Anastasia

Kusmi Advent Day 1

Bright lemon with bergamot in this cup. The tea seems a little oversteeped under the fruit flavors. Two minutes may have been a better choice. I had this on a green base previously and felt like it was similar to a Theodor tea with the same flavor profile, but lacking an edge that Theodor has. The same feeling holds true to this tea. I’d like to try it with some creamer, but I’m out. :/

Kusmi rarely disappoints me. What a lovely creation!
It’s like a sophisticated Earl Grey, makes you feel delicate, gentle and dare I say – FANCY?
Smells lovely, you can definitely sniff orange peel, lemon and bergamot. Pure pleasure. Instantly puts me in good mood. This tea is so good, it doesn’t need any ‘extras’ or support.
Well, a biscuit or a piece of cake to go along are always a good idea ;-) no matter what tea.

I will definitely order more. This is why Kusmi remains one of my top brands and I spend crazy amounts of money at their store. I should probably have some golden VIP card and massive discounts by now. Well, instead, I have a cupboard full of colorful metal tins that make me smile each time I open it.

I’m working my way through a sample pack of Kusmi Russian teas. I find this Earl Grey light and elegant. I added milk and sugar (as I normally do for Earl Greys) but this might be fine without milk as well.

This tea is quite mildly flavored, but the black tea is pretty high quality. Tasty maltiness, decently rich. Somehow, this is reminding me of the creme brulee I ate earlier. I can’t point out exactly what spices are included, but it all goes together quite well. It’s too bad there was only one serving left in the tin! I’m enjoying it with milk and sugar.

I got a beautiful package of tea samples today. Thank you Cameron B. :D Sitting in the car with the package was intoxicating. I couldn’t wait to get home! It smelled so good. I chose this one first because the only Kusmi tea I have ever tried (and drink on a regular basis) is their detox… And that’s for health reasons. I’ve always been curious about the rest of their teas, especially this one. I was delighted to see this was one of the samples. :D

Hardly any experience with flavored teas. I once tried a flavored matcha, and it literally tasted like an artificial green apple in turpentine. Up until my first Lupicia order, I have never really liked flavored teas. What I’ve found is… I just don’t like artificially flavored tea. I can’t stand strawberry Nesquick but I could eat a big bag of fresh strawberries. So now, after that decent experience, I don’t have to shy away from certain flavored teas. :D

Anastasia, what a beautiful name for a product. It smelled fancy, perfumey, citrusy, bergamot. Oh my, will it be too perfumey for me? I wondered. Nope, it wasn’t. The dark mahogany liquor did not have a too-perfumey-taste or too floral taste (thank goodness), it was a yummy bergamot with a good balance of natural lime and citrus notes. I like it!

150 ml, 195°F, 2 steeps: 3 min, 4 min.

I got a sample of this from Cameron B.! Thank you!

Upon first sniff, this seems like your average Earl Grey. Perfumey, romantic bergamot and that’s about it. Not that I mind. However, the flavor has a very noticeable lime note in addition to the usual citrus bergamot brings. That’s interesting! I’ve never had lime in my Earl Grey. Others are saying they taste lemon, too, but I’m having trouble distinguishing that from the bergamot.

Anyway, I’m really enjoying this. It makes perfect sense to add more citrus to an EG. I haven’t had many lime teas because artificial lime isn’t really my thing, but this tastes natural enough. I’m happy with my choice of daily work tea, and I’m happy I got to try this. It’s yum.

Face it, we all do a little bit of mindless tea drinking and we have certain teas for that. We reserve the good stuff for times when we can concentrate on the tea experience.

I didnt mean to have that mindset when I started making breakfast. I am dogsitting my daughter’s pekeapoo and every morning I fix Sam and Hugo an omelette and as a special treat they get a tiny slice of summer sausage. I made waffles for myself. And it got busy, just all the little tasks that go with making breakfast for three when you are all having different things.

When I was choosing my tea, I thought, “Cameron said Anastasia is her favorite” and pulled out the sample and made it, then set back to work putting out the dog’s breakfast bowls nice and far apart so Sam couldn’t finish quickly and go eat Hugo’s as well.

I sat to eat, mind a million miles away…until I sipped my tea. I had completely forgotten what I had made, but it got my attention.

Oh law! Yes, I have to declare Anastasia my favorite of the four as well. In fact, she will be the reason I place a Kusmi order myself. She grabbed hold of me and told me to PAY ATTENTION BECAUSE THERE IS LOVELINESS RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW.

Wow. That was a good cuppa. I resteeped because come on. You have to. I want to make this sample last. And now I want to try White Anastasia as well.

Thank you, Cameron B. It made my morning.

I had wondered what this would be like coldbrewed. Having tried both ways, I now know that I like it better hot.

When I drink this tea, I want baklava. One of the baklava recipes I made strictly used orange blossom. This tea would of been perfection with it. This tea was meant to enjoy with a sweet. It’s good on its own, a nice balance of flavoring, good black tea base. Seriously, make and purchase baklava, and brew a pot of this tea, and enjoy.

earl greyish, lemony. honestly i brewed this one a bit too strong, and ill have to give a rating and edit after my next brew.