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I have a pot of this tea, a piece of icebox coconut cake, a good book to read, and candles glowing on the mantel. Life is fine. Other than the fact that my nose is threatening to stuff up in a big way.

This is from Cameron B., who generously sent a bunch of samples and then sent a bunch more! Having read the other two reviews and being dreadfully afriad of astringent tea, I went with 185F and three minutes. I am glad I did.

The description is baffling. It says it is Chinese tea, even when you look at the French website. (Even I with my dreadful college French can figure out that much.) But then the ingredient list says it is 90% Ceylon tea. Tasting it, I would say it is Ceylon, which is not in China last time I looked at a map.

I am enjoying it, but I would not purchase this. It tastes a bit soapy. There is an oooo aaaah moment with some of the flavors and then the lemon goes HA and squirts you in the eye. Well, it just is puckery lemon. And that really distracts from the nice orange and jasmine I was enjoying.

Honestly, if you told me I was drinking Twinings Lady Grey I would totally believe you. I think this is my first Laduree and I was expecting something more along the lines of Dammann Freres.

Thank you, Cameron B, for the chance to try it!

I am going to put my review here because the one I am drinking isnt listed. I am having the organic version of this tea, and it is the last cup.

I have been longing for some good keemun lately but one thing or another kept me having it in the mornings. I went to take this out of my cupboard and it says I have 76 teas. Lies! All lies! I wish there were that few, even fewer, because I have too much! I want to get down to a cupboard of…..say….thirty teas, not counting puerh because it doesnt go bad and you can have as much as you wish.

This is exactly what I was looking for, a tea that screams TEA! And even though it screams TEA it is perfectly wonderful on its own and doesnt need sugar or milk. It grabs hold of my senses and makes me happy to be here. With my tea.

This one is a touch fruity, a little woodsy, a little smoky, a hint nutty on the tongue but sweet on the palate and sinuses. It is glorious Keemun.

I am so glad more keemun is on the way now because this finishes all my Keemun stash.

I saved the last of this sample to share with my youngest daughter when she is home from college, and today is the day! She has been enjoying Twinings now-discontinued Blossom Earl Grey, so I was sure she would like this. I don’t have any of the original black tea version for her to compare it with, but the flavors in the white tea version are the same.

The verdict – she likes it! Now I need to order both kinds for us to drink when she is home! Thank you, Cameron B for the Kusmi samples! (And all the others, too! We will be drinking a lot of tea over the next few days!)

I had this tea with breakfast and again with lunch. I am trying to cut the stash but I am resteeping things that resteep well, because there is no need to be wasteful, especially with something good!

I have enjoyed the Kusmi teas I have tried, and thank goodness this one is good but not one I feel I have to order, becasue I am already cringing at the tea I am wanting to buy. Anastasia, White Anastasia, and Troika are on my list and I don’t need to want another! Ha ha!

The black tea base is good, the bergamot is at a nice level for me and not sharp and overpowering, and lemon stands out in this one to me. I don’t really do lemon in tea much unless it is super softened with other things, so maybe that is why this one is a like and not a lovelovelove. But it was good! And it was a good companion for my breakfast. I definitely would prefer this one with food rather than on its own.

Another tea that I had failed to list in my cupboard….I guess I am not as far into decluttering my stash as I thought. On a happy note – someone stopped by my youngest daughter’s dorm this morning just to get their travel mug filled with the Teavivre jasmine tea I took her last weekend. Apparently it was a big hit!

This one is so delicious that I have hoarded it, saving it for only the most special occasions, and now it is past the use by date. It tastes fantastic, but I have to get serious and finish because it would be a huge waste to let it truly go bad.

It is so coconut-y and vry easy going even though it is a blend of black tea and green tea, which can sometimes be a lttle difficult to work with as the green can get “burned” or the black may not give up its best flavor at a lower temp. Nope, I really didn’t give it special treatment but it turned out awesome.

Hubby and I had his and hers teas this evening in front of the fire. He had puerh while I had this, served with garlic and herb goat cheese, crackers, and Woodstock organic bread and butter pickles.

