Kusmi Tea

Decupboarded.

This is one of those things that I like more and more every time I try it. I haven’t fiddled with the rating yet, because although I like it more, I’m not sure I want to give it all that many more points. I think I put it a little high to begin with, so I’m only adjusting it up a few points this time.

That said, I have made it a wee bit too strong this time, but that was merely in effort to not have half a teaspoon of leaves left. It’s turned out heavy on the bergamot, to the point where it comes close to overpowering the other fruits with it’s dark dustyness.

If I make sure to drink it slooooooowly and in smaaaaaaaaall sips, I can still find the other two, though. Not so much the mandarin, that’s only if I’m lucky, but the orange is peeping through as a fruity fresh sweetness.

If I just drink it at normal rate and sip-size, though, it might as well have been any old Earl Grey. That’s a bit of a shame. It really didn’t carry the slightly larger leaf amount all that well at all. Last time I had it, the mandarin came out in spades, and I find that knowing it can do that, I miss it now.

I’m not sure if it’s one I want to invest in again now that the sample is gone. But I am considering it.

What’s this about an earthquake in Canada? Should we be concerned about our canadian steepsterites?

Anyway, I asked the boyfriend what tea we were having as I couldn’t really decide, and he was having Earl Grey. I don’t have any real EGs at the moment, but I have some of the Russian Kusmis. That’s close enough.

I picked this one because it’s one that has been largely overlooked in my sample basket, to the point of me actually being surprised at how full the sample tin still was.

(…and making tea is quicker if one turns the kettle on. Right.)

I can pick up the bergamot in the leaves as usual. It IS a fairly easy note to find. But today I’m also getting the mandarin quite clearly. That’s new, I couldn’t fully discern that before. Not sure about the orange there. I think I can find it, but I’m not entirely certain.

Tastewise it’s the same as before. The bergamot is laying down a solid foundation and on top of that the orange and mandarin keeping the brightness levels up. I’m getting the orange quite clearly here. Less so the mandarin.

Moving right along, here we have something citrus-y. Looks like Russian = Citrus, preferably bergamot in Kusmi-Land.

Okay, I’m beginning to develop a linking for citrus. Still not an Earl Grey fan as such though, but none of these are plain Earl Greys which I think may be what makes the difference.

This one is kind of mild. There’s the heavy bergamot on the bottom but it’s not very pronounced at first. On top there are the other citrus flavours, and they are really what is holding the flavour up.

As the cup cools the bergamot comes out more and the other citrus flavours take a step back, so it’s kind of a double feature this one.

I quite like it.

The liquor of this tea is a bright amber, almost copper color. Quite nice to see on this stormy day.

The aroma reminds me of bergamot with a slight caramel hint to it.

In taste Troika is much more lemon than bergamot to my tongue. When I slurp it it I taste a bit of honey mixed with the lemon flavor and a nice, mildly sweet black tea. I’m enjoying this blend, I like how mellow and not so in your face the flavors are. Which is strange, as I usually like in your face, but the mild citrus is enough for me to really enjoy this tea.

Many thanks to Lori for sending a sample of this my way :)

A big thank you to the quiet life for this sample!!

First sniff of leaves – cloves!! Ahhh! Reminds me of being 14 years old and going to all ages punk shows full of clove cigarette smoke. To this day, all I have to do is smell cloves and I’m instantly full of Anger and Too Much Eyeliner!!! I can’t keep up, I can’t keep up, I can’t keep up! Out of step! With the wooooooorld!!!! (ooops, it’s not 1983! step AWAY from the Minor Threat record (yes I still have it. yes I still listen to it. Shut up!!)

I steeped it at two minutes because I planned to have it with no milk and just a touch of sugar. That was a good call – it’s definitely a “without milk” tea. I’m getting cloves and caramel in a smooth tea base. I’m not tasting any citrus or any of the other flavors that are said to be blended in, which is ok by me :) I’m enjoying Clove Nostalgia Land. But! I think it can take 3 minutes, and I will try that next time.

