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I liked this more than I expected. I’m not fond of licorice in general (anise, fennel, any of those), but the taste here is a more general herb-y-ness.

There’s a strong menthol sensation, so it’s aptly named, but it doesn’t taste overpoweringly of mint either. I guess I’d have to say that it’s very well blended. I do find the effect more refreshing than calming, personally.

Not one I’d buy a tin of, but if you want a pleasant herbal tea you might like it.

This is certainly interesting – the closest comparison I can think of is a sencha. It’s vegetative and sweet, but also almost pickled(?) tasting. I’m glad I have another bag to experiment with, because I really haven’t made up my mind here after two steeps.

I had low expectations for a bagged Darjeeling, even as nice a bag as Kusmi provides, so this was a very pleasant surprise. Maybe I just got lucky and steeped it properly, but this is a fine and delicious example of what a Darjeeling can taste like. Light but full-flavored, very aromatic with that fruity/winey/muscatel flavor. There’s just enough astringency to make it refreshing without being bitter.

If it’s consistently this good (and I didn’t just get lucky with the steeping parameters) I may even pick up a tin of this! Darjeelings aren’t my usual, but it is nice to have one or two black teas on hand that go well without milk.

Pretty tasty – fruit and caramel, yes – but I think I liked Prince Vladimir better. This reminds me of something I’ve had before, but I’m not being able to place it. Blue moon, maybe? Except that it really doesn’t have the apple notes, hmm.

It is very nice, and sweet enough to drink plain, but would probably benefit from a dash of sugar. I’ll try that next time, since Kusmi considerately puts 2 of each tea into the sampler!

To my delight, there’s a specialty foods store in Harvard Square that carries Kusmi Tea. Not knowing what to try first, I picked up a box of their “essentials” that has two bags each of twelve of their (I assume) most popular teas. For some reason I was expecting normal-ish bags, so I was pleasantly surprised by the individually-sealed muslin sachets! Now, on to the tea :)

… delicious! Perfectly delicious, hot and plain. I always appreciate black teas smooth enough to easily drink plaint. Sweet and fruity and aromatic – citrus and vanilla, as described, but a very soft citrus. A like lemon coffee cake? I expect to get a second steep out of it, but haven’t yet. I’ll probably try with milk next time, but don’t want to mess with it at the moment – this is just tasty.

I’ll have to try the rest of the sampler first, but this could easily be one to buy a tin of!

Mmmm, very tasty. I never used to like coconut much, but the coconut oolongs are definitely converting me. This is a little stronger than I recall Golden Moon’s Coconut Pouchong being, but they are similarly real and well-blended flavors.

I got this with Rishi’s oolong sampler, so the other 3 will be up in the next week or two as I get to them.

The packaging suggests using 190˚F water, though the description here says 175˚. I’ve steeped it a couple of times now, and either seems to work fine. I found the higher temp gave a stronger flavor, lower was sweeter.

Delicious! I don’t usually like mint mixed with things, but this is really tasty. Good vanilla, and peppermint. I love that GM uses real things to flavor the tea – even in my sample I could see chopped vanilla beans. Not sure I’d drink regularly enough to buy, but I’d definitely recommend trying this one.

Finally bought a big bag of this :D It is hands-down the best decaffeinated vanilla black tea I’ve tasted (… hey, it’s a relevant category!) The tea flavor is a bit overwhelmed by the vanilla, but the vanilla is delicious – round and sweet and creamy. I like this with a bit of honey and/or milk, especially at bedtime.