Prince Vladimir

I don’t know if the lady at the shop used the wrong temperature or what, but this solely tasted like a strong black tea. I couldn’t decipher any trace of vanilla or citrus fruits or spices. I’m quite disappointed as this is one of Kusmi Tea’s most famous blend.

Thanks, Cameron B., for sending this my way! It taste like vanilla orange custard, and I want it in my life forever and always. Amen.

Vanilla chai with a bit of orange.

A rich, thick vanilla tea, almost Chai like, but not quite… Almost like a spiced vanilla pudding . It’s more of a full bodied vanilla then anything. Preferred it as it cooled over when it was piping hot. Some astringency in the base.

Of the Kusmi teas I’ve had so far I like this one at St. Petersburg the best. This one make a nice winter tea when you want something chai like but not Chai. This tea has citrus notes of grapefruit, lemon and bergamot supported by Vanilla and Spice. I find the grapefruit and lemon strongest here with the bergamot sweetening the tea a little. Underneath this is a creamy vanilla element that really does taste like cream to me. In the spice mix I taste cloves, nutmeg, and pepper. It does make me think of the holidays and orange pomades. I don’t always love Kusmi’s bases but it works here. It is dark and slightly bitter and is a nice counterbalance to the flavouring. It also has hints of warmer sweeter stone fruit. All together a really pleasant tea to be drinking on a cool day. It reminds me of gingerbread eaten with a tart mulled wine served with coffee and cream.

Another awesome sample from Cameron B. Thank you!

This was the afternoon cup. I guess the best way for me to describe this tea would be to say it is a orange spice tea. There were hints of vanilla, and cardamon. I have one more cup’s worth and I will probably make it at home chai style. Thank you for sharing this charming cup.

Another tea from Kusmi´s “The Russians” range, and so far, the one I least like. One way or another, I´m not too fond about orange or dominant spices in combination with black tea (apart from at Xmas time, perhaps), and this is confirmed smelling the tea from the tin AND the resulting cuppa. I had it at breakfast, which wasn´t a good move either (definitely need to try it again as an afternoon tea…in winter).

This tea…
I have a bit of a love hate relationship with this tea. I can’t help but compare it to Marco Polo by Mariage in terms of intensity of flavours. (Not similarity of flavours though, they are totally different). And I always reach the same conclusion: IT’s just not as flavourful as Marco Polo. However, I still love it.
The vanilla is a little underwhelming, you can’t really taste it very much, even though it is advertised as a “vanilla flavoured tea”. You can definitely tell it’s there, it just isn’t extremely pronounced. Seems like a twist on the traditional Earl Grey more than anything. Definitely a good tea, just a little underwhelming compared to how it is advertised.

I’m having this one chilled today. I cold-brewed it for six hours, and it’s been in the fridge for a couple of days since then. I added some syrup and I’m finding it very refreshing after a short workout (we have a rowing machine). It tastes of vanilla and a little bit of wood in the background. The amount of spice is perfect, it’s definitely there but it’s not a starring role. I could see this being my cold-brewed black tea of choice this summer! Oh Vladimir, how I love thee…

Very round! I quite liked it. A nice blend of vanilla and citrus.