Sakurayu or cherry blossom tea is a Japanese

Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...

 beverage created by mixing pickled

Pickling

Pickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...

 cherry blossoms with boiled water. This combination becomes a type of herbal tea, and has been enjoyed in East Asian

East Asia

East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

 culture for many generations.

Preparation

The main ingredient, cherry blossoms petals, are harvested when the cherry trees bloom from mid to late spring. After the calyxes are removed, the petals are then pickled in plum vinegar & salt and the product subsequently dried. The dried cherry blossoms are then stored or sealed in tea packets and sold.

In order to produce sakurayu, a few such dried, salt-pickled blossoms must be sprinkled into a cup of hot water. Once covered in hot water, the collapsed petals unfurl and float. The herbal tea is then allowed to steep

Steeping

Steeping or weltering may mean:# Saturation in a liquid solvent to extract a soluble ingredient, where the solvent is the desired product. Tea is prepared for drinking by steeping the leaves in heated water to release the flavor and nutrients...

until the flavor reaches its desired intensity. The resulting drink tastes slightly salty.

When Sakurayu is served

There is a Japanese expression "Ocha wo Nigosu". “Ocha” is green tea, and “Nigosu” means to make unclear. So the term itself will literally translate to “tea which is not clear”. However, the meaning of this expression is to “be evasive”, “be vague”, “non-committal”, which is not appropriate for Weddings. That is why green tea are not served at weddings, and instead serve “Sakura-yu”. “Sakura” represents “Beginning”, so it’s most appropriate for weddings.