Seasonal Letter 02. Season of cherries

03/07/2025

June, when the season shifts from spring to summer.
After enjoying the beauty of white cherry blossums in early spring,
now it is the time to enjoy the taste of red cherries!

From ancient times, Japanese people have been enjoying the seasonal beauty and following the rythm of nature through a cup of tea. This little series of Toridori's seasonal letter was born to bring — a little spoonful of — seasonal beauty and nature's rythm into our life.

After cute wild flowers, for this second letter I picked the harvest of this early summer season: cherries. This is cultivated in both Japan and in Belgium, and the harvest season is around this time of the year in both countries. In Belgium, this fruits have been playing an important role in the food culture (the tasty cherry beer or "kriek" in Dutch, for example... ...is it too famous?). Introduced from Europe in the late 19th century, the cherry fruits have become part of our seasonal view in Japan as well.

Belgian cherries are dark red and very fruity. Japanese cherries are orange-red and sweet. Same tasty fruit, but a little bit different.

Isn't it fun?

Erina

TORIDORI SEASONAL LETTER 02.

Season of cherries

さくらんぼの季節

2025 June 13 - July 2

Hi, friends! How are you doing?

To add a spoonful of seasonality in your tea cup, I am writing this small seasonal letter.

The day is getting longer and longer, and the plants are shifting from soft spring colors to vivid summer colors. It is as if plants are also celebrating that the happy summer holiday season is coming soon.

This month features one of our favorite fruits: cherry! The harvest season of this beautiful red fruit starts around this time of year in Belgium and also in Japan.

By the way, the famous sakura trees are the ornamental siblings of the cherry trees. Did you know that? The fruits are quite small, but birds love to eat these mini cherries.