Russian Caravan

For breakfast at sf ferry building, with a mariposa bakery cinnamon roll :) that’s more like it!

First of all I’m geeking out because I got 4 tea swap packages in the mail today. Thank you kaybee for sending me this tea. I would say this is a perfect blend of black and lapsang. Reminds me of English Breakfast with a little bit of smokiness. I like this a lot!

I don’t know why I decided to get this at Peet’s today – it is a lot smokier than I thought it would be, to me it was like a lapsang souchong and I don’t normally like smoky teas that much anyway but I’m trying to expand my horizons, I managed to choke it down.

I really liked this tea. It was nice and malty, and went great with breakfast. I bought this while on vacation, like some of my other Peet’s teas. However, the taste was a little surprising.

I opened the can, and smelled the familiar smokiness of Lapsang Souchong. In stead of finding merely black, smoked tea, I also found golden-silver leaves mixed in. I wondered which teas they were, but the description online and on the tin only described them as “China black teas”. Despite not finding which specific teas were in the blend, I knew that Lapsang Souchong was the base.

I poured the water in the teapot, and let it brew for about 5 minutes. I did notice a different scent than just smokiness. When I tasted it, it reminded me of English Breakfast. Smooth, brisk, and slightly malty. This went really well with the smoky flavor.

The only downside I could find was that there were more stems than I would have liked in my tea. Not too complex, but not very simple either, this tea makes for a wonderful morning cuppa.

I bought this tea recently thinking I was getting some other Russian Caravan-type tea, but I was so incredibly delighted when I smelled the leaves and discovered that it is essentially Celestial Seasonings’ Morning Thunder tea in loose-leaf form! I grew up drinking Morning Thunder, and it is one of those teas that jogs so many memories, just by the smell alone.

I don’t re-steep this one. I think you get the best steep at about 3 – 5 minutes.

After reading some other ‘reviews,’ I’ve discovered that Lapsang Souchong is a smoky tea? I’ll have to look into that one!

The smokiness, the richness, the full flavor… I’m so thrilled with my accidental discovery!

I was so excited to taste something that smelled this smoky and exotic. However, I was highly disappointed. I just thought it was flat and tasted nothing like the scent. I will try it again before I decide I don’t like it.

It smells nice and smoky. The problem is, the smokiness barely comes through in the flavor. It’s there, but it’s not very strong. In fact, there’s a tiny bit of a sweet aftertaste, which is actually pretty nice, if surprising — but I wanted smoky, and after Harney & Sons’ Russian Country, this one’s kind of disappointing.

There’s nothing wrong with it; it’s just not what I expected. Maybe it’ll grow on me.

Exotic and smokey, with a nice aftertaste. I really enjoy this with a bit of cream and sugar but it does dumb down the flavor a bit. The recommended steep is 2-4 minutes, but I enjoy steeping this one a bit longer, it tends to get smokier without getting bitter. Great for a cold day, and a good breakfast tea. I love it!

Whoa, I was not expecting such an overwhelming scent. It smelled like smoked paprika or even a cured meat. Maybe it would have been better if it was lighter. The barista put way too much tea in the tea bag. It looked like more than 1/3 cup.

One of my favorites. Beautiful, rich black tea blend. Very tasty.

This is a great strong tea that will wake you up in the morning. It smells very smoky, but is very balanced when brewed. Great for people who are looking to replace their morning cup of coffee.

At first I expected this tea to be very bitter, but in fact the taste is more smoky and acidic. I do enjoy the smoky taste to it. It really adds to the nice blend of black teas. Make sure you drink it straight, anything else would ruin the smoky flavor.

Wonderfully interesting flavor.. The smoked taste really comes on strong while sipping, but I more enjoy the aftertaste, which to me is quite a smooth hint of flavor; good blend