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This year, TWG Tea, the finest luxury tea brand in the world, pays a joyous tribute to the season of hope with the introduction of the Spring 2017 Haute Couture Tea Collection® featuring Always Sakura Tea.

Encased in a blush pink collectable tin, this marvellously luxuriant green tea is blended with notes of Rainier cherry and sweet florals that produce an airy and intoxicating aroma and yield a smooth and tender aftertaste.

To complement the launch of the limited-edition release of the Always Sakura Tea, the TWG Tea Salon & Boutique in Vancouver has a new Sakura Set Menu for spring.

The three-course menu features tea-infused elements of a soup, a main course and a dessert for $65. Before the start of dinner, we sip on both recommended hot and iced tea pairings as we chat amongst the lovely jazz music compilation.

When brewed as a hot tea, Always Sakura is very subtle in its cherry and floral aromas. The iced tea offering is Green Beauty Tea, composed of carefully chosen green tea and wild woodland berries to create a rare and intense harmony.

[Warming up with soup]

The soup is bisque-like, comprised of lobster and white asparagus Japanese sweet potato curry topped with a rice cracker. It provides a fresh start to this menu offering a faint hint of spice in the medley. I enjoy the tenderness of both white asparagus and lobster, which added a nice texture to the soup upon breaking apart the rice cracker.

[Main course medley]

The main course is a medley of succulence and indulgence. The duck breast is dressed with a sour cherry jus, accompanied by a cod brandade served with a romanesco carpaccio. The kanpachi is poached with Sakura! Sakura! Tea-infused butter, then drizzled with lychee coconut lime chili vinaigrette and a miso carrot purée.

To close off the set menu is chocolate cherry mousse cake served with a scoop of Sakura! Sakura! Tea sorbet. The cake is comprised of many layers, starting with gently sweetened biscuit as a foundation graduating into intense lusciousness towards the top.

[Chocolate cherry mousse cake, Sakura! Sakura! Tea sorbet]

For those who prefer a lighter fare for dessert, there’s also an array of tea-infused pâtisseries to choose from TWG Tea’s trolley.

TWG Teas are infused throughout the many dining offerings. I appreciate TWG’s berry-related teas because their blends elegantly embody the berry notes without a sharp and tart aftertaste.

I admire how chefs in each tea salon are able to design their menu offerings to cater to the local market. At this salon, the culinary team work hard to source the majority of their ingredients as locally as possible. For example, the seafood amongst their dining menu is sourced from sustainable Ocean Wise providers.

Visit TWG Tea’s charming salon to enjoy this specially-created set menu during the spring season. Always Sakura Tea is available at the salon for a limited time, priced at $47.

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique in Vancouver is located at 1070 West Georgia Street, currently the first and only TWG Tea location in Canada.

Our dining experience was compliments of TWG Tea, for the purpose of writing this article. Opinions, as always, are our own. Top image courtesy of TWG Tea. All other photos by Yumi Ang.

About Our Contributor Yumi Ang

Yumi Ang is a Vancouver-born and raised multidisciplinary, creative professional. Curiosity for innovation drives her to branding, advertising and marketing. Outside her design work, Yumi stays inspired by discovering the latest gift ideas through events and new adventures. On Twitter @yumi_ang.