it sometimes occurs that i will find a tea at my local vendor's shop the fragrance of which attracts me mightily. it likewise sometimes occurs that i am dis- appointed by the tea which is subsequently pro- duced from said leaves. it would follow from this that leaf fragrance is not a solid indicator of qua- lity. there are, of course, many things which need be tested in determining quality, but it is passing strange that a batch could give up an entirely pleasing aroma in leaf form and then fall short in taste.
Maybe said leaves prefer to be brewed differently from the way you tried. If you could identify the tea and tell us what you did with it, we might be able to help.
Teas that feature fragrance over taste are known as "nose teas"; those that feature taste over fragrance are known as "mouth teas". I've found that it is better to "pull" nose teas and "push" mouth teas; that is, green teas with a lovely fragrance seem to appreciate a lower temperature than teas whose fragrance is less of an issue. Experimentation will tell the tale.
Where, Starbucks? There is a beverage called Sakura-yu, but this is salt-preserved cherry blossoms steeped in hot water, drunk usually at auspicious occasions like weddings. But bancha with cherry blossoms is pure imagination. You're just trying to get under my skin, aren't you, Jim.
I can buy Cherry Bancha and Cherry Sencha at our annual Cherry Blossom festival. The scent is so strong I buy Cherry Bancha so change mediocre too cheap. Next year I'll try the blossoms off my own trees if there is no early freeze like the last two years. The teas I buy have no blossoms and I've always suspected an industrial adulteration. It's too sweet.
So it's not just Japanese tea adulterated with actual cherry blossoms, but rather tea with sprayed-on artificial flavoring? In the manner of those horrid coffee beans made to taste like orange amaretto cheesecake? This is sick, man.
Where there is a Japanese community you'll find a Sakura festival. The teas I buy are from Japanese merchants but I've always wondered why no blossom and I feel the taste is syrupy sweet. I just bought some from my local tea shoppe and the same taste. If the tea is suppose to taste like cherry cordials then it is too much for me. It is almost like a perfume. You can find my geographical location using Google usenet and my moniker. I don't mention it here because I don't want someone showing up at my door asking me what I think of some tea they bought from a website.
I don't know if your tea is made the same way as the "sakura shincha" we get here (about anywhere in Kansai) during the hanami season. Here, it's simply flavored with an essential oil (like earl grey). It's not "sweet" at all and the flavor doesn't last long. Even if you don't open the package, in June, all the flavor is already gone. I wouldn't drink some regularly, but one or two cups in season, that's refreshing.
The "sakura" flavor is that of a sort of "pickled cherry blossom". The blossom has little flavor and perfume by itself, except a few uncommon species, Japanese cherry blossom are just for the view, no perfume and no cherries later. Most of the "sakura" flavor comes from a liquid you get when you prepare umeboshi (salted unripe plum + shiso). They traditionnally use that flavor and coloring sweets, that are popular in guess what season. There exist chemical substitutes too. Adding some directly to the tea leaves is certainly "an invention". So what ? Now it's invented. From what I got, it existed in Japan before M*rr*ge Fr*r*s stole the idea.
Crymad, Jean-Luke was the girl with the grapefruit sencha.
Sounds odd. I wonder if this is a Kansai specialty, then. I never encountered it in Kyushu, where I lived. Given Kyushuers' fondness for sweetness, Jim's local version might have a better chance of catching on there...
Yes and no. It's know part of the hanami "good" that reappear in most shops during the hanami season only, but I wouldn't know where to buy any today. It's like Santa Klaus clothes, I wouldn't say it's common usually in Osaka, but in season, you can see 50 persons wearing some on the same train platform. Maybe in Kyushu, there follow less the crazy trends.
For the other flavored senchas, I have never seen any on sale, for the reason I never go to the Parisian tea shops here, but they have been extremely popular with young women in the recent years. Other people don't know that exists.
Thanks Kuri. I might find the taste more tolerable since there is a version that is suppose to taste that way. This would make a better iced tea. M*rr*ge Fr*r*s has a book in the stores for about $50. Better have some free sample coupons. A couple of decades ago we had a fashionable Parisian department store that sold a brand of expensive tea called Fauchon. They were gold 1oz cannisters. Ring a bell?
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