[Review] Sakuraco - Japanese tea & snack subscription box

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Locally sourced Japanese snacks and tea? Say no more!

I’m an absolute sucker for small-batch, local foods that come directly from the people that make it. Supporting local economies is near and dear to my heart, but so are snacks for my tea.

So when tea and snack subscription box Sakuraco reached out to me and asked if I wanted to taste their January 2022 box, I rubbed my hands together and prepared for the delightful treats. Here’s my Sakuraco box review!

January Kamakura-themed box ($32.50/month with annual subscription)

About Sakuraco

Sakuraco belongs to a family of other Japanese subscription box brands, such as TokyoTreat (candy & snacks) and nomakenolife (beauty products). Sakuraco’s unique angle is their commitment to highlighting local Japanese snack makers, with whom the team has forged long-term relationships. Each month’s box also features a differ season and region of Japan.

Inside the Sakuraco box, you’ll find 20 items that include Japanese snacks, tea, sweets, cakes, and a houseware item (mine had chopsticks). You also get a thoughtfully designed booklet that walks you through featured snack makers with their stories, snack descriptions, and regional tidbits.

*Guide that walks through all the snacks and their ingredients, including spotlights on many of the local makers and regional facts.*

It’s this accompanying guide that makes the box extra special, because it provides extra depth and a connection to all the wonderful foods and tea you are tasting from halfway around the world. This local spotlight also gives the box an exclusive slant, because you can’t pick up many of the items at your local Japanese store.

I tried the January 2022 box, which had a “New Year’s in Kamakura” theme in partnership with the Kanagawa prefecture. I visited this region back in 2009, so it definitely gave me a bit of nostalgia—all without the hassle of travel.

Sakuraco tea review

As a tea blogger, it’s my duty to start with the tea, so let’s dive in!

My Sakuraco box included two tea bags of Sencha with Fuji Matcha from Brooks. I find that the bitterness of matcha always pairs deliciously with a sweet treat, so I enjoyed my first cup with the Yokohama Caramel Ring Cake.

The tea itself was delightful, but I would have loved to see either a few more tea bags included to last through some more of the snacks or perhaps a pouch of loose leaf tea. With a bit more tea, I think the snack-tea mix would have struck a better balance.

For my specific box, I also noticed that Brooks.co.jp, the tea company, is more of a large corporation rather than a small-scale tea farm, although they are based in Kanagawa. To better fit along with the locally sourced theme, it would be wonderful to see the box’s tea selection also come directly from local farmers that may be harder to find from abroad.

✨ Read next: 8 farm-direct Japanese green tea brands

Sakuraco snack review

The box’s bounty of snacks is definitely the main attraction, with most coming from the Kanagawa prefecture. The curated selection included a nice mix of flavors, sizes, and textures, so you don’t get tired of trying one snack after the other. My box arrived bubble wrapped and carefully packaged, so all the snacks were fully in-tact just as you would pick up from the store.

Something to note if you’re considering subscribing to this box is that you should either have a fairly broad food palate or already be familiar with Japanese flavors. You’ll get rice crackers, cakes, jellies, matcha-flavored treats, and mochi, some of which may taste unusual if you haven’t had them. Because of the authentic and regional focus, you won’t find more “widely known” Japanese snacks like Pocky here!

Overall, I truly enjoy Sakuraco’s unique angle and effort in bringing a little piece of Japan to its subscribers. While more tea would be appreciated, I understand it is not primarily a tea subscription box. That said, I’d say it’s a wonderfully tasty experience for Japanese snack appreciators and foodies alike!

Box was provided by Sakuraco for review.

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about the author

Hello, is it tea you’re looking for? Raquel is an Arizona-based tea drinker who writes about tea as a side hobby. Her current favorites are Earl Grey with a splash of milk and any Japanese green tea.