90
drank Anastasia by Kusmi Tea
3986 tasting notes

Yum, it’s been a long time since I’ve had one of my Russian Blends teas. This one in particular is the “Lady Grey” of the bunch, in my opinion – light to medium bergamot level with lovely lemon flavor. A perfect accompaniment to me lazing about on the couch, watching The Fifth Element for the hundredth time!

So I decided to go through all of my tea and separate it out into what I consider “permanent” residents and then what I consider to be “try-me” teas, whether they be from sample orders or swaps, or simply teas that I don’t love enough to keep around on a regular basis. Then, I put all of my “permanent” teas into the cupboard and closed the door. I’m going to allow myself one cup from the cupboard per day, and only one cup. The rest of the tea I drink must be from the more temporary tea selection, which is on the counter and in a couple of small cardboard boxes. There’s quite a variety here, so I don’t see it being a problem until I start to make a lot of progress on it. I do also have a very small box for teas that I dislike enough to not be willing to drink them – these will be for swaps or whatever eventually.

Hopefully this system ends up working out! I was a good girl and put all of my untasted new Butiki teas in the cupboard! Come on, willpower…

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
boychik

Great idea!

Cameron B.

I hope so! It sounds good in theory, we will see how it comes out in practice. :P

Tealizzy

I need to reorganize my teas too…my cupboard space for tea is officially too small. ;)

boychik

I think you can do it! You seem very determined. I think I should do something about my teas too. I do have a lot of samples. And I don’t want to try them , mostly flav teas.
Not into them anymore.

Cameron B.

Yeah, I’m just going to separate out things that I don’t like and potentially put up a swap/rehoming post when all is said and done. I have a couple of TTBs in my future too, so I may put some of those in there. :)

boychik

I don’t think I want to swap. Swap brings more teas. Dangerous path. Ppl who interested in pu and Yancha won’t want to swap Della Terra or Davids

Cameron B.

You could probably sell a lot of it, I know a lot of people like those two brands. If nothing else, rehome it and just ask for shipping cost. :)

boychik

You are right. Should do something abt it.

Nicole

Big ba-da-boom…

Tealizzy

I tend to give away teas I don’t like anymore to get them out of my cupboard…one of my coworkers is the main benefactor and I don’t think she minds one bit…haha!

Cameron B.

Nicole, LEELOO MULTIPASS!

Mandy

I have one side of the cupboard which is my “I know I like” stash, the other side is the “Unsure, need to try again to be sure” stash, and my sample/sip down pile. And then I had my “I know I don’t like, swap/TTB pile” which I just put into a big box to free up space because its also my bagged tea/“some how I ended up with two packages of the same tea, so the unopened package is going here”/yixing teapot cabinet. And then I have the “I still haven’t tried these yet” boxes on my counter to encourage me to sample them before I reach for anything in the cabinets.

But my first two cabinets are bursting, and I can’t fit anything else in them. I really need to find another way to organize and store them.

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Comments

boychik

Great idea!

Cameron B.

I hope so! It sounds good in theory, we will see how it comes out in practice. :P

Tealizzy

I need to reorganize my teas too…my cupboard space for tea is officially too small. ;)

boychik

I think you can do it! You seem very determined. I think I should do something about my teas too. I do have a lot of samples. And I don’t want to try them , mostly flav teas.
Not into them anymore.

Cameron B.

Yeah, I’m just going to separate out things that I don’t like and potentially put up a swap/rehoming post when all is said and done. I have a couple of TTBs in my future too, so I may put some of those in there. :)

boychik

I don’t think I want to swap. Swap brings more teas. Dangerous path. Ppl who interested in pu and Yancha won’t want to swap Della Terra or Davids

Cameron B.

You could probably sell a lot of it, I know a lot of people like those two brands. If nothing else, rehome it and just ask for shipping cost. :)

boychik

You are right. Should do something abt it.

Nicole

Big ba-da-boom…

Tealizzy

I tend to give away teas I don’t like anymore to get them out of my cupboard…one of my coworkers is the main benefactor and I don’t think she minds one bit…haha!

Cameron B.

Nicole, LEELOO MULTIPASS!

Mandy

I have one side of the cupboard which is my “I know I like” stash, the other side is the “Unsure, need to try again to be sure” stash, and my sample/sip down pile. And then I had my “I know I don’t like, swap/TTB pile” which I just put into a big box to free up space because its also my bagged tea/“some how I ended up with two packages of the same tea, so the unopened package is going here”/yixing teapot cabinet. And then I have the “I still haven’t tried these yet” boxes on my counter to encourage me to sample them before I reach for anything in the cabinets.

But my first two cabinets are bursting, and I can’t fit anything else in them. I really need to find another way to organize and store them.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron! I’m a 30-something software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include piano, knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, planners, bento, KBeauty, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is “collecting” hobby-related things… ;)

~ 2024 SIPDOWN CHALLENGE! ~
- January Sipdowns: 6
- Total 2024 Sipdowns: 6

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I steep Western style, and fluctuate between using big mugs or small teapots depending on the season. Occasionally I’ll brew Gongfu style when I’m in the mood. I’ll also often use a kyusu for Japanese teas.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however. I also enjoy maté, rooibos, and honeybush. I love matcha and drink it often! Fruit tisanes are not a favorite, but I’m always willing to try them.

I do not sweeten my teas, and pre-sweetened teas are usually too sweet for me. I also do not enjoy stevia.

Fruit: All of them! My ‘go-to’s tend to be in the red fruits, stonefruit, or citrus spectra. I also really love apple, banana, berry, fig, lychee, melon, pear, and rhubarb flavors. Tropical fruits aren’t among my favorites, but I still enjoy them once in a while – especially passionfruit, mango, and pineapple. I am not generally a fan of coconut in tea, though there are some exceptions.

Dessert: I love creamy vanilla and marshmallow flavors, along with anything in the caramel family such as butterscotch, toffee, or maple. Chocolate is also a favorite, though I’m often disappointed by it in tea. And don’t forget anything buttery, cakey, or cookie-y!

Floral: I’m a little bit more particular in this category. I very much enjoy jasmine, even strong jasmine, along with sakura, chamomile, and elderflower. Osmanthus is also a favorite of mine. But I’m not crazy about rose or lavender flavors, and I prefer hibiscus in moderation only.

Spices: I don’t generally find myself drawn to masala chai, but I do enjoy spices combined with other flavors. My favorite spices are the warm ones, especially cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and cardamom. A bit of heat from black pepper or chili is okay too, as long as it’s not overwhelming! Ginger can be a lovely accent, but I find it difficult to drink as a starring flavor.

Aromatics: I’m obsessed with Earl Grey! I also love cooling flavors such as mint (especially spearmint), pine, juniper, and eucalyptus. I am not a fan of strong rosemary or sage in tea.

Favorite Companies:
3 Leaf
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Harney & Sons
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Old Barrel Tea Co
Simpson & Vail
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age or scent contamination.

Cupboard Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZEuKf1-ppR-VXajO4vV39zU1N3zjFJteEPAynqD2yl0/edit?usp=sharing

Location

Austin, Texas

Website

https://www.instagram.com/tea...

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