While roaming though Little Tokyo the other day, I was lucky enough to come across a fresh bucket of cherry blossom branches at one of the local flower shops. With a light trail of petals fallen behind me, I left inspired to create a tea cocktail that would showcase these iconic signs of spring.
The base of this cocktail starts with tea-infused sake or vodka. Using some tender leaves of organic Sencha, the infusion only takes an hour to develop a light and refreshing layer of tea taste.
You can make these with either sake or vodka. Using sake will give a sweeter, smoother taste to the cocktail, while using vodka will yield sharper, brighter and more noticeably alcoholic notes.
The smallest splash of concentrated tart cherry juice gives these cocktails a soft mauve tinge. You’ll be tempted to add more juice, but for a subtle look it’s important to stay light-handed here.
For an extra special touch, decorate these Cherry Blossom Tea Cocktails with pickled sakura blossoms and leaves. These pretty pink drinks are a elegant way to wind down after a long spring day–a once in a year treat that’s definitely worth the wait!
This post is sponsored by Yamamotoyama. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support Thirsty for Tea!
Cherry Blossom Tea Cocktails
Ingredients:
{For 1 Cocktail}
1 cup ginger ale or citrus flavored soda, regular or diet
1 oz. tea-infused sake or vodka
1 tsp tart cherry juice concentrate
squeeze of fresh lemon or lime
pickled sakura blossoms and leaves
ice
{Tea-Infused Sake or Vodka}
1 cup sake or vodka
1 Tbsp Sencha green tea (I used Yamamotoyama’s Organic Sencha)
Equipment:
large pitcher
strainer
Directions:
1. Make the tea-infused sake or vodka by combining the two ingredients for about an hour. Strain out the tea leaves from the alcohol.
2. Prep the sakura blossoms by placing them in hot water for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove them from the hot water and pat dry.
3. Mix all the ingredients for one cocktail together with ice. Strain out the ice and serve with a prepped sakura blossom and/or sakura leaves.
