for starters, due to Kaybee including a note that 180F seemed its upper limit.

The scent is slightly sweet and floral. Very pleasant.

The flavor is very green in the middle back of the tongue. It is very floral around the middle front of the tongue. The finish is floral and a touch sweet around the nose. There’s a solid bit of bitter, too… not in an off-putting way, but rather in a way that ties the whole flavor of the tea together.

As said, this is my first sencha and if the taste of it is at all representative of how sencha will be, then I’m going to be a fan. I really like this tea and would definitely buy some; it’s going on my Shopping List.

I buy this every spring.
It’s delicate flavor is understated, smooth and refreshing. There is something very refined about this tea. I’m drinking it from a matt/textured/rounded glass cup which for some reason adds to the experience.

When I got the email that this tea was back, I was tempted into buying right away. But then I saw it become sold out twice within a week, I knew I had to purchase quickly. Holy crap, this is quite amazing. It’s so delicate and REAL cherry flavor. I drink tart cherry juice everyday, and this capture cherry’s flavor perfect. I love the little heather flower buds in it. I never had a tea with heather. I just makes it look so beautiful.

And the tea was so GREEN! I kind of wish I bought a pound of this. I didn’t think anything could beat the pineapple flavor. I am loving the sencha in this, just a tip of astringency. So relaxing and tasty.

Just a cup of perfection, and wonderful iced, too!

Well, the dry nose in this was initially floral, then milky and finally spinachy. When I brewed it up, the tea smelled floral and milky; an interesting combination. Once it cooled down to a drinkable temperature, it tasted quite pleasantly of milk, with an aftertaste of natural cherry. Maybe my tastebuds are weird or something, because everyone seems to have tasted something completely different than I did. I like it though; it’s really nice and tasty.

1 tsp @ 135 F for 45 seconds
-
The (fairly) cool water makes for a smooth tea. I can’t taste any bitterness at all, just floral hinted sencha. Almost too hinted; the trade off between temperature and bitterness means that there isn’t enough sakura in my sip at such a low temp.

Very nice aroma – it smells like freshly cut green apples. Not at all astringent, with a clean, simple flavor. Brewing suggestions on the bag note that steeping at lower temperatures brings out more of the sencha flavor, while higher temperatures bring out more of the cherry flavor. Time time try a lower temp.

The first few sips were really excellent, but as I drink more of it, I feel like I’m losing interest. Second cup is kinda meh. Definitely something you’ll want to share with friends, but don’t drink this alone.

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.

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.

I received a generous foil pouch from Den’s in their Green Tea Sampler, and have been able to steep it three different times. Admittedly, I am not a fan of cherry-flavored items, but the sakura in this tea was not artificial or overpowering. You can smell it in both the aroma and taste it as a subtle tartness that balances well with the grassy sencha. The first steep was prepared in 45 seconds, and the second at the recommended 15 seconds to avoid bitterness. A relaxing, but uplifting cuppa for spring mornings! Too bad Den’s is sold out of this variety for the year…

The aroma is wonderful—deliciously cherry-without smelling like fake cherry cough syrup. I almost like opening the bag and smelling the tea as much as drinking it!

The taste is just enough cherry as to enhance the Sencha, without overpowering it. That’s the point of flavored senchas after all, right? To add a twist to the original, a new way to enjoy the normal cup of sencha.

If you find the cherry flavor not strong enough, especially on the 2nd brew, brew it hotter (between 190 – 200) and it will come out more.

Rating –
For Sakura Sencha: 100/100 (I doubt there are much better Sakura Senchas out there — any one challenge that, or have any suggestions to try?)
For Green Tea: 90/100
Overall: 95/100

This is an okay tea. I don’t really think it’s great, but it’s not bad either. Since I don’t have much experience with Sencha, I don’t know if it’s that, or the cherry flavoring that is detracting from the tea. On the plus side, I had this a month ago, and it tastes much better now than it did. So there is something to be said for the fact that palates change. After all, four months ago, I couldn’t stand tea without massive amount of sweetener in it, and now I can’t stand the sweetener.

I usually don’t drink flavored tea but this one sparked my curiosity. It’s pretty good but I couldn’t see drinking this everyday. Tangy cherry flavor comes through mostly with the sencha flavor lying underneath. I think it has added flavorings other than the Sakura. I only steeped this twice as I got tired of the flavor fast. Definitely worth a try.