I’ve been curious about this tea for a while and finally got a chance to try it. It is made using salt pickled cherry blossoms. They also contain plum vinegar, which likely acts as a preservative. First, the salt needs to be removed by soaking a blossom in warm water for five minutes. After the salt is removed I poured hot water into the tea cup with the petal inside. Then the salted water can be added back to the tea to season it to taste. I have to say that this tea is really beautiful to look at as the petals unfold. The liquor was clear.
This tea was sweet and slightly floral. It was almost as though the blossom just very lightly scented the water. A lot of teas use artificial cherry flavoring and this tea tastes nothing like those. I was expecting it to be extremely salty tasting but it was actually rather subtle. In Japan, sakura is added to just about everything including Kit-Kats and Starbucks lattes. I would definitely recommend this tea.