Bouquet of Flowers No. 108

Thank you Dinosara for this sample.

I open the tin wondering what will be on the other side to greet me, lets just say I was happy as to what greeted me. Small black chopped tea leaves that have an amazing sweet, fruity, fresh and floral scent that lingers. Very pleasant.

Brewing with 1.5 teaspoons worth of leaves in an empty tea sac.

Once steeped the tea is dark brown in colour with that same fruity and floral scent. It sort of reminds me of citrus flavoured sherbet.

Sipping…The citrus is sour at first but quickly mellows to become sweet. The bergamot helps to keep the citrus sweet and fresh so the two different sides work well together. There is a little bit of floral taste which is also sweet like peony but the fruit is more dominant. As for the tea as a whole it’s very smooth and of average/fair strength.

It’s an Earl Grey with a twist and for me it works together very well but I also think there is enough character in there to be enjoyed by non Earl Grey lovers.

In one word I find this tea … refreshing.

This is not a popular tea. Nevertheless, I it’s been on my shopping list for years because I love bergamot and I love florals. I recently bought a pack of sample tins from Kusmi (the “Russian” set) and this was included, so I finally get to try it.

I think the dry leaf smells nice, with plenty of bergamot, the balance of some other citrus, and some light florals in the background. The steeped leaf, too, smells pleasantly bergamotty and floral.

Unfortunately I guess sometimes you just have to listen to the people. I don’t find this one as distasteful as some people, especially as it cools, but it isn’t as lovely as I had hoped. The bergamot edges on a pith-like bitterness that I never enjoy, and the florals are a bit perfumy tasting. It is growing on me a bit, but it certainly isn’t a tea I would reach for often. I wonder how it would cold brew?

If this tea was a lipton bagged tea I would have said …nothing…
This is a Kusmi tea and I am almost upset (again) for not loving it.

The dry leaf was already weak and after steeping it is really worst.

It’s a floral tea,ok but it’s supposed to have citrus as well but cannot taste it at all…

Tsar Nicholas II was supposed to drink it every morning …sign of excellence…I won’t have his patience…bye Nicholas I am invited by your daughter to have my favorite Kusmi tea : Anastasia

So, I made the mistake of reading the other reviews before drinking the tea and I was a little worried…. I’m the lucky person to get the rest of Angrboda ’s sample, and almost expected to see an actual grandmother in the tin once I opened it.

And wow – it definitely smelled like soap when I sniffed the leaf. Woo – SOAP. Soapy-soap-soap. But once brewed, I didn’t get that at all. In fact, I only vaguely got a floral taste. (Mind you, I did sweeten immediately – I didn’t even try unsweetened.)

I’m getting a diluted Earl Grey with a general floral undertone. Not bad, but not great.

Not Grandma, maybe Aunt Doris instead?

Skipped out on my morning class to study at home, and have a cup of this. Sebastian was a ridiculous chatterbox the entire time, which was kind of annoying (he’s of course silent right now). This one’s the last from the Kusmi Russian blend sampler that I have to try. The name is pretty but it kind of meant it also didn’t seem like a tea I want to try.

It definitely has a bit of a soap aspect to it, which becomes more obvious as it cools. The mix of flowers, orange, and bergamot is a bit weird. Like you can even make out other citrus notes before it starts to taste reminiscent of an Earl Grey blend.

Definitely my least favorite from the bunch, but I think I might be able to tolerate it enough to finish the little tin.

Today’s at-work sample tea bag experiment.

The Kusmi bag is like nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s fabric (looks like some variation of muslin?) and looks like a gauze square that was folded over some tea leaves and sewed up on three sides, then had a length of braided thread attached to it with a tag at the end.

They weren’t kidding about the flowers. The fragrance of the bag is terrifically floral, overlayed over some citrus. It’s a very deep floral, a musky floral, a perfumy floral. Doesn’t smell a lot like Earl Grey, but perhaps it will after steeping.

