And it’s another tasty and straightforward Kusmi tea!
The tea smells like mixed berries (strawberries and raspberries mostly) covered in caramel sauce. And you know, it pretty much tastes like that too. It’s a rich, decedent tea with a smooth tea taste throughout, a very strong caramel tail (probably easily identified because I’ve had Kusmi’s caramel tea, not sure if I would have picked it out otherwise) and a refreshing berry whoosh after the sip. It’s dessert-like but in a heavy, rich cheesecake sort of way not a light, fluffy cupcake sort of way.
I add a little sugar half way down my cup and it seem to bring the bergamot out a little, the caramel out a lot and hide the berry a bit but it also made it an over-the-top sweet – like a heavy cheesecake covered in frosting. A bit much for me even if all the tastes were good (and they were). Overall, I prefer it unsweetened because it doesn’t overwhelm but if you’ve got a big sweet tooth, throw a little sugar into this puppy!
As seems to be typical for Kusmi, this is smooth tea with no nuances and, while I didn’t know how the flavors would combine, it tastes really nummy. I don’t think this will become my favorite tea ever or anything but I can see it having a steady spot on my pantry shelf.
The second steep (4:30) is a little more berry, a little less caramel and overall not quite as thick/rich/heavy. But still good!