Kusmi Tea

Advent Day 13

Rooibos, orange, other vague flavors. It tastes like every other rooibos with orange I’ve tried. There was nothing that stood out about it.

Kusmi Advent Day 13
This smells strongly of rooibos…not a good sign for me. The rooibos tastes as strongly as it smells. A bit of a fruity caramel thing going on, but the rooibos flavor is so distracting. Overall, just not a tea for me.

Kusmi Advent Day 10
Hot hibiscus fruit water. Not getting any discernible fruits. Like a fruit punch or fruit juice concentrate…but then made super tart from the hibiscus. I could do without this.

Advent Day 10

Mmmmm… hibiscus. (insert barf emoji) It’s like watered down hibiscus which is way better than full strength hibiscus. The hib really dominates this tea. It smelled really nice dry and I had hope, but I can’t taste anything past that hib.

Kusmi Advent Calendar – Day 10

Another hibiscus fruit tisane from Kusmi. This seems similar to their AquaExotica that was in the advent a few days ago, so I guess we’ll see how it compares. That one was more tropical while this seems to be berry-flavored. I let it cool completely before tasting it, as hot hibiscus is just weird…

It’s honestly a little bland? But the main flavor is definitely the hibiscus. I guess I could see raspberry as well maybe, and a hint of apple. But honestly that’s it really. Mostly hibiscus, bit of tart red fruit. It tastes watery at first and then there’s a POW of sweet-tartness at the end of the sip.

Meh, not loving it. The other one was definitely better IMO.

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIn4CAHg-sf/)

Advent Day 9

This is a mint tea for sure. Yup, there is mint in there. I don’t taste the green tea under the mint. It seems well balanced and the mint has only the slightest nip to it. It’s really nice and adds slight comfort when cringing through the sound a tiny roommate practicing the recorder outside, but I wouldn’t go buy a tin of it especially when there are less expensive options out there for a similar profile.

Kusmi Advent Day 9

I’ve been very much in a mint tea mood, and always enjoy a flavored green tea…so this was a welcome sight this morning. In particular, it was nice to have a break from all of the rooibos/honeybush blends.

The green base is smooth and lacks any bitterness. It is slightly vegetal. Mostly a fresh, cooling spearmint.

Kusmi Tea Advent calendar 2020, day 8

I don’t like Rooibos in general. Growing up in family where we only drank herbal teas and rooibos, I think I’ve had enough, and my lovely fam ruined them for me.
I also hate vanilla in teas, it almost always tastes artificial to me and sometimes even make me sick. I should have known better and just pass on trying this one. I guess I was hoping that since it’s Kusmi (one of my all-time brands), it would not disappoint and somehow positively surprise me. Well, it didn’t. I’m still underwhelmed and was just reminded why I don’t like these kinds of teas.
One of the weaker options Kusmi has to offer in my humble opinion. Next time I’ll politely decline :)

Kusmi Advent Calendar – Day 8

Hmm, this sounds rather boring. However, the dry sachet has a lovely sweet vanilla scent to it, which is encouraging!

I’m actually somewhat impressed with this one. The flavoring isn’t super strong, but it’s a nice smooth and creamy vanilla. The beginning of the sip is mostly rooibos, but the other flavors start to come out in the middle, and it almost tastes like I’ve added milk by the end.

It’s a little bit underflavored to be something I would order, but it’s a very pleasant subtle creamy vanilla rooibos. :)

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIirQD-Air7/)

Kusmi Advent Day 8
I watched today’s Tea Vlogmas video by Jann of Tea with Jann and it looks like I got the correct tea today! Or we both have the wrong tea…
Not a rooibos fan, but I love vanilla. Tastes pretty much as expected- rooibos and a soft vanilla. Pretty straightforward, but I don’t dislike it as much as I thought I would. The rooibos isn’t fighting with any other flavors, so it’s not distracting.
I actually received this as a sample with my order and had brewed it for my landlord while she was over helping us with a repair. She absolutely loved it and I purchased a tin for her. Not my thing, but glad it’s appreciated.