I decided to do a resteep for the heck of it, at 5 minutes. Not bad! Less tea. Clove-y! Just added another small pinch of sugar.

Final thoughts: Great tea for work where I sometimes want a black tea but don’t want to worry about having milk around. I want to look into some more Kusmi teas for exactly this purpose! Very very very enjoyable!

I forgot I had a teabag of this, a freebie thrown in to my Kusmi order. So sure, why not? Which means that this log is a review of the teabag more than the tea itself (because I already know I like the tea).

This teabag is funky. It’s a rectangle and made of a not-very-tight-mesh muslin-like material. It doesn’t really give the leaves room to expand; theoretically the leaves could expand into the top of the rectangle, but they don’t. Instead they clump down at the bottom of the rectangle and form a pretty hard-packed ball o’ leaf when steeping.

The smell is simply delicious but the taste is a bit harsher than the loose leaf version – not quite so smooth and silky. The caramel also isn’t hitting me as strongly as it did in the loose leaf version so it’s coming across more fruity than caramel-covered fruit. It’s still a tasty tea though and doesn’t require any additives to smooth it out.

Is the loose leaf better? Yes. But not by a ton.
Would I buy the teabag version? No. The loose mesh of the bag material lets little bits of tea scatter about my counter top which means that the bag really isn’t all that neat or convenient, the only real reason I’d go for bags. Also, the lack of expansion room available kind of makes me frown, though I suppose since that doesn’t really seem to impact the taste of the tea, I can’t hold it against it. (Of course, I am assuming that the increased harshness and slight flavor change is due to broken leaves in the teabag, not a lack of room.)

Based on this single bag experience, Kusmi seems to do (weird but ultimately) decent teabags. Don’t think I’d go out of my way to get something in bag form but I wouldn’t turn it down.

Sadly, I am decupboarding this one today. This tea (and Troika) will definitely be repurchased once I am allowed to buy tea again. I really enjoy the rich feel of this tea – the feel of it plus the fruity, creamy, caramel-y sweetness just makes this tea a treat to drink.

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.

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!

This year’s gift to myself was the Kusmi sample set of russian blends and this cup http://www.roykirkham.co.uk/images/images/m/577.jpg which is the same series as my favouritest ever teapot. I love how it’s standing there all full of tea and baaa-ing at me.

Anyway, this is the first one out of the sample set, chosen by ippy-dippy.

My nasal membranes are dried out today. I can’t figure out if I’m on the verge of a cold or something or not, but they definitely aren’t working, so I didn’t get much out of smelling the dry leaves. I could smell them, but not well enough to tell anything beyond ‘citrus’ and after a while it just started to feel weird in the nose.

Enough about my health, you’re not interested in that. Let’s just skip to the part where smelling the steam coming off the cup of finished tea went much much better. It’s definitely citrus-y. Primarily bergamot with the others coming in on top. Like Earl Grey With Friends.

I was expecting sweet citrus, but this isn’t really it. Again, the bergamot is in the forefront and it’s got that slightly bitter bite to it. I’m glad the other citruses are there too because without them I’m not sure I’d have liked this as much. As it is, it’s nice but not a favourite. Maybe it’ll change later. It’s been known to happen that I completely fall in love with something I initially didn’t think that much of. The much beloved Tan Yang being a good example of this.

I do wish it was sweeter though, so I tried adding some cane sugar. Didn’t work either. Oh it’s sweeter alright, but not in the right way. The sugar doesn’t really merge with the citrus flavours like I wanted it to. The tea flavour is unchanged and then the sugar sweetness is there sort of next to it.

This is an enjoyable blend, but I’ll keep looking for a favourite, I think.

This tea is spicy w/strong licorice flavor and sweet undertones. As I am a fan of licorice, (can’t resist Sambuca), this could turn into a favorite of mine. And who could resist the welcome caffeine boost from the guarana?

