Japanese Sour Cherry

My first experience with this tea was probably 7 years ago, by now. At the time, I was working at a local gift store, and they would often hire international students to practice their English. We often had Japanese students as that was one of the colleges the shop partnered with, and plus, we get tons of Japanese tourists. So win win for all. Anyways, the first of these students I worked with, right when I started, was a sweet girl named Yuka. We only worked a short time together, but when she left, she gave me a mini tin of this tea. And while I was a tea fan way back then, and before that, brewing green tea at home was never my strong suit. I was fortunate to have some green teas that were very forgiving, though genmai cha was a favourite, and I drank that the most (and it was fairly forgiving). When I made this tea, I wanted to love it. I wanted to enjoy it, but I didn’t. I can’t remember truly what I disliked about this tea back then, but it was probably that it was bitter, and thus (retrospectively) user error. I seem to think that the cherry flavour was not that prominent either. Whatever it was, it kept me away from buying it for a LONG time. Til today, in fact. I was talking with one of the girls at the shop and she did confirm that it can be a finicky tea, and overbrew very easily. She suggested no more than 2 minutes to steep. I smelled it in the tin, that was filled to the brim. Ahhh, sooo good! I just had to try it again, and hope that with my gained skills and experience over the years, but more importantly, my variable temp kettle and kitchen timer, would give me success this time.

So, I decided to make this (from the 5 new green teas I got today) when I got home. I chose this one because I had my first wheatgrass shot, and anticipated it being awful (it was) I had a chaser prepared. My chaser was pomegranate juice. Then this tea. I set the temp on my kettle to 180F (it only measures in F) though it might have cooled off a little more as it took a few minutes before I actually poured the water into my mug and infuser. I let it steep for 2 minutes, and added a little bit of organic cane sugar. Oh sweet cherry! Though the sourness is just at the back of my throat after I sip. I found it got fruitier after it cooled a little more. This one seems like it will cold brew well. Looking forward to warmer weather to do that.

So, I am very glad I decided to try this one again. I am sure I will enjoy the rest of my mini tin…though I know a few people who will likely be getting some in their next tea box from me. :)

hi, this is my first tasting note on steepster. for my first i have chosen the organic japanese sour cherry green tea from silk road teas.

i prepared this tea hot in my two piece tasting set (125ml/4oz), and cold brewed (first cold brew) in a 33 oz bodum french press. lets start with the hot brew..

the 1st infusion was at 71 C for 30 sec-
the cherry was present in the aroma but less so in taste. it had a tannin-y taste, slightly vegetal with a lingering bitterness that hits the tounge and cheeks and coats it with that sour, slightly citric taste/feel. not the most pleasant cup.

2nd, 45 sec, 74 C temp-
aroma was sweeter with stronger cherry. tastewise, chlorophyll was prominently picked up. this infusion as well as most of the others reminded me of the taste of a cherry flavored cough drop.

3rd, 60 sec at 75 C temp-
aroma: cherry comes at you with the vegetal smell, following is a sweetness.
still has an astringent, green taste with less fruity notes (at this pointed i suspected it’s life was coming to a end..)

..but i pushed for one more infusion- the 4th for 70 sec at 75 C-
aroma: strong smell of green (chlorophyll) with the the cherry twisted somewhere in there being harder to detect. taste: less bitter as a result of the tea slowly dieing i suspect. overall less of it’s previous notes and feel.

session duration: 1 hour

i would recommend this tea to those of you who are willing to pick this tea apart and like/love it for what it is. i personally appreciate it but would not dub it a favorite.. more of an educational experience. i believe i would order it again for one reason… cold brew.

indeed i commenced my first cold brew the same night of the hot brew. the thought that it may be the best way to brew this tea, just hit me out of nowhere.
i used 3 slightly heaping scoops with teavana’s perfect tea spoon. 33 oz of cold filtered vancouver tap water. i left it and went to sleep. 9 hrs and 53 min later i strained, decanted, and tasted it.

i love it, bitterness about 15- 20%, more of a lemony/lime taste in place of tannin. its quite sweet (as cold brew tends to produce,) and mellow. the cherry comes at around the tail end of the middle and through the last wave. unlike the hot brew the bitterness in no way dominates. i personally find it to have an almost honeydew/honey note, plus a note of sweetend grass underlying. despite the taste and aroma of the honeydew you still pick up cherry. the aroma is sort of like candied cherry instead of sour in my opinion.

will experiment with shorter cold brew times such as 2- 5 hrs for example.

i expect to brew this almost exclusively cold from now on unless the urge to refer back to hot comes up. may ice tea this also with a bit of rock sugar.

thanks for reading.

- Raswalt

GCTTB3

Sipdown!

I kept the very last of this tea for myself when it came around in the GCCTB3. The nice thing is that it was such a small amount of leaf – just under 2 tsp – that’s the perfect candidate for a quick and easy sipdown.

I’m glad I got to try a little for free, as this tea smells OK but tastes unusual. I’ve noticed sometimes a “curly” roasted flavour in some green teas that I don’t like, and this tea exhibits that characteristic. There’s the scent of the cherry, but underneath it is something more tart that I’m not too fond of. I’m just wondering if it’s the sensation of tartness itself I’m responding to, though, as another tea that made me feel this way was rhubarb-flavoured, which is another tart plant.

Anyways, hooray for easy sipdowns!

Hm. This is the second time I’ve had this? I’m obviously feeling a bit off to have completely forgotten. Regardless, made with 2 tsp/8 oz, this truly is a silky cherry tea, with zero medicinal flavor that I normally associate with any cherry flavorings. Upping the rating slightly because it’s better than my original 72.

Thanks OMGsrlsy for sharing, this was a lovely sipdown today!

One of the top teas I have ever tasted and piqued my interest for flavoured tea. I don’t generally like cherry, but this is slightly sour and subtle. It marries well with the slightly bitter green tea notes. YUM! I like strong tea and this is such a bold flavour but it’s delicious.

I feel like I’m cheating on DavidsTea, but it’s always good to check out the competition, right? Loved it.

One of my favorite tea’s. My cousin used to work at Silk Road in BC and sent me some (I’m in Moncton, NB) It has such a nice taste, very refreshing!