Troika

Thank you Will Work For Tea for this Sample!

I know for sure that God is watching over me! I am a dumb woman who almost got herself killed tonight!

After the monsoon thunder and lightning storm this afternoon had finished (I thought), I decided to head 20 miles South go to Vespers at St. Spyridons Greek Orthodox Church.
As I drove closer to Loveland, the sky look ominous. Dark clouds were thickening but nothing was happening. Maybe they would scurry past to the Prairie, I thought.

Somewhere towards the end of the service when the Chanters (and those present) were singing “Lord Have Mercy” in English, Greek, Arabic and Russian…BANG! ALL…you know what…broke loose! We kept singing and at the end scurried to our cars (which were now becoming flooded with a Noah-esque like downpour of rain). I had to wade in ankle deep water to my car.

The lightening and thunder was banging overhead. Somewhat like having my picture taken by the sky…bang…flash…over and over and then…I hit a pocket of water on a 4 lane busy main road and hydroplaned!
The water covered my car and I was blind! I came out of the tunnel of water to a bang flash. I was scared but my brakes were ok. I kept going..inching home.
I had a funny intuitive girl feeling that something else wasn’t right.
My car is a titanium silver Rav4 and not that easy to see at dusk in a rainstorm.
I DROVE 15 MILES WITHOUT MY HEADLIGHTS ON! Freaked me out!
As soon as the bang boom fear, watery feet and hydroplaning terror kicked in…I was a white knuckle, all hands on the steering wheel mess. I am never going out in the rain like that again ever, ever!

I chose this tea for it’s great Russian name Troika! The horse drawn sleigh. Visions of some of my favorite old Russian movies came to mind. The Brothers Karamazov with Yul Brynner and We Live Again from 1935. Wintry days with hot smoky tea. Even though this is Summer, the cool stormy weather seemed right for it.
I used only 6 oz. water to make a strong cup and 1 tsp tea. Brew time was 3.5 minutes.
The flavor was smoky and citrus fruity. Somewhere between an Assam and Orange Pekoe with more smoke though. At first I notice a light bergamot creaminess then as it cools there is astringency.
I wouldn’t call the flavor weak. It’s a pretty hefty brew.
I added sweetening eventually which was good, then cream which was also acceptable (and the cream cut the tannin).

My advice is not to walk away from this cup and let it cool down. It gets way to astringent. Drink it hot and it’s pretty tasty. A good blaster for handwarming while riding in your Troika!

The Lord really did have Mercy on me tonight! http://youtu.be/vyFkPd6fEuI Tchaikovsky (Song of the Cherubim which is a song sung at every Liturgy but not always this particular version by Tchaikovsky)

Remember those chocolate oranges they had in the 90s? This smells just like them.
This tastes lightly sweet with a lingering floral or orange aftertaste. Not positive that I love this, but I was craving a nice black tea. I like this with milk – it brings out the orange floral notes.

Thank you for this one, Will Work For Tea!

This is the kind of Earl Grey I could drink plenty of. It’s not in your face but it still definitely has the flavor of bergamot. There’s additional orange flavor to it too, and I quite like it.

I didn’t even know Kusmi existed when I was in Paris and I wish I did because I love the tins. I think if I get the job tomorrow I will buy at least one…I’ve been window shopping on their site for ages but I didn’t want to without trying one first.

This kind of take on an EG is right up my alley and some of the other ones sound very intriguing too. I only steeped it for two minutes, just because I wasn’t entirely sure how strong it would be, and I could definitely up it to three the next time. I don’t get any smoky notes and I would like to, seems intriguing with orange!

With the shorter steep it hasn’t gotten astringent as it cools, in fact, the flavor has hardly changed the entire time. Just a nice smooth black base with what tastes like mandarin oranges and bergamot.

To me, Troïka is a mild black tea. The head note on dry leaf is clearly bergamot but orange is really present, but behind.

This is the same after steeping : a mild Earl Grey perfumed with orange.
I am very sorry but I wasn’t able to pick up mandarin.

It is a subtle tea, very smooth : the kind of tea a lot of people should appreciate and I am not an exception, I appreciate it.

But I clearly prefer Anastasia which is stronger and much original to be.

Anyway, thanks for the travel in Troïka, magnificent steppe …

I think I will try another of these Kusmi teas. They have been the victims of changing tastebuds, because there are several Kusmi teas that I used to love (or at least enjoy), and now they are not tasty at all to me. All the Russian blends apparently have the same base (a blend of Chinese, Ceylon and Indian teas), and one of the components doesn’t sit well with me. It’s not any sort of bitterness or astringency but a flavor I just don’t care for.

