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“More sample stash busting, woot! Apparently I said earlier that I would probably cold-brew the last of this tea, but that was a lie. I had just the right amount for another Kati cup full of tea, so...” Read full tasting note
“I am entirely too grumpy today for a gal who has found out that she earned an A in her class! I am hoping that this tea full of delightful things – berry! caramel! bergamot! – will calm my cranky...” Read full tasting note
“Even though I apparently didn’t get all the cinnamon flavoring off my basket, this tea was so much better. Bonus: the adorable tin. I really like this tea, it’s fruity and caramely, but I don’t...” Read full tasting note
“I think the caramel and the red fruits in this tea combine in such a way that makes it taste like tea lightly flavored with red berry syrup. There’s no tartness usually associated with things red...” Read full tasting note
Russian blend of Chinese black tea with natural scents of bergamot, red fruits, vanilla and caramel.
Created to celebrate the tricentennary of the city of St Petersburg.
Tasting advice: delicious plain or sweetened
This fruity tasting tea has been created for the 300th anniversary of Saint Petersburg where Kusmi Tea was orginally founded in 1867.
TEA PROFILE
Origin: China
Main flavor: citrus with gourmand note
Quantity needed: 0,1 oz.
PREPARATION
Time of day: afternoon
Ideal water temperature: 185°F – 195°F
Recommended brewing time: 3-4 min
Company description not available.
More sample stash busting, woot! Apparently I said earlier that I would probably cold-brew the last of this tea, but that was a lie. I had just the right amount for another Kati cup full of tea, so that’s what I did. This is definitely a very nice tea and it reminds me that I always need some kind of bergamot + red fruits blend in my cupboard, even if it’s just a red fruits tea and an Earl Grey that I blend together myself. The vanilla and caramel in this one are nice and they add some good flavors to the blend, but they’re not really necessary components to me. Glad to have gotten a sample of this one.
I am entirely too grumpy today for a gal who has found out that she earned an A in her class! I am hoping that this tea full of delightful things – berry! caramel! bergamot! – will calm my cranky mood. Many thanks to the quiet life for this sample!
I am taking it with just a pinch of sugar, and I think this is the way Kusmi teas like to be drunk! The tiny bit of sugar brings out all of the flavorings and the tea is pronounced and delicious. Last time I made it at 5 minutes but put in milk and sugar, and it overwhelmed the tea and subtle flavors. I like it much better this way! A bit of sweet berry, something citrus-y, a warm sweetness, and good tea. This is SUCH a nice treatment for a sourpuss!!! I’m going to inch up the rating a bit. :)
I made another steep at 5 minutes, just hoping for some more warmth really, but it’s very flavorful. I’m going to need a tin of this when I run out. The quiet life was super generous with her sample and I have a few more cups worth of anti-grump medicine at hand!
Congratulations on your A, Jacqueline!
Way to go on the A!
Does this tea have chunks of caramel, or just the caramel flavoring? Asking because the chunks have dairy (wondering if it’s something I can have or not since its not clear from the ingredients).
I was secretly hoping you were going to be singing some punk music like last time you had Kusmi Tea :)
Kristin – All that I see are tea leaves, and no caramel chunks (or berries or bergamot rind!). I have just a sample but I think I would have gotten some kind of something in there :) I hope it’s safe for you because it’s delicious :) :) :)
SoccerMom – this one is elegant and happymaking :) If I had Angry Teenage Clove Tea today – ooof! who knows what would have happened!!!! I shudder to think!
thanks. :)
Congrats on both the A and the tea! :D
Woo hoo, yay for the A!
Even though I apparently didn’t get all the cinnamon flavoring off my basket, this tea was so much better.
Bonus: the adorable tin.
I really like this tea, it’s fruity and caramely, but I don’t think if get it again. Not unless I was seriously craving fruit and caramel.
The kusmi tins really are pretty!
I swear this one smelled like cola bottle candies to me!
