Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Shi Zen
Tea Description:
Ceremonial Grade “Matcha” Blended with Cherry Blossom Leaf
Our green tea is grown on family farms located in small villages in the foothills of Mount Fuji. This remote Okabe region of Shizuoka Prefecture enjoys the perfect combination of clean air, pure water, and fertile soil only found in this area of Japan. This premium Matcha is the 1st harvest Matcha, which is considered one of the finest grade Matcha in Japan.
These cherry trees grow on the Izu region of Shizuoka Prefecture, and their cherry blossoms leaves are hand-picked in the spring and ground with a traditional Japanese stone mill.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow … ok, so this Sakura Komachi Green Tea from Shi Zen is different! But, different is good!
The Matcha here is very beautifully, BRIGHT green – the way a high quality Ceremonial Grade Matcha should be. The Matcha been blended with stone ground cherry blossom leaves to impart a pleasant cherry blossom flavor.
The Matcha froths up really beautifully, and produces a liquid that resembles some of the finest Matcha teas that I’ve had the opportunity to taste. The color is bright jade green … and the powder remains incorporated as I drink … I didn’t experience the sediment at the bottom of my chawan!
Having never actually tasted the powder from a cherry blossom leaf before tasting this powdered green tea blend, I have no experience with which to compare what I’m tasting now. However, I have had quite a few experiences with very high quality Matcha – and so I’m going to pick out what I’m tasting now that is different from other Matcha I’ve tried and work under the presumption that these “new” tastes are from the cherry blossom leaf.
The overall flavor is vegetative. It has a very “spring-time” like flavor to it – evoking thoughts of trees covered in pretty pink blossoms and the air filled with their scent. It has a creamy texture and taste, slightly buttery and very smooth on the palate. The Matcha flavor stands out over the flavor of the cherry blossom leaf, which is not what I’d call “delicate” but, it is softer than the flavor of the Matcha. There is a slight sharpness from the cherry blossom leaf – it’s slightly “floral” tasting, and I find that this floral note rests upon the palate in the aftertaste.
It’s quite an enjoyable experience, this Sakura Komachi, and I’m really glad I had this opportunity to try it. It’s a bit like drinking the splendor of spring-time!