I got a sample from Kusmi Advent Calendar.
Bright orange wrapper is very pretty and optimistic. I guess it must look good on their tin, the colour itself will wake you up and put you in a good mood in the morning.
Living in the UK, I’ve had my fair share of English Breakfast. Each restaurant, pub, store, hotel, office will have some. And sometimes it’s the only choice you have.
I brewed it twice for about 2,5 – 3 minutes each time, and I was a bit surprised that it’s not too strong. Definitely weaker (and lighter in colour) than Twinnings or Teapigs. I personally like weak black tea, but if you are a fan of something with a bit more kick – you will be disappointed.
In general it’s nothing groundbreaking, doesn’t leave much of an impression or a memory behind. Just an English Breakfast standard middle of the road tea. You can smell a taste a hint of malt, but not too much.
I wouldn’t want a whole full size tin of it. There are plenty more interesting and memorable black tea options that Kusmi has to offer.

Advent Day 6

What is this?! A hibiscus blend that isn’t hideous?! I cold steeped it, because that is the only way to drink hib IMO, and it isn’t gross! That’s high praise from this committed hib hater. It is tart, but not overwhelmingly so. The tartness seems to just overshadow and round out the other fruits that I can’t quite pin a name to. It’s a little fruit punchy without the depth of cherry. I am totally amazed that I just drank the whole cup. I wouldn’t add it to my cupboard, but I know I could drink it without too much resentment if I were, oh say… lost in the desert for a week. This would be fine!

Kusmi Advent Day 6
This tin is so cute! Definitely a pleasant little surprise this morning. Both the dry leaf and the brewed cup have a strong nectarine aroma- which I love. The hibiscus is appropriate here, so I’m not mad at it. The tartness works quite well with the tropical fruit. The nectarine I was smelling is mango- like a mango Hi-Chew. This would definitely be delicious iced.

Sipdown! (33 | 106)

Finishing off the last of this mini tin from the Kusmi advent.

It’s quite good for a fruit tisane! I haven’t had many tropical versions, and the mango is a nice change of pace. It does come off a little bit peachy as well, which is tasty with the hibiscus tartness. I also get some apple and orange, and a hint of bitterness that reminds me of citrus peel.

Would definitely recommend for fruit tisane aficionados!

Kusmi Advent Calendar – Day 6

A mini tin today! I admit, I’d totally forgotten that there were mini tins in this advent, though now I remember it being mentioned. This is a fruit tisane, so naturally I’m not terribly excited. You know how hibiscus and I don’t often get along… XD

I steeped this hot but let it cool basically to room temperature before trying it. The color is a bright hibiscus-y red-purple. It’s quite tart and there’s definitely a strong hibiscus flavor to it. But it also has a nice tropical flavor – I get mango for sure. I can also taste the apple and perhaps a bit of orange?

It’s quite good to be honest. Even though there’s a fair amount of tartness, it’s not too sour, and there’s a bit of sweetness balancing it. I’m not a huge tropical flavor person but it’s nice here when combined with the tartness and the orange. I think it would be weird hot, but it’s tasty at room temperature. And I’m sure it would be great iced, which is most likely what they intended for this anyway. So color me surprised, I actually liked a fruit tisane, and with hibiscus too!

I also had my La Maison du Chocolat advent selection with a pot of this tisane, and wow was it good! It was called Praliné Épices, meaning spices, and it tasted like some kind of delicious gingerbread cookie with milk chocolate on top. It also had a cute transfer pattern on top with little yellow Christmas stars (which I really should’ve taken a picture of…), so I assume this is a seasonal chocolate. Yum!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIeP4uoAeit/

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIdqxdfAjbO/)

Kusmi Advent Day 5
(backlog from yesterday)
This is another one of those blends that just isn’t really for me. I don’t usually gravitate towards citrus teas, especially not those on a mate base.
Apparently there’s green tea somewhere in here, but I couldn’t taste it. Definitely has more of a maté/guarana flavor, with some intense lemon citrus.

