Czar Nikolas II

Another one from Bonnie. I was a little perplexed when I smelled the dry leaf, as it smelled strongly of what I perceived to be strawberry. It reminded me of the strawberry zabaglione I had earlier today. The taste was also similar, just without the creamy aspect and with a slight floral flavor. I would say this one is similar, but a little more refined and less dessert-like.

I just had to have some more of this wonderful tea on such a beautiful 63 degree day. Yes this is what Colorado is like on the Frontrange. Sun, and more sun! And 4 days ago I paid $2.81gal. at Safeway gas with my 20 cent a gallon reward coupon. Are you amazed! Come on….get mad at me! You know you want to! So, today I brewed this beautiful Russian tea and forgot to stop the steep at 5 minutes…so at 7 minutes I went eek…but fortunately it turned out ok. OH MERCY! the flavor…sweet bosc pear…very slight dulce de leche…a floral note of some kind without name but not in the way at all…not a horrid vase of flowers…you know…that nausea under your nose… but a tease of delight that you just can’t figure out. Please oh tea…what are you trying to tell me? THEN… I added milk and sweetened the tea which was way way way the best of all. I love it. My first 100!

This just arrived! Joy! Wanted to try this after reading about how it was served in the Russian tea room in San Francisco in the old days just the way I was served by Fr. John at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Saratoga,CA. Instead of Russian Caravan smokey tea he used a more floral Russian Tea and put in a huge glob of sour cherry Jam and a spoon. You sip, get some jam from the spoon and sip some more. So good. I made me the same cuppa tea, sour cherry jam and all. AHHHHH!
Now the tea:
I did pour a sample first. My Steep time was 5 minutes and the liquor was med dark gold. The scent from first opening the huge bag of tea (8.8 oz for $8.99 a bargain!) was so different and floral but not something that I could say I knew what it was. Big scent though! Marigold…blue mallow…safflower…a bit buttery on the end. I let it cool but it does not taste good cold. Maybe sweet would be ok. This is fine without any sweetening hot and I’ll try without jam and with milk later. Love it this time.

One of my favourites! It’s difficult to get ahold of in the UK, though maybe I’m not trying hard enough. Before my friend sent me a 100-teabag pack of this, I would conserve the few teabags she sent me preciously, since it’s so delicious…

It’s not exactly overly sweet, since like with most rose teas it loses its fragrance if the water’s too hot, but the safflower and fruit are an amazing touch; it’s just floral enough to soften the rose flavour. I drink it black; it’s too floral to take milk, I think. It’s also lovely and delicate to drink that way, even if the flavour can get strong. I love it <3

One of my favorites. Has a floral quality that goes perfect with a little half and half and a dash of honey. Smells rich and wholesome, with an old-world aromatic quality.

A blend of tea with other spices and flavorings, Czar Nikolas II Premium Russian Tea presents itself as very light. I agree with the previous reviewing in saying that this tea is basically good for one steeping only. A sip reveals a light tea taste, but with the presence of more than subtle mint flavoring. A true subtle taste reveals itself below the mint flavor, and that is of, in my opinion, roses. Although not a fan of flavored teas, Czar Nikolas II Premium Russian Tea replicates in affordable style the unique taste of Russian tea-making style. It should be recommended to all those who want to taste the tea of a country little-known for its tea culture.

(Extended) Weekend Backlog One Sentence Logs: The Next Generation!

I basically default to the czar when I can’t decide on what to drink, he rarely fails me (except for when he does).

Mmmm Czar Nikolas is so delicious. It’s the perfect tea for when I’m in the mood for tea but can’t figure out which one, because it can’t quite decide whether it’s flavored or not. It is all trying to fake you out. “Oooh, strong tea base! Wait, I sense light spices! But the tea base is so noticeable! but but, other flavors!”

Went to the czar for comfort after my sad experience with Irish Breakfast this morning. The czar, being royalty, was unsympathetic, but tasty.

Tried this this morning as a comparison with the St. Isaac’s blend. Now St. Isaac, Wikipedia tells me, was the patron saint of Peter the Great and Czar Nikolas II was the last czar of Russia. So…no connection there! Well I mean, Nikolas was Peter’s descendant so there’s that connection. But what does that have to do with the tea? Absolutely nothing.

Nikolas DOES follow the St. Isaac’s blend in the way that the tea base is the dominant flavor with the spices in the tea rounding out the taste. It’s more fruity than floral, though. It’s also a much lighter tea – even the first steep was lighter both in color and in terms of the strength of flavor. The second steep barely had any flavor at all. I need to try and remember to use more leaves in the future if I’m gonna drink it in the morning, although this lightness makes it good for the late afternoon, I think.

Woke up EXTREMELY late today and didn’t even have time to do a irish/scottish breakfast blend quick and dirty ingenuitea steep. Just tossed some of this into a teabag and ran out the door.
Ugh.
This tea was not meant for teabags, or perhaps the brand that I’m using is particularly paper-tasty, because the taste was just not what I have come to expect from Nick II. In fact, it had barely any flavor at all, and that’s with leaving the tea bag in! So sad. Sigh, stupid ingenuitea spoiling me for teabags forever.

I am, I freely admit, a creature of habit. I like to start my day off with a nice strong cup of black tea. Usually this would be Earl Gray, but, ever since I found the European Import store in town, I have alternated between Earl Gray and Czar Nikolas II, or Cesarz Mikolaj, as we call it at home. I love this tea for how lightly flavored it is (it could almost pass for just a straight black tea), and for the fact that the package refuses to divulge what the flavor IS, with the ingredients saying simply: “tea, spices.” That is the kind of passive aggressive contrariness I can really get behind.

It also brews up dark. Really dark. Probably since, being in the Russian style, it is meant for use in a samovar, where a little of it is meant to go a long way. Technically, I suppose that means I’m Doing It Wrong, and I DO cut it with some straight black tea later on in the day, but I like my tea sludge-tastic in the morning. Wakes me right up.

probably my favorite, I think this is the house tea at Russian Tea Time 77 E Adams

this is one of my favorites, to me this is sort of unusual flavor

Ive been drinking this tea forever, here in Chicago I get it at Bobak’s on Archer ave

Czar Nikolas II also comes in a Silver package: Black Currant, Strawberry (Nostalgia)
this one is my favorite flavor from this line and I think it is the house tea at Russian Tea Time on Adams street here in Chicago

Blue package: Safflower, Marigolds, Blue Mallow Blossoms (Renaissance)

black pkg and a green pkg which both taste like Earl Grey

My parents bought this for me a while ago. Don’t know where they got it. It’s very floral, and smells wonderful. I’m not typically a fan of floral smelling/tasting teas, but this one was pretty good.