Ilse Wouters Send Message

Although I prefer loose tea, I do own teabags, and they sure are practical when not having a lot of time or when inviting people with different preferences. This morning the first applied. It´s been a very long time since I bought these, and I couldn´t quite remember whether I just bought it for the elderflower (I “brew” my own elderflower cordial to make wonderful gin&tonics), or whether I truly liked it. Well, the elderflower made me buy it, but I do like this tea. Very floral, very soft, very subtle…wonderful when still waking up! And according to London tea company it helps to give your skin that youthful and supple appearance…great indeed!

In the past I experimented a lot in order to get a tasteful ice tea without having to add sugar to the final result. In general, I tend to prefer black teas aromatized with pieces of real fruit, but I cannot get this type of teas everywhere, and the aromatized black teas (with sirops) I prefer to avoid. Maybe I´m too much of a black tea fan to fully appreciate ice teas based on green tea, but the last couple of years, that seems to have changed. Last year´s green tea with banana was a success and this year´s Tibetan Secret is not bad at all either. Very refreshing, and light, I could drink it all day.

Another one of Kusmi´s “The Russians” range, and this one doesn´t do anything – not in the positive sense, not in the citrus fruits in the final drink (and they are surely present in the nose of the loose tea). More a floral touch really.

Bought as “Secreto tibetano” by internet from Tea shop “El rincón de los aromas” in Alcalá de Henares (near Madrid, Spain). In Summer I replace the water we drink with meals by home made ice tea, and this year I´m using this tea.

Not the best Earl Grey I´ve ever tried, but there´s nothing too much wrong with it either. To be honest, I forgot all about my tea when it was steeping, so it might have been too bitter, but it wasn´t : it was still quite bergamotty (although not in the degrees I love), and very floral. Enjoyed it. Next time I´ll make sure to steep it less time, and maybe it changes positively.

Another tea from Kusmi´s “The Russians” range, and so far, the one I least like. One way or another, I´m not too fond about orange or dominant spices in combination with black tea (apart from at Xmas time, perhaps), and this is confirmed smelling the tea from the tin AND the resulting cuppa. I had it at breakfast, which wasn´t a good move either (definitely need to try it again as an afternoon tea…in winter).

The tea from the tin has a wonderful fragrance (very Earl Grey like), which one way or the other changed my expectations of the tea while brewing it. Indeed, the first sip was quite disappointing as the taste is more floral than bergamot. In the end I even appreciated it a lot, but as a floral black tea (cf. Betty´s Rose Petals, for people from Yorkshire). If you are looking for an Earl Grey like taste, this is NOT the tea to pick, I´m afraid.

The best Earl Grey (in a tin) I´ve ever bought. If you ever want to have a complete Earl Grey experience, with the bergamot fragrance all over, this is the one to prepare. Quite pricey, but considering the enjoyment, worth every bit of it.

In the nose this promises to be a wonderful Earl Grey like tea, but once brewed it´s not that brilliant, at least not for me. It seems that all the citrics just flew away, resulting in quite a flat taste. Maybe I need to change the steeping parameters a bit, as this isn´t supposed to be “just” a black tea. BTW, couldn´t discover the orange blossom in the tea either.

A perfect alternative for English breakfast teas. Bitterness is limited (only in the last bit – I forgot all about my “cuppa” – it dominated), which is probably a good thing for a lot of tea drinkers. As I wasn´t quite sure what is typical about the Russian tea tradition, I looked around on internet, and I found that traditionally tea is brewed for a longer time, resulting in a more concentrated brew, and then diluted for use, so I guess the tea blends in general are less bitter, which corresponds to my observation. Not adding any milk or sugar to my tea, I think this might become a morning favourite of mine.