I was excited to find it in the Kusmi Advent Calendar, as I’ve never had it before. It’s one of the more premium teas Kusmi has to offer. The famous Alain Ducasse has created his first white tea as a collab with the brand. They only sell it in massive tins (and refills), 120g if I remember correctly. One tin costs € 39,50 which significantly (at least three times) more than the usual price for Kusmi. That alone is enough to put some customers off and limit their clientele.
Firstly, the packaging is lovely. White&silver colour palette, looks luxe and fresh, kind of cold and icy almost. It would look great outside, on the worktop, as part of the kitchen decor if someone has a very modern kitchen.
When you smell it, you can instantly smell huge quantities of rose and a hint of red fruit, in this case it’s raspberry. The rose is not artificial or perfume-like, it actually smells quite naturally and makes me think of a home-made marmalade.
The tea itself is light, fresh, airy, non-suffocating. Very elegant. It would make a great gift for someone who has everything and needs nothing. This kind of person would definitely appreciate this tea :-)
In my opinion it’s not wort 40 euros per box, I know very similar teas for a fraction of the price. Nevertheless, I’m happy I gave it a go. Maybe one day, when I want to impress some Michellin star-obsessed foodie / tea snob, I will spoil them happily with this as a gift.

Kusmi Advent Calendar – Day 5

So this one confused me. Having “morning” in the name, to me, implies black tea or some other sort of breakfasty tea. But then the description said something like “citrus and herbs” which sort of makes me think it’s an herbal tea. But then the plot thickens, as the steeping instructions recommended a temperature of around 175°F, which makes me assume there’s green tea here. Anyway! I followed the recommended parameters so we’ll see. Looking at the sachet, I think there might be maté here as well, as it has that sort of crushed up leaves appearance.

So looking at the description, it’s a blend of green tea, maté, and guarana. So that sort of explains all of the weird conflicting information LOL. I quite like this though! It has a lovely sweet and herbal maté flavor with a hint of smokiness. The green tea has a different sort of dry grassy note and adds a touch of bitterness. I think orange is the main citrus that I taste here, and it’s a lovely sweet orange. I also do get a little hint of sharper grapefruit which adds a nice tang.

I like it! I don’t know if I would order it specifically but I would happily drink it again. I really need to explore getting some plain yerba maté, as I always find myself really enjoying it in blends…

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbA7q0g6Fu/)

I like this one! It’s nice and smooth and heavy at the same time. I usually take cream in my breakfast teas, but this cup was so nice that I wasn’t willing to ruin it like I didn with an earlier cup with one of the many replacement creamers I bought now that my favorite soy creamer is not being made. I wish I knew what the different straight teas tasted like so I could identify the features I’m tasting better. It has a hint of malt, a little tobacco. There is the slightest tang that I get near the end of the sip now that my cup has cooled. Not sure I’d run out and buy this, but I’d definitely take another cup!

Kusmi Advent Calendar – Day 4

I know I’ve had this before (or rather, the Løv Organic version) and I remember not liking it because of the turmeric and ginger. Oh well, now’s its second chance!

It has quite a fruity aroma, which is encouraging at least!

Hmm, I actually do like it. There’s a soft lemon note and some other kind of juicy and refreshing fruit. I suppose that would be the dragonfruit, as I haven’t tried one I don’t know what it tastes like. But I guess it reminds me somewhat of a juicy pear? It has a very refreshing flavor that reminds me of cucumber as well, and there’s a tropical edge to it. I do get a little bit of earthy turmeric in the background, and some warming ginger at the tail end of the sip. It looks like there’s chili in here as well, so that must be contributing to the slight kick at the end.

I quite liked this one! I’m not sure it’s something I’d run out and buy, but I enjoyed the juicy refreshing fruity flavor. I bet it would be lovely iced as well. Hooray for second chances! :)

Kusmi Advent Day 4
Not a fan of this. Generically lemony and something vaguely tropical in the finish.

Advent Day 4

I don’t know dragon fruit enough to be able to recognize the flavor. I get the lemon, but there is also a sweetness to it that I’m not sure the source of. The apple? Overall it’s okay, but not really my thing. Meh.

The sachet wrapper says raspberry and rose. Rose is definitely prominent. It has a light perfumy scent and flavor with a bit of fruit. I don’t know that I’d recognize this as raspberry if I hadn’t read it, but I could pick out that there was some sort of fruit which becomes more bold at the end of the sip. This tea is light and airy, which isn’t really my thing.

Kusmi Advent Day 3
The rose and raspberry are very well balanced, with the raspberry being slightly in the forefront. The rose flavoring is like eating a fresh rose petal, and does not come off as perfumey. The floral aspects of the white tea also work really well here. Overall, really enjoy this cup. There is a bit of bitterness in the aftertaste, so I’d probably reduce steep time to 2min45sec or so next time.