Sakurai Japanese Tea Experience: Ultimate Tokyo Tea Atelier

Tokyo – In the heart of Omotesando’s fashionable shopping district lies Sakurai, a one-of-a-kind, contemporary tea house that has quickly garnered a reputation for serving the ultimate Japanese tea experience. From the finest gyokuro to our favourite – the rare and aromatic fermented awa bancha, Sakurai’s tea menu offers an extensive selection of luxury-grade teas to try from. In the pursuit of perfect tea artistry, owner Shinya Sakurai and his team of tea experts roast their tea leaves in-house, concoct their own original tea blends, and experiment with tea-alcohol infusions to create some of the most unique and luxuriant tea cocktails.

You can choose to order individual tea or tea liquors, or go for the original course menu, which includes a flight of drink courses. Shown below is the Liqueur Course – ¥5,800 (comes with gyokuro, blended tea, four tea liquors and wagashi):

The pairing of teas with a selection of house-made wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionery) and pickles are another highlight at Sakurai. Shinya-san is said to have worked at a popular wagashi store prior to opening his namesake tea room. We also loved their clever use of brewed tea leaves as side dishes – gyokuro tea leaves (used just before to brew our tea) were served warm and seasoned with ponzu dressing to counter its slight bitterness. The dish was savoury, sweet and tangy at the same time, making it one of the most umami things to eat here.