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This Sakura Lychee Spritz Mocktail is a delicious, fruity and floral sparkling drink made with seasonal Japanese sakura. The perfect alcohol-free drink for spring!
What is Sakura?
Sakura is a flower with a short and much-anticipated season in the springtime in Japan. The beautiful pink flower is edible and used in many traditional Japanese desserts.
Often, the flowers and the leaves are salt-pickled to preserve them for the rest of the year. I was lucky to stumble across some fresh cherry blossom branches at the farmer’s market in LA, and I also wanted to make good use of some preserved blossoms I had saved from last year.
This recipe is a really delicious way to enjoy a springy cocktail. Lychee adds a sweet, tropical flavour that offsets the sometimes perfume-like quality of sakura!
Ingredients for Sakura Spritzes
Here’s what you need to make these sakura lychee mocktails:
Sakura flowers. Look for salt-pickled ones if you can’t find fresh flowers.
Sakura powder. You can find this at Japanese grocery stores and online.
Lychees insyrup or juice. These add all of the sweetness you need for your sakura mocktails.
Sparkling water. to complete the spritz part of your sprtizes!
How to Make Lychee-Sakura Spritzes
To make this, start by re-hydrate your dried sakura flowers. This also helps to remove the briny flavour from the salt pickling. After it soaks, gently use your hands to remove excess salt. Then lay the flowers flat on a paper towel until you’re ready to use them.
To make the drink, dissolve the sakura flower into water. This step adds a more concentrated sakura flavour to your mocktails. You’ll sweeten the drinks with some of the syrup from the preserved lychees.
Then fill your glasses with plenty of ice, pour in the lychee-sakura mixture, and top each glass with plenty of fizzy water.
Garnishing Ideas
To add a pretty garnish to your glasses, top each with a fresh sakura flower and lychee fruit.
Making Cocktails
If you’d like to make this alcoholic, you can also add in a touch of your favourite clear alcohol, but it’s delicious on it’s own and is the perfect springtime mocktail.
This recipe for Sakura Lychee Spritzes is a non-alcoholic drink that’s fizzy, fruity and floral. Perfect for spring.
Ingredients
UnitsScale
3 salt pickled sakura flowers
2cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp sakura powder, more to taste
2 tbsp filtered water
1 can lychees in syrup or juice
1 can sparkling water or tonic water
ice
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine warm water and sakura flowers and let soak. Use your hands to gently rinse off the flowers and move them to a paper towel to sit.
In a small bowl, mix together sakura powder and filtered water until smooth.
To assemble your drink, add ice to a glass, add your sakura mixture, about 1/4 cup lychee syrup or juice and top off with sparkling water or tonic water.
Garnish with your sakura flowers and one lychee on a toothpick.
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Hi there, I’m Remy! Welcome to Veggiekins Blog, home to nourishing vegan + gluten-free recipes and tips to live your best balanced and holistic life. I’m a human on a mission to empower you to be well and be kind to your mind, body and soul with the healing power of plants.
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