There is a small family owned grocery in San Francisco called Bi-Rite; they just opened one in my neighborhood so I took a walk down there this morning. It’s definitely on the upscale side of things, very yuppifed, oh well. Probably won’t be making a lot of major purchases there but they do have a nice tea selection.
I’ve never tried this tea from Kusmi and decided it might be worth the splurge. The box says it is a blend of China, Ceylon and India teas. Note: this is the muslin teabag box and not the loose leaf. There seems to be something vaguely “citrusy” about this blend, both in the aroma and the flavor. If I had to take a guess, I’d say the Indian tea is a nilgiri which accounts for that brightness. Though it could be a darjeeling as well.
Anyway this is a good tea to sip on plain, not a trace of bitterness anywhere. I decided to drink this with a slice of lemon and that was a really good call. I can see it would be good with a splash of soymilk or milk, but it definitely does not need sugar. I actually like this blend a lot but I was thinking it would be more hefty than it is somehow. I would drink this in the afternoon too. Very enjoyable — might need to keep this in the permanent collection but at the price I probably wouldn’t drink it every day.
A couple of the other reviewers mentioned lapsang but I am not detecting any smoke in this whatsoever, how odd.