Delightful balance of spicy chai and chocolate. The chocolate flavor tempers the chai spiciness making this a wonderful dessert tea. I am looking forward to trying more Kusmi teas….

I ordered this tea from the online Kusmi store. Delivery was prompt my tea arrived at my door in less than a week. They also added a couple of tea samples….

This turned out to be a very smooth tea today, brewed without the astringency of the last tasting. I think I used a bit less leaf, 1 tsp instead of a heaping teaspoon, and I set a timer this time….wooohps. I also looked up the temperature recommendations on kusmi’s website and they recommend a bit less than boiling (185-190) so I shot for that.

I can’t taste the individual berries, but kind of a berry melange, which is more like berries n’ cream as I added a splash of cream. Great with just the cream and no sweetener, as I don’t have any (husband used it all in his tea, and keeps forgetting to replace it)((and by all I mean an entire 100 packet box of splenda in which I used 3 packets myself, gone in 2 weeks)(((I’m angry))) :)

I brewed up a large mug of this as soon as I got home. Either I wasn’t in the mood for black tea, or I possibly over steeped this, as it just wasn’t my thing. It was very bitter without any additives and just didn’t taste great with cream and sugar added. Will hope for better results with less steep time.

Thanks Ricky for the chance to try this tea. I got the package today.

I don’t have too much to say about this tea – it didn’t really do much for me, good or bad. The smell of the dry tea is awesome – spicy and citrusy and clean and exotic – and I was hoping it would taste like that but… meh. It was a bit too strongly floral (though not quite perfume-y) and doesn’t have a strong enough bergamot or citrus taste for me. It’s definitely not the worst EG tea I’ve had but it’s nowhere near the best either. I really wish it tasted a bit more like it smelled because then it would be pretty spectacular.

Good evening Steepsterites.

This is our after dinner tea on this last evening of 2011, and I am attempting replicate the mysterious circumstances that led to such an ultra yummy cup last time we had it.

It seems fitting to end the old year on one of the most favourite of favourites, and I am already plotting which tea we shall see the new year in with tomorrow morning.

There are 2 hours and 15 minutes until 2012 here in Denmark, so this shall be my last post this year. There is a fair bit of fireworks going on here already, which bodes well for the display at midnight. As I moved from the town center to a smaller village, we were not sure how much there would be. We never buy our own, but prefer to look at other people’s displays instead. The cats, on this their first NYE, are aware of the noise but seem to be taking it in stride.

Happy New Year, Steepster, and if you are lighting fireworks later, don’t forget to protect your eyes and fingers.

Sometimes you brew a cup of tea exactly the same way that you always do, and the stars align just so, and the outcome is extra-nommy.

This happened with this tea this afternoon for no apparent reason. I think it must have something to do with moon phases, karma and the magnetic field of the earth. Maybe cloud formations and whether or not there’s a bird sitting on the roof as well. It certainly can’t have anything to do with the brewing parameters because they were unchanged.

So I was sipping quietly in my room and thinking, “cor, what a good cup today!” when in ticks a message from the other half thanking me for extra nommy tea today. Two souls, one thought, it seems. (And yes, we do occasionally MSN each other from opposite sides of a wall in the same house. It’s easier than shouting when you don’t know if the other person is wearing headphones. Also, less noisy.)

And if you post 12 posts in one go, I have discovered that you get to wake up to a bajillion notifications! GOOOOOOSH! O.o

How much do I love this one?

T_________H_________I__________S_________________M_________U_________C_________H!

Normally I make this with a water temperature of about 90°C, but on a whim today I tried lowering it even further to 80°C. I’m not sure why I did that. It was just one of those things.

I was craving this one today for some reason. My day went a whole lot better than yesterday, and I just figured some truly awesome tea would be a good thing to add to it.

