Japanese Cherry Sakura – Redstraw Tea Bar

We met up again at Redstraw for our weekly Russian study session. Today we did some Cyrillic (the Russian alphabet) review by writing English sentences phonetically in Cyrillic, and talked about our future language plans (ambitious, I know, but what can I do when I’m an aspiring polyglot?)! Even though I’m learning Russian, I actually haven’t interacted too much with Russian people myself or heard the accent, so I don’t have that great of an instinct for a Russian accent. If anyone has any Russian recommendations let me know! 🙂

It’s been getting super hot around here recently, so even though I always like a milk tea, I wanted to get something non-milk and lighter. Redstraw has a really good selection of non-milk teas, so the decision was not easy!

Surprisingly, I went with one of their “Custom Tea” options: one of the green teas, Japanese Cherry Sakura. This drink has interested me for a while, with the simple description and ingredients. Yes, sakura may be one of my favorite flowers, but I think that’s a little besides the point. I’ve been a little unsure about ordering from the Custom Tea menu for a bit because it seemed more adventurous, but I think it’s really more about the actual tea and how you want it after today’s experience, because you can choose to add milk and they brew it right there.

I have a new respect for Redstraw today, because they really did brew my tea fresh right then and there. Whereas the milk teas look like they come out of a pre-made tap (I can’t think of the word for that giant metal barrel at the moment) and even though the fruit teas are shaken and made fresh for you too, the Custom Tea starts right from the tea leaves. I was able to watch them from start to finish brew the tea right in front of me too, so even if it did take longer than a simple shake, I appreciate the effort!

As for the tea itself, when I poked the straw into the drink, the initial scent was light, and fragrant and a little fruity from the cherry. It was very pleasant to smell! The taste was a nice blend of green tea and cherry flavor, and neither was too overpowering. The cherry flavor was a little artificial tasting, but I guess that’s how cherry syrup or flavoring works, because I’d like to trust Redstraw with good ingredients. I like eating real cherries, and even though I’m more on the meh side with cherry the artificial flavor, this was not bad, and mixed with the tea produced good flavor. If I get this again, I might get less sweetness actually. Compared to the drink, the boba does taste a little sweeter so it stands out, which goes perfectly with the less sweet drink. Nicely balanced today!

Details: Japanese Cherry Sakura; Iced; 50% Sugar; No ice; with honey boba; from Redstraw Tea Bar (Irvine)