Although the beautiful blooms of sakura and the picnics that go with them won't happen for another few months, Japanese people usually think of Spring as soon as the new year rolls around, and manufacturers are eager to highlight the season with every manner of sakura-themed product. We've seen everything from sakura ice cream, sakura petal-shaped pasta, a sakura design Coke bottle, and even sakura-flavored beer.

Lipton released its Sakura Tea exclusively on its online store. The fragrant tea, which gets its distinctive sakura flavor from sakuramochi (sakura rice cake sweets), was a best seller, earning the number one position in online sales. Assured of its success, Lipton decided not only to bring Sakura Tea back to their online store, but give it a much wider audience by also releasing it in brick-and-mortar shops and supermarkets across the country.

At 300 JPY for a package of 12 bags, it's a sweet deal.

And to make the deal even sweeter, they've posted a recipe for a delicious blended tea which you can try at home:

Sakura & Orange

Ingredients

• Sakura Tea - 1 bag
• dried orange - 1 slice
• sakura syrup (can be replaced with sugar) - to taste
• dried berry mix - 10 grams

Preparation

Add boiling water to all ingredients in a small pot, and cover the lid to steep for one minute. Stir tea bag around three times, then remove. Mix well, and serve.

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You can look for Sakura Tea in stores or buy it online at their official online store.