Coca bottle candies? Wow, that’s really evocative.
Yeah, I swear it was this one and not another Kusmi. Only smelled it in a store. :)
So weird. I have to go home and sniff this one now.
Whoops, just double-checked and it was definitely Prince Vladimir that smells like cola bottles to me!
I don’t have Vlad at home. :) I’ll keep it in mind the next time I go to SOKO, though!
Yeah, I don’t know why I was thinking it was this one.
I thought a lot of the Kusmi blends tasted like soda, so cola bottle candy makes sense to me.
I think the caramel and the red fruits in this tea combine in such a way that makes it taste like tea lightly flavored with red berry syrup. There’s no tartness usually associated with things red berry-ish and it ends on a sweet, light caramel note. Quite a tasty little tea, one that can handle a morning in my travel tumbler without additives (which seems to be a bit harder than succeeding in an additive-less state in a cup). This tea won’t be the reason I place my next Kusmi order, but when the time comes I will certainly be adding a tin of this to my cart.
This and Vladimir. I honestly can’t decide which of those two I like best. I want to get a tin of one of them, but not both. They’re too similar to need both. But which one??? O.o
This one!!!! Okay, that’s my answer but only because the spice bit didn’t make me happy with Vlad. But I know you like spices so perhaps Vlad is your man?
I don’t really like spices, I don’t care much for chai and such like. I just have a couple of notable exceptions, Vlad being one. I think I’ll go for St P, unless I discover it’s not readily available in shops. I know Vlad is, so if I can only get St P via internet trade, I’ll settle for Vlad and be happy with it. :)
Okay, just the fact that you have Kusmi of any sort readily available in stores makes me pout just a little bit. :( See?
It’s only tea shops and such. My supermarket doesn’t ahve them and they don’t have the full selection either. Nothing smoky so far as I can see, for example.
Well, it’s better than nothing. I wish anywhere around me carried Mariage Freres or something closer to higher end that RoT. But at least I have RoT so I should focus on that.
I AM SUCH A SPOILED SPOILED SPOILED PERSON, I’M JUST SAYING! flails
Had to get that out of my system. :p
Also from the Kusmi sampler pack we have this one, which has citrus and caramel. Funny sort of combination. Not one I would have been able to come up with on my own.
Totally caught up in the being spoiled and in having strawberries with milk for dessert, I forgot to pay attention to leaf smell and predictably to steeping time. So I don’t know if this post will be entirely accurate.
It does smell like some sort of citrus flavoured caramel. It’s kind of weird and kind of natural at the same time. The two smells merge quite well, the citrus taking some of the heaviness out of the caramel.
Tastewise, there’s definitely some oversteep damage here. There’s a bitterness to the swallow that I’m sure is not supposed to be there. A bit like a mix of soap and overcooked bergamot.
So I’m not going to give it any points yet. I want to try it properly first, but given the aroma, I’m feeling pretty hopeful about this one.
Okay, similar tea taste is one thing but now you’re just being a copy cat. Hehe! j/k! Yay Kusmi Russian assortment!
I noticed that too! I swear I just picked a little tin at random! O.o
I’ll have to look for the other three sample sets, though. You know… for completion. :D
You mean these? http://www.kusmitea.com/en/black-tea/traditional-blend/assortment-the-moments/c1_11/p174/product_info.html, http://www.kusmitea.com/en/black-tea/flavoured-black-tea/assortment-the-afternoons/c1_8/p167/product_info.html and http://www.kusmitea.com/en/green-tea/flavoured-green-tea/assortment-the-greens/c4_12/p169/product_info.html ? Muahaha.
And the US site (those links go to the European site) doesn’t have that middle one. What’s up with that? :(
(That looks like one big long block of hyperlink but I promise there are three in there.)
Yes, exactly. I got the set that came in a box with a strainer-thingy in it, which I have no use for btw, so they were mentioned on the box. Didn’t say what was in them though. I have a lead on where I might find them without having to internet shop.
