Part 1 of a 5 part sampler I got from Kusmi (discovered at the Bi Rite Market in San Francisco). I was pretty excited to find these locally, however they do not carry the large size of the tins in the store, only teabags.
This tea is not for the faint of heart nor the faint of scent. If you hold the tins to your nose you can smell the scent very strongly! Open them up and get a whiff of perfume! yowza…
We picked this particular one to try this morning based on the recommendation of one of the store’s employees. It is a strong and smooth black tea but predominately all you taste here is the spices. Smells very much like root beer! It is such an interesting tea… I am tasting a lot of clove here in addition to citrus and bergamot. The bergamot is nice and subtle and does not provide the same amount of bergamot as an Earl Grey. I am getting a lot of citrus but perhaps not that much vanilla.
I did try steeping it twice, the second steep was weaker and with a lot less perfume and also the citrus flavors are coming though more here so I am not enjoying steep #2 quite as much.
Overall I quite liked this but I suspect I will like a few of the other ones better since I am not a huge fan of grapefruit in tea usually. I also enjoyed this little piece of history on the Kusmi tea company:
http://www.us.kusmitea.com/en/history/i111/information.html
People who liked this
Comments
Thanks for the link Amy,
I’m into history so I had to throw that in. ;)
I’ve never tried Kusmi Teas…the history was interesting.
SpecialTeas had a Russian Blend called Tsarina Blend. I remember it being really good. It had green tea pearls in it that really smoothed out the black tea.
Tea Table has some @ $9.5 for 4 oz, saw it somewhere else too, but can’t remember where.
I found some Czar Nicholas II Tea here in San Francisco (where there is a large Russina population in the Richmond district). It was very good and similar to the Kusmi tea but shockingly cheap – $8 for an 8 oz. bag!
Awesome….do you think Kusmi Teas are worth the cost? On their website a 4 oz tin was what $16. Seems a little high, but not for really good tea. There are alot of cool Teahouses and web co’s in SF….you’re lucky.
I think I told you I like Holy Mtn Trading Co. I think they have a couple tea houses in SF. I love their Japanese teaware! :))
I’ve never seen a Holy Mountain tea house in SF anywhere…
As for Kusmi I think they are a bit overpriced, somewhat of a novelty experience but they have some nice blends if you’re into highly flavored tea. Quality seems good.
Oh no, I do like HM’s teaware, The teahouses I was thinking of— Imperial Tea Court.
What teas do you like best?
I just remembered I forgot to post my review of H & S Genmai Cha. It was only a sample, so it’s not like I can just have another cup and post. I do remember most of what I wanted to say, but some specifics may be lost. I liked it, but it is not a tea I would drink regularly.
Thanks for the link Amy,
I’m into history so I had to throw that in. ;)
I’ve never tried Kusmi Teas…the history was interesting.
SpecialTeas had a Russian Blend called Tsarina Blend. I remember it being really good. It had green tea pearls in it that really smoothed out the black tea.
Tea Table has some @ $9.5 for 4 oz, saw it somewhere else too, but can’t remember where.
I found some Czar Nicholas II Tea here in San Francisco (where there is a large Russina population in the Richmond district). It was very good and similar to the Kusmi tea but shockingly cheap – $8 for an 8 oz. bag!
Awesome….do you think Kusmi Teas are worth the cost? On their website a 4 oz tin was what $16. Seems a little high, but not for really good tea. There are alot of cool Teahouses and web co’s in SF….you’re lucky.
I think I told you I like Holy Mtn Trading Co. I think they have a couple tea houses in SF. I love their Japanese teaware! :))
I’ve never seen a Holy Mountain tea house in SF anywhere…
As for Kusmi I think they are a bit overpriced, somewhat of a novelty experience but they have some nice blends if you’re into highly flavored tea. Quality seems good.
Oh no, I do like HM’s teaware, The teahouses I was thinking of— Imperial Tea Court.
What teas do you like best?
I just remembered I forgot to post my review of H & S Genmai Cha. It was only a sample, so it’s not like I can just have another cup and post. I do remember most of what I wanted to say, but some specifics may be lost. I liked it, but it is not a tea I would drink regularly.