And only AFTER I was all done handling food did I open the book that GGMathis sent for me to read – Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! I also got the CUTEST Thanksgiving…ahem…HENSgiving card that she made! I should show it to the chickens tomorrow. They will be so pleased! They will be so excited for Thanksgiving as they always get to enjoy some of the bounty.

I had odd dreams last night and when I woke up this morning I had that weird feeling like resembles dread in my gut. For some reason, it made me want Troika for breakfast. I know! I know! Queen Catherine is my strong lady, but I have had her for the past couple of days and Troika was on my mind.

There was a moment of panic as I pawed through my samples stash but I finally found it. And finished it.

When I tried the Kusmi teas that Cameron B. sent, I told her that Troika and both Anastasias were on my list to order. I guess this is confirmation that I need to get Troika.

It has bergamot but doesn’t come across as an Earl Grey. Too many Earls have Ceylon bases with high lemony notes that over-sour the cup for me, since bergamot is really just a sour citrus fruit already. But Troika has a little more depth, more bass notes, in the tea so it balances nicely. I only had a scant teaspoon left so I double steeped in a Kamjove and combined the two steeps for a really nice breakfast experience.

Now to shake off those bad dreams…

ETA: bad dreams shaken off and a third steep of this tea was enjoyed this evening and was absolutely delicious. Must order.

Night before last was our first night below freezing this year. Last night was not as cold but I went to bed with wet hair, freshly washed, and had to get out the down comforter.

Today for tea party day, it is a little chilly but very overcast and has been raining almost all day. I decided we needed to have a comfy cozy tea party, so we started a fire in the Buck stove (wood burner for our non-American friends) and I made potato soup and garlic bread.

The tea had to complete the comfy, cozy theme, so Queen Catherine it was! The second I smelled the steeped tea, I smiled and hmmmmmed happily. She is an every day tea, but she will (hopefully) always be on my shelf.

Sipping the remaining tea this afternoon reheated and polishing off the cookie platter while hubby and the dogs sleep on the floor in front of the woodburner.

I find it impossible that I have not posted a note about this one. I am drinking the very last of it! I made two steeps at breakfast and will sip it throughout the morning.

I was really craving some Keemun for breakfast! Honestly, sometimes I prefer a lower grade with waffles and such because they tend to be smokier and have that raspy feel that counteracts sweetness nicely. This one did the job and will be a pleasant companion as I rearrange and clean and declutter and take reading breaks today.

It is a lovely medium amber/orange color with a honey scent. It has a medium creamy body that coats the tongue and yet is brisk so there is a drying sensation at the end. A high note rises into the sinuses and at the mid-palate after your swallow. There is a little malt and a little woody taste, as well.

I was having trouble choosing a tea to go with our sesame chicken and lomein tonight so I asked hubby to choose between a plain green and a jasmine. He chose jasmine, I chose THIS jasmine.

This is one of the newer jasmine teas sold by Teavivre and replaces (I think) what used to be their entry kevel jasmine.

It is excellent for just what we used it for – a great accompaniment to a meal. There are lots of jasmine flowers in this. They look rather pretty in the infuser and then swell to a soft white cloud. There is lots of jasmine fragrance and it tastes just as I expect Teavivre jasmine to taste – natural and not soapy or perfumey.

It was great with the food. The briskness is completely unnoticeable while one is eating and it simply seems to clear the palate. After the meal when we were sipping it on its own, the briskness is more noticeable but is not unpleasant. Indeed, it is often considered desirable specifically for its palate cleansing properties.

It was so good, we resteeped and got another nice pot of tea to enjoy.

I have actually had a cup or two of this tea for three days in a row and just haven’t logged it. I have learned amthing or two about it in that time.

Dry leaf smells like apricot, steeped tea smells and tastes like rose…until it cools. Then it becomes baked apricot and has a more oven-baked vibe. Temperature makes a big difference in this tea.

It resteeps nicely, which is a big bonus.