…oh wait. I’m not supposed to be buying anymore tea…
They used to have those middling sized cans! Now the US site http://www.us.kusmitea.com/en/ only has the small ‘miniatures’ with the tea strainers – but the good thing is, they’re all back in stock!
Lauren, if you click on the Gifts link on the US page (http://www.us.kusmitea.com/en/gifts/c3/index.html), they have three assortments (without the strainer) there. But no assortment of “The Afternoons”. Boo. But I think the tins are the same size so the only difference is the strainer.
Oh, there they are! I believe you are absolutely right about the sizes 25g = 0.88 oz! Thanks!
Kusmi Store opens in NYC in May! I’m so going!
OoOoOh!! Where in NYC?
Third Avenue & 61th Street. All the tea is mine! I’m going to steal all the samplers!
Apparently I saved the exact location… don’t remember when I did this.
1037 3rd Avenue 61st Street
Sweet, you can steal all of the tea, I will go to the store when they restock :)
I neglected to pick up any coffee yesterday. Too much going on after work. We’re trying to replace the exterior lighting on our house and the lighting store was open until 8 p.m. so the BF decided we should go there and eat dinner nearby. The kids normally go to sleep at around 8:30 so they were pretty overdone by the time dinner was over.
In any case, not to worry as the magic was back this morning. It’s interesting that Kusmi’s ideal time for preparation on this is afternoon because I think it’s wonderful in the morning. Strong blacks sometimes hit my stomach wrong first thing in the morning. This one is very mellow but flavorful, and today I’m getting a lot of cherry and grape and plum-like flavors that integrate really nicely with the tea flavor instead of tasting glommed on.
Bumping it up in points for rising to the occasion.
I’ve said it before, but yum. Just yum.
I also have problems with tea on an empty stomach, especially ceylon. I can usually get away with Yunnans, & some Assams, at least for a little while :)
I used to know which varieties were more likely to cause the problem but I’ve forgotten. I’m sure I’ll be reminded at some point when my stomach gets angry at me.
I hear you! Black tea (and coffee even more so) on an empty stomach in the morning makes me feel hungover.
Thank you whatshesaid (i swear i almost wrote whatshername again) lol This one was part of our swaps and i’m SUPER glad to get to try it before i had to make a purchase. I’m not quite how i feel about this one yet. I may need to try it cold brewed first. The bergamot and I do not get along. at all. But this is a strange tea. It smells a little like florence from harney and sons…but then it tastes a little like caramel with a splash of fruitiness. I’m going to have to play with this one a little more. I don’t hate it, but i’m not sure how i feel about it yet. heh
If it tasted like Florence I probably wouldn’t love it so much!!
LOL see and i love florence :)
You know, the one Harney tea this reminds me of is Paris. I had both at a time, and they reminded me of each other. I never had Florence though it will be a Harney priority if I ever order from them again (shipping prices, not cool at all right now)
Paris is way bergamotty for me :( this tastes better so maybe somewhere between the two :)
I loved Paris
But not Florence, in case that wasn’t clear. Hehe.
lol that was clear you goof
I think I love bergamot. I have yet to meet a tea containing it that I didn’t enjoy or even love
Both Paris and St Petersburg were definetely bergamotty for me – I am not really a fan of bergamot either. Paris did not work for me, so yes I agree this is better. But if you are interested in a similar tea (red fruits with caramel ) but without bergamot try Dammann´s Paul et Virginie.
Cteresa – yes I picked that one up when I was in china haha :)
I recently got a little bit more of this and am drinking it now…totally LOVING it more than before so I am upping the rating! It’s caramel but not obnoxious! It has a hint of fruit too. It sort of remind me of a cross between a Werther’s Original and a Creamsicle Candy.
That sounds soooooo delicious. I really have to get my hands on some Kusmi tea!
Want me to send you a sample!?
