So here's to the second month of Sakura co! I was very excited to try lots of different items, especially all the matcha flavored ones. I am a huge matcha lover, drinking a cup of it daily and loving all things tea ceremony.
So I was personally very excited for this box! If you are interested in getting your own Sakuraco, please check out their website to decided which subscription length is your cup of tea.
Now the best thing about food, is it can be shared with others. So this month, I got the help of my sister and nephew to give me their opinions on this box. (We even gave each snack a score which I will include below.)
What's inside?
Matcha Pudding
So starting off strong with this one for sure! This matcha pudding had a very smooth taste, and you can definitely taste the leaves that makes up the tea. It was a nice bitter but slightly sweet flavor that was quickly finished by all three of us. It comes from Osaka, and contains evaporated matcha liqueur. It is made with Shizuoka matcha tea leaves, and you can taste the quality.
Our Scores
Edder: 9/10
Theresa: 7/10
Laura: 7/10
Overall: 23/30
Matcha Azuki Waffle
This waffle was best warmed. We did the microwave for a few seconds, but we think that it might have been better done in the toaster to get the nice crunchy outside for it. It has the flavor of the beans incorporated into it, and had much more of a cake texture than an American waffle. This sweet comes from Ibaraki.
Our Scores
Edder: 9/10
Theresa: 7/10
Laura: 9/10
Overall: 25/10
Matcha Mochi
This was the best of all of the sweets by far. All of us clearly loved it and enjoyed it a lot. There was a thin paper that was wrapped around the mochi, and after a struggle to remove it, we decided to eat it. We weren't sure if we were supposed to eat it or not, but hey, it dissolved and appeared to be edible. It had a lovely aftertaste, and we followed the directions from the booklet and chewed it slowly. It definitely is a soft and building treat. It is from Hokkaido, and if I were to see it in the store, I would grab quite a few of them.
Our Scores
Edder: 10/10
Theresa: 10/10
Laura: 10/10
Overall: 30/30
Matcha Senbei
Okay, so I love senbi. Like a lot. I would eat senbei all day, everyday if I could. This was a nice crunchy cracker. We quickly ate all of the crackers, and weren't bothered by the broken bits at all. If you are in Niigata, pick some of these up for sure!
Our Scores
Edder: 9.5/10
Theresa: 8.5/10
Laura: 10/10
Overall: 28/10
Matcha Kintsuba
This was a nice red bean sweet with a thin and soft outside mochi casing. You could taste the red bean texture, and the skins were still in there. It was not overly sweet and matched well with tea. This one comes from Ishikawa.
Our Scores
Edder: 6/10
Theresa: 8/10
Laura: 8/10
Overall: 22/30
Matcha Yokan Roll Cake
This cake was best paired with coffee or strong tea. It has a soft and sweet cake on the outside, but also the red bean inside was chewy. While I wasn't too impressed with it over all, it was still nice to try! Nagano did great with this one!
Our Scores
Edder: 7.5/10
Theresa: 9/10
Laura: 6/10
Overall: 22.5/30
Matcha Mochi Monaka
Well, I have to say, I wasn't a big fan of these monaka over all. We enjoyed the flavor and the texture of the mochi, but the smell put us off.
Our Scores
Edder: 4/10
Theresa: 6/10
Laura: 6/10
Overall: 16/30
Golden Plum Tea
This is one item I would never buy or try again. It was a simple tea, and while very beautiful in the glass tea cup we had, the taste was very salty and off putting. It was supposed to be sour, but it came across like drinking salt water. I think it would be good paired with a very sweet food, but personally, I would not buy this.
Our Scores
Edder: 2/10
Theresa: 7/10
Laura: 2/10
Overall: 11/30
Sakura Karinto
This snack brought me back to my experiences with hanami in Japan. The flavor was stellar and very much reminiscent of the other sakura sweets I had enjoyed before. The texture was crunchy and savory. It reminded us of churros almost. Coming from Aichi, I would pick this one up again.
Our Scores
Edder: 9.5/10
Theresa: 10/10
Laura: 10/10
Overall: 29.5/30
Yamecha Monaka
Okay, this one had a very strong scent. It quickly disappeared after being exposed to the air for a little bit, but the moment we opened the package, we were startled by the smell. It personally wasn't pleasant to us. Once the smell had faded, it was a rather nice snack to enjoy, but it was certainly a little bit strange at first. It tastes much better than it smelled.
Our Scores
Edder: 3/10
Theresa: 6/10
Laura: 5/10
Overall: 15/30
Sakura Yunomi
We didn't score the cup, but it was very cute and we all agreed it was a nice pair to go with the prior month's plate. Like I mentioned in my video, there is a slight flaw in the yumoni, where there is a line through the orangish flower on the front. It is also not dishwasher safe, so it is a special occasion cup for me, personally.
Soft Milk & Strawberry Baumkuchen
Baumkuchen is my favorite type of cake that I discovered in Japan. I love every flavor that I have had of it. The sister doesn't like fruity flavors, so it was scored lower from her, but that's why. It was soft and sweet. Aichi nailed this one for sure.
Our Scores
Edder: 9/10
Theresa: 7.5/10
Laura: 10/10
Overall: 26.5/30
Sakura Sugar Candy
I had never heard of this one before, but it was a like a sugar cube that had little jellies inside of it. It had a nice balance of flavors and textures in it. It tasted very much like sakura and would pair nicely with a matcha tea. If you every happen to see it in Shimane, pick one up!
Our Scores
Edder: 9/10
Theresa: 8/10
Laura: 8/10
Overall: 27/30
Plum Yokan
Once again, Theresa doesn't like fruit, so she scored this lower. I personally was charmed by this treat and enjoyed it a lot. It did have the cracker that the monaka also had, and unfortunately we weren't the biggest fans of that. However, the plum jelly was a nice sweet and sour flavor. I would grab some from Nagano if I were there.
Our Scores
Edder: 7/10
Theresa: 6/10
Laura: 9/10
Overall: 22/30
Overall:
While I was not personally blown away with all the snacks like I was last month, we all agreed that it was a lot of fun to try lots of new treats from Japan. My nephew might enjoy the TokyoTreat box more, but my sister and I enjoyed being able to try all sorts of new snacks we might not have the opportunity to try otherwise.
We have definitely marked down some snacks we would pick up if we ever see it again on our travels (once we can go to Japan again and not risk being a spreader of the cooties).
I do have a YouTube video of my unboxing and first impressions, if you want to check that out.
If you have this subscription, or have tried any of these snacks, what are your thoughts? If not, are there any of them you would like to try?
Excited to hear your thoughts and looking forward to the May box!
Love always, Laura Ann