Yeah, no. This one is the same way. It’s pretty frustrating really, to have a quality tea that you just don’t like anymore. The one good thing is that I still like the teas cold brewed, so I guess I’ll be drinking a lot of iced Kusmi this summer.

Edited: Actually I ended up enjoying this one enough to drink the whole cup. Maybe it was the combination of citrus fruits but even though I didn’t love it, I liked it enough. It did get a bit astringent when it got really cool, though.

Moving right along, here we have something citrus-y. Looks like Russian = Citrus, preferably bergamot in Kusmi-Land.

Okay, I’m beginning to develop a linking for citrus. Still not an Earl Grey fan as such though, but none of these are plain Earl Greys which I think may be what makes the difference.

This one is kind of mild. There’s the heavy bergamot on the bottom but it’s not very pronounced at first. On top there are the other citrus flavours, and they are really what is holding the flavour up.

As the cup cools the bergamot comes out more and the other citrus flavours take a step back, so it’s kind of a double feature this one.

I quite like it.

my Kusmi order arrived!
the russian tasting set and a large tin of caramel.
(my boyfriend is gonna love the russian ones i just know it)
so here i am drinking tea at 11pm!

today is the last day of my holiday vacation.
whimper.

This tea was not at all what I was expecting. I was expecting a lighter, sweetish, almost dessert-like, mild EG. But this is rich, heavy and pretty decadent. I did add a tiny bit of sugar but honestly, I don’t think it needed it because there wasn’t any bitterness or ick that I could taste trying to come through the sugar, though it is possible that the sugar did bring out the orange flavors a hair.

This isn’t overwhelmingly citrus. Instead, it is a heavy, silky, smooth tea with a light fruity sweetness surrounding the tea flavor on all sides. Knowing that it is bergamot, orange and mandarin, it’s noticeably citrus (though a dark, heavy citrus) but not knowing what it is makes the flavor a little difficult to identify past “something fruity”. Because the bergamot doesn’t overwhelm, my brain doesn’t really slot this in with EGs.

Now, I did brew this tea at potentially a too-hot temp – my Zojirushi was set at 208° so I put the water into the cup for a moment before putting in the infuser – so it is possible that at a lower water temp the citrus will come out a bit more. However, since that isn’t something I need to enjoy this tea, I’m not concerned. Probably my biggest sorta-issue with this tea is how rich it feels. It’s almost a little overwhelming since I wasn’t prepared for it but it definitely grew on me. Something so heavy might not be the best thing for first thing in the morning, though – my stomach needs to wake up a bit.

The liquor of this tea is a bright amber, almost copper color. Quite nice to see on this stormy day.

The aroma reminds me of bergamot with a slight caramel hint to it.

In taste Troika is much more lemon than bergamot to my tongue. When I slurp it it I taste a bit of honey mixed with the lemon flavor and a nice, mildly sweet black tea. I’m enjoying this blend, I like how mellow and not so in your face the flavors are. Which is strange, as I usually like in your face, but the mild citrus is enough for me to really enjoy this tea.

Many thanks to Lori for sending a sample of this my way :)

Troika is a nice, modest Earl Grey. I had hopes that this trio of flavors would send me off on an old-fashioned Russian reverie and into the land of a 19th century novel where the samovar is always heated.

My impression of Kusmi teas is that they are excellent and subtle; they are geared towards a sophisticated and worldly palate. The cultivated mondaine might drink this at 4 o’clock. I prefer a bolder, brasher Earl Grey. I like to be stunned by flavor. With my tea I am like a 1980’s lady who reeks of opium perfume and wears gowns by Bob Mackie.

Troika is for the elegant, refined palate. I would call it a very scholarly interpretation of an Earl Grey. It held up very well to a second infusion.

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

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: citrus, smoke
Steeped Tea Smell: earl grey
Flavor: smooth bergamot black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: citrus, smoke
Liquor: translucent orange brown

I bought this when I visited the Kusmi store in NYC, it’s a tiny tin part of the Russian sampler. It’s smooth, not bitter, and enjoyable but it doesn’t grab me and demand I keep it stocked.

I think the Kusmi teas, like the french teas, are subtle flavors and I prefer bold.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/08/kusmi-tea-loose-leaf-black-tea-troika.html

After yesterday’s October Revelation mixture of seven citrus fruits, this seems a modest little tea. Only three citrus fruits here, and I’m expecting to taste orange and maybe a little lemon. Seems like this should really be called Troika times two, as there are two troikas here, the citrus fruits and the black teas. But that wouldn’t sound very Russian.

Bergamot is the main scent of the dry leaves. It opens up after steeping into an orange-laced, somewhat fruity, somewhat biscuity aroma. The tea has a medium amber color. I’m not getting pepper here, which I wondered about since I definitely get that in the Kusmi Earl Grey.