Do you see anything in my cupboard that you might like to try? I would do a trade :) I don’t want to impose! [email protected] if you’d like to swap!
I’ll drop you a test email now…let me know with a quick note back…will look at your cupboard shortly…thanks!
Really nice review this sounds good.
Is it weird that this tea tastes to me like cherry cola? The “red fruits” in the description are definitely cherries and maybe some currants. There are also some flowery cherry blossoms in there, which tastes slightly syrupy. That sensation is probably strengthened by the bergamot oil’s mouthfeel. The caramel has a lingering burnt flavor to it- This in combination with the sharp bergamot flavor causes a tingle in the mouth, which definitely could pass off as carbonation. The base is a pretty mellow black blend, slightly sweet, slightly tannic.
Even though I have a sweet tooth, I think this tea may be a little too much for me. Just like soda, there’s a harshness to the sweetness and I won’t want that often.
I am waiting rather impatiently for someone to get back to me about selling me a spinning wheel. They were supposedly available yesterday but didn’t return my call… argh…
So I am having a cuppa to try and be patient, along with some oatmeal for breakfast. Cream and sugar, but not frothed, as I did not leave room in the cup.
The citrus is really coming to the forefront this morning. My tastebuds don’t generally pick out bergamot separately from everything else, but it’s coming through this morning. Tasty.
I can’t wait to get a spinning wheel. Tea and spinning go so well together. I already spin on drop spindles, and it’s lovely. But the addition of treadling while spinning will definitely be meditative. And hopefully good for the muscles in my legs. :D
I have a spinning wheel, and have always wanted to learn to spin.
But there is a part missing off of mine and I have no clue how to get a replacement…so there it sits:(
Do you know what kind it is? I have been researching wheels and I might be able to point you in the right direction. If it’s an old handmade antique you would have to probably commission a woodworker if you need a new fly or bobbins. What part is missing?
You know, its been in storage the past year…I am not even sure I can remember.
I do remember contacting the company and they gave me a number to someone else who gave me a number who gave me a number to the company.
It is not a antique,but I was thinking the same thing about how it would just be easier to have it made!
If you remember what the part is called and the company that made it, I can check some of the sites I have been looking at to see if they sell the parts. I’m looking at an Ashford wheel, which parts are readily available for, which is very nice.
Oooh, I only have my old ashford traditional, so I’m no hope for you, but I saw your post and had to comment :) That’s so exciting, getting a spinning wheel! (I still actually really like the tactile feedback of my drop spindles even though I mostly wheel spin now). I hope you end up getting one. Are you on Ravelry?
Yes, I’m on Rav – I’m Sanguine there. I’ve been mainly lurking the last few months because I go into hibernation mode in the summer – it’s too hot to even look at wool in Texas in the summer!
Your spinning is very pretty (and so is your Turkish Spindle! Jealous here). I just friended you there. I usually spin every day, but I haven’t touched my fibers to knit or spin in weeks. (And yet, it’s still not too hot for tea!)
Thank you! So are yours! And I love the names you come up with for them :D The Embroidered Bell Bottoms one is particularly awesome!
I think the heat is more a mental thing than it being actually too hot to spin. It’s no worse than any other activity, but seems like it should be worse. In the height of summer, it’s usually too hot to even want to breathe.
How do you like the Kati? This is why Steepster is dangerous. :)
I like my Kati! There are some reviews up here on them. :)
I know – you guys are a bad influence on me!
Was proud not to cave on the Kati frenzy, but then turned right around and succumbed to the free shipping at Kusmi (for this tea and Caramel).
LOL buy EVERYTHING (till your broke) SIGH
I like my Kati but at this point I have a different infusing basket that I use in it (a ForLife (this one: http://amzn.com/B001JP1KPO), so if I dropped it and it broke I would probably be sad but I don’t think I would buy another. I really like the ForLife basket, though, and it will fit in any kind of mug so it’s very useful.