I don’t know how hot my water was because I forgot to bring my thermometer to work yet again, but it seemed hotter than yesterday for some reason. The aroma is very similar to the smell of the dry leaves, but more open, with some tea shining through. Still not getting an Earl Grey feel, though.

It brewed up nicely, certainly strong enough compared to my Lupicia bag experiments of yesterday. It has a very solid, sweet, black tea taste, with a sweet floral accent. The more I sip it, the more Earl Grey I get.

I like it, but it is heavy and hearty, like a heavy perfume or a hearty stew, and the sort of thing I’m likely to drink occasionally rather than frequently. Fortunately I’ll have an opportunity to get to know it better as I have a small tin of the loose leaf at home.

I don’t have too much to say about this tea – it didn’t really do much for me, good or bad. The smell of the dry tea is awesome – spicy and citrusy and clean and exotic – and I was hoping it would taste like that but… meh. It was a bit too strongly floral (though not quite perfume-y) and doesn’t have a strong enough bergamot or citrus taste for me. It’s definitely not the worst EG tea I’ve had but it’s nowhere near the best either. I really wish it tasted a bit more like it smelled because then it would be pretty spectacular.

started the morning with this bold cup. these kusmi teas don’t really mess around do they. Tea capital T.
i don’t see exactly why this one is not liked as much as some others by the reviewers. it’s not a favorite tea, and i guess it is a bit more on the sour side than other teas. but it’s still nice enough.
but then again i don’t drink many earl greys so i am definitely not an earl grey person. not YET! i’ll get there eventually. i’ll evolve there.

the problem with hanging out on steepster more is that the reviews make you wanna buy buy buy and try try try! this morning i bought two try me sample packs from Della Terra. the Magic Mint one with Swiss Mountain, Jasmint, Shamrock & Shenanignas, Shamrock & Roll, and Moroocan Mint in it. and a DIY try me pack of Cafe Vanilla, Chocolate Almond Coconut, Chocolate Orange Slice, Oolong Creme, and Malt Shop. it’ll be a mint chocolate spring.

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 500ml at 212°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chemical, cigar tabacco, potpourri
Steeped Tea Smell: fall, toasty
Flavor: toasty, floral
Body: Medium/Full
Aftertaste: astringent, floral
Liquor: translucent dark orange-brown

A strong black, followed by a mouth full of petals, but not in the bad way.

Post-Steep Additives:
Sugar
smoother, citrus and floral

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2013/01/09/kusmi-tea-loose-leaf-black-tea-bouquet-of-flowers-n108/

Kusmi Tea sampler 5/5

Bouquet of Flowers – I was leery of this from the get go due to the name and the fact that flowery teas do not tend to be my favorite. The aroma is definitely that of shower gel or soap but the flavor of this tea is not terribly unpleasant once you actually brew it up. Flowery with a touch of earl grey. Eh, it isn’t awful but I do not think I will need to buy it again.

Had this sample lying around, and I wanted to try something different this morning. I also didn’t feel like fussing with loose leaf, so having this muslin tea bag around was nice!

I like this tea. It’s light, but still flavorful. It smells really floral, but the floral taste was not overpowering or anything. Definitely a nice way to start the day! :)

I usually like floral, but this is a bit too much. Any black tea is pretty well buried in the flowers, and even the bergamot is a little subdued in comparison. Just too light and tart for me overall. Might be nice iced?

I don’t know why, but this one tasted like blueberries to me.

One of the less impressive Kusmi Teas. The dry leaves smell wonderfully citric and fruity, yet after steeping there is nothing really remarkable about the flavour… I am puzzled, really. Overall I won’t say it’s a bad tea – but I did have high hopes because it’s from Kusmi Tea!

Free sample from Kusmi! yay!

First off, I don’t love Earl Grey. Never did. But this has a floral taste that kind of overpowers the actual taste of tea, so the Earl Grey is more of a sideshow than the main event. It also leaves a sort of floral aftertaste, which is a little weird. Like eating flowers. But they were certainly spot-on with the name of this one.

Also, I’ve never seen one of Kusmi’s tea bags, but I love them. They’re little fabric bags, kind of like cheesecloth, which allows the tea to expand without getting crushed. So it’s almost like using loose leaves, but without having to clean up afterward. Bonus!

Violet is the predominant flower in this blend, not lavendar. Which is why it evokes strong opinion as violet is a taste you either hate or love. Think C Howards Violet Candies … the light purple squares in the dark purple foil wrap that was super popular in the 70’s. I’ve come to notice that many Kusmi teas have candy like essences. Anastasia in particular smells like green Life Savers.

As far as Bouquet #108: It has a strong violet scent in the tin that relaxes when brewed. It is not a strong tea by any means but definitely distinct. If the violet is intriguing but you find it a bit much, try blending it 50/50 with your favorite Earl grey before steeping. You’ll still get some of the floral bouquet, and as I’m drinking a cup right now I find it very tasty that way.

As with most Kusmi Russian blends, the black teas used are of a good quality, and have characteristics that stand up well to flavoring.

Not as “everyday” as their Anastasia blend, but still worth having a quantity on hand for a change of pace every once in a while.

Grade: O.P. (Orange Pekoe)
Finally I’m going to taste and smell Tsar Nicholas II’s tea, it has always sounded exciting and special to me. The dry leaf smells very citrusy, to be more exact they smell of bergamot and lime, perhaps also something a little sweeter. Maybe it’s mandarine.
The tea itself also shines through, which I like, overpowering teas are so vulgar and non-exciting, so I’m glad that some tea-fragrance is noticeable in this tea. I don’t know exactly which flowers there are in it, but there are lots of it. Maybe the flowers are lavender and ylang ylang, it’s not rosy in any way. After the tea’s done steeping I’m going to find out, if Tsar Nicholas II had taste for tea, hopefully he had.

Well, strangely though, all the remarkable aromas of the dry leaves, simply doesn’t translate into the brewed tea, you can’t smell any of the essential aromas, it just smells of black tea. Almost. For me, it isn’t negative that a tea has subtle flavourings, I like it even better when they have. Teas just needs to have a hint of flavouring, if you ask me.

The taste of the liquid tea is not that subtle, here the citrusness and the floweryness, is quite noticeable, especially all the flowers, but the citrus is also there, adding exiting flavors to the tea. It has a tiny bit of bitterness, but it is a light tea, lighter than their Russian Morning #24, and lighter than their Anastasia. The color is quite dark, even though it’s a light tea, with a body between light and medium. Goes well with milk too!
Bouquet of Flowers #108 is one of the best teas I have tasted, and it’s just great, great, great. Must buy a 125g later on.
Tsar Nicholas II had taste for tea, obviously.

Overview:

Appearance: Extremely long black tea leaves.
Dry tea-smell: Bergamot, lime and flowers. Ylang ylang, lavender and a tiny bit of black tea.
Color: Reddish-brown
Brewed tea-smell: Aromatic black tea and a tiny flower/citrus smell.
Taste: Slightly bitter black tea, but still light. Bergamot, lime and flowers like ylang ylang and lavender.

I like it – it is quite pleasant. Not over the top wow good but very solid. The flavors are subtle – the bergamot/citrus is muted but there.

Just like the name suggests, it’s a floral extravaganza. Earl Grey x 10.

I had this on the train home from my parents’ last night and once more came to the conclusion that Kusmi is indeed drinkable but otherwise overrated. This one isn’t as perfumed as other teas of the brand that I’ve tried, but it’s not particularly memorable either.
This review however must be taken with the understanding that making tea on the train involved hot water from a thermos rather than freshly boiled, so the steeping process was far from ideal. I think I might just stick to coffee on the train from now on.