The taste is quite nice. I think I prefer it to the busier flavor of October Revelation. It’s sort of a citrus equivalent to the Kusmi 4 Red Fruits, except that the individual notes are harder to detect, but that may be because they’re all sort of similar flavors to begin with. Though the bergamot was strong in the fragrance of the dry leaf it is not strong here. The tea is smooth and easy on the stomach. The tea underneath the citrus is perky without being darjeelingy if that makes sense. It has a cleanness and a bit of briskness to it.

This is one for the cupboard, I think.

This is NICE! The Earl Grey is mellowed down by the orange and mandarin believe it or not. If you aren’t fond of Earl Greys give this a try…you might like it! The orange and mandarin both pair nicely and are not overly citrusy and do not have an overpowering aftertaste.

To start, a note about the tin. I could NOT get it open! I got the Russian blend mini-tins and for some reason this one was super sealed. I asked my boyfriend for help opening it and he went into Berserker mode. The tin is destroyed! I’ll have to store this another way. Ah well, at least I get to try it now.

It smells great! I detect more spicy notes than citrus ones. It brews up into a dark brown tea. The taste is wonderful – characteristically smooth like Kusmi’s other black tea blends. The tea is supposed to have the scents of bergamot, orange, and mandarin but I am only tasting the lightest bergamot flavor. Perhaps a more refined palette than mine could detect the citrus. I wish they had included orange peel to enhance the citrus side of the tea.

This makes a wonderful breakfast tea, if you like your teas on the milder side. It’s possible I under-leafed this, too. I’ll have to play around. All in all, this is another solid blend from Kusmi!

This is wonderful with a splash of coconut milk. Yum!

It’s like Anastasia without the lemon note, which means Earl Grey with a kind of orange/mandarin flavour. An elegant tea that goes great with traditional afternoon tea :)

Smells like an earl grey, although brighter, a bit—I think I can pick out the sweetness of the mandarin orange. But there’s also a strong tea smell in there as well, which I like.

FIrst sip… Is tea and mandarin, actually. The mandarin is very mild, but it’s the first of the citruses to pop out at me.

As it cools, I’m getting the bergamot. No orange anymore. It’s devolved! Aaaah!

I keep telling myself to wait, and let it cool more, so I can make a few notes on the changing flavour, but I keep sipping it hot.

The mandarin’s slipping back in, as an aftertaste on the edge of my tongue. This is a very mild, afternoon sort of tea, I think. I enjoy earl greys, but I don’t think I have the palate to pick this apart like many Grand Earl Grey Drinkers (which I’m sure exist!). Still, I love earl grey variations. Mmm. Bit of a drying astringency in there as well.

I’m giving this a tentative rating, a “I’m not sure what my opinion is yet, this will probably change; let’s put it above this, but below this for now, because that looks safe”.

Also, this is my first Kusmi Tea! I was so happy to find it amongst the others, because I’ve been very interested in trying Kusmi. Especially their Russian blends. I want to collect ALL of their Russian blends, but can’t bring myself to flood my Shopping List with them. I’ve found a store downtown that is supposed to sell them, so I may be getting more soon.

Second steep has a stronger orange taste. Weaker tea and bergamot, so it pokes through more.

I got a sample of this tea from the Traveling Tea Box. It was good… much sweeter than I expect from an Earl Grey, but I’m sure that’s due to the mandarin and orange. The leaves unfurled to a full size, for the most part, making for a pretty steeping.

The flavor was not as intense as I expect from Earl Greys. I assumed it was because I had used too much water, but in reading the other reviews, I see that it’s just a more subtle tea.

I am hoping this breaks me out of the Monday morning doldrums… somehow it does seem cheerful today.

Small tin from the Russian sampler. Drinking plain, no cream, no sugar. In my Lock & Lock Double Wall Tea Bottle, which means the leaves stay in it.

On smelling the unbrewed tea, I was a little doubtful. It smells like candy from an old lady’s purse, or something. But it seemed like there was potential there.

On brewing, that scent goes away, and I’m left with an Earl Greyish taste that doesn’t jump up and slap you in the face. Good for a morning where I want a gradual return to awareness, instead of something to wake me up right now.

This tea didn’t strike me as anything special the first time I tried it.

Allow me to exercise my right to completely change my mind. I had it again this morning, a sip or two to get myself ready for a hearty breakfast, and it was delicious. Really pleasant citrus notes blending very well with the flavor of the black tea. The flavoring is just right; I can taste the sweetness of the citrus at the very end of my swallow. Very bright and mellow tea, though not by any means light.

I had set my heart on getting a large tin of the Prince Vladimir blend from Kusmi since I was so impressed with that and the St. Petersburg blend, but on this second try the Troika may be just as deserving of a second buy.