I haven’t been drinking much sencha lately, I find that the strong vegetal flavor just doesn’t appeal to me as much as it once did, but I’ve had this package sitting around longer than it should have and decided to open it up today. With the subzero weather we’ve been having all month, I needed a reminder that spring is coming and delicate sakura blooms nestled among the sencha remind me very much of spring and the many days I’ve spent viewing the sakura blossoms with friends.
The flavor of this tea is quite different from any other sencha I’ve tried. There is the slightly astringent vegetal flavor that I expected from a good quality sencha, but hiding beneath that is the flavor of the sakura. It seems to come out more as the tea cools giving the tea a slightly sweet and floral flavor. I’m not sure I’ve had anything else that even remotely compares to the flavor I’m sensing, which makes it very difficult to describe. I can’t wait to try this as a an ice tea, I think it would be wonderful. I may try that later in the week since the weather will be up in the high 30s (not really iced tea weather, but the closest I’m going to get for a few more months.)