Actually, that’s a lie. It was the vanilla from yesterday, really, that I fancied, but then I decided to do that thing with the temperature and thought it would be better to do that with one I knew inside and out and sideways so that I could really compare the results.

The result is that 80°C is too low for me. The tea seems a bit watery and weakly compared to my usual experience, as if it has not been able to fully develop during steeping. It lacks a lot of creamy-ness that it usually displays so prettily.

Okay, then. That’s useful knowledge. 90°C really is a very good temperature.

I have attempted a cold brew of this one.

It’s erm… exactly the same tea, only chilled.

This surprised me. With other teas I’ve tried to cold brew the flavouring have really stood out and the tea taking a more background position, but not with this one.

Interesting.

It works quite well as a cold brew, but I think I prefer it hot. I shall attempt cold brewing it half and half with a good vanilla black as well later on, which is also a blend that works well hot, and see how that turns out.

Yummy yummy yummy, I got tea in my tummy…

This was actually inspired by Alana237 who had the Sticky Toffee Pudding from Whittard of Chelsea, which sounded mightily interesting. Her description of it made it sound rather like one I would enjoy, so I’m going to try and remember that the next time I find myself in the UK and near a WoC shop. I started wondering how it might hold up to Kusmi’s Caramel, which, as you all know (and if you don’t, you shall learn very quickly) is one of my all time favourites and currently holds the spot as my Perfect Caramel Tea. Standard Panel Tea and whatnot.

So I made me a cup, which has now cooled to perfection. The caramel is coming out as rather dark today and prickly, and I was actually thinking of something a little smoother. I know this tea, in spite of being a black, really responds better to not entirely boiling water in order to bring the flavour out. If boiling water is used the tea base shines through and it’s already pretty subtle flavouring to begin with.

Unfortunately, I’ve got that base tea flavour mostly here. I can’t really find that caramel yummyness because my water was too hot. I can just taste that it’s a nice Chinese black with something added.

Lucky I tend to prefer the Chinese blacks, really, isn’t it?

As it cools a little more, however, the flavouring is rescued somewhat. It’s still not entirely the same as a cup brewed to perfection, but it’s definitely got more distinct flavouring coming out and it seems to develop just a hint of texture, which is more what I was looking for.

So, yeah. A fairly mangled cup of an otherwise wonderful tea, and I’m wondering how the sticky toffee pudding might hold up to this.

I saw a good tip in a comment just now, and it inspired me to make me an evening cup of my Perfect Caramel Tea.

Apparently, those of us who are intrigued by flavoured pu-erhs ought to keep an eye out for sweetly flavoured ones. Like vanilla or caramel. I think that sounds quite interesting.

Now I’m even more tempted by some of the things from Chi of Tea, from whom the tip came, than I was before. (The bank account remains adamant to wait though)

Mine.

Mine!

You can’t have any! Go’way!

kisses tin

I can’t believe this is very nearly gone. Again. Only a little left to cover the bottom of the tin. And this is the 250g tin. Which followed the 125g tin.

So am I tired of it yet?

NO!

Now I’ll just have to figure out if I can save money on getting a refill bag from their webshop or if I might as well just buy a new tin. Depends on what their shipping rates and such are like. Or maybe I just don’t want to wait that long.

Splitting headache is splitting and I’m feeling generally poorly. Comfort tea is in order.

What better comfort tea than this? It’s got everything. Sweets and tea and fluids.

I don’t know if it’s pure dumb luck or if I’m affected by the chocolate I was eating earlier (that I shouldn’t really touch, really), but I’m getting caramel flavour in spades today. Not just on the swallow where it usually shows up, but all over the place.

It lost all it’s frenchness somehow, but thankfully without becoming overwhelming. I don’t think I could bear it if I got this turned into some sort of heavy liquid toffee concoction. Talk about abuse of tea.

There’s a touch of butter-y-ness in the flavour too which is a bit surpr-oh forget it. I hurt and I can